Moralia in Job 965

— Rejoicing in transitory things, they are afflicted with grievous cares. — Amid such things they rejoice, because forsooth they attend to the transitory things which they receive, and neglect to gaze upon the abiding goods which they lose. And while they burn with love of temporal things, willing to be ignorant, they know not true joy. Which if they sought to know studiously, they would see how much to be wept over are the joys which they covet. But while they disdain to know better things, they choose for themselves as though the highest things only those which visibly flatter the eyes with a fleeting seduction. Following visible things, that is to say, they fix their heart; and they rejoice outwardly in proportion as inwardly they have no recollection of themselves.

Yet for the most part tribulations are mingled with their joys, and out of the very things in which they are proud they are scourged. For not without the grievous troubles of cares can they either seek the temporal things they covet when not possessed, or keep them when acquired, seek among equals a more excellent glory, exact from inferiors more reverence than is fitting, and show less than they owe to their superiors; for the most part display power through impotence; always do perverse things, and yet, lest they have a reputation of perversity, fearfully guard themselves. All these things assuredly prick the wretched, but these prickings, overcome by the very love of temporal things, they do not feel. Whence also it is now rightly said:

And they reckoned it delights to be under the thorns, because, pressed by the delights of sins, out of affection for the present life they know not how harsh are the things which they suffer. — They esteem it delights to remain under the thorns. — They rejoice, therefore, but under the thorns, because they indeed take joy in temporal things, but yet, while they cannot dispense these same temporal things without tribulation, they are pricked with that care by which the wretched are pressed. They remain under the thorns, and this very thing they esteem delights, because they both endure indeed hard things out of love of the present life, and yet, bound by the affection of excessive cupidity, they reckon the labour of that same endurance a pleasure. Whence Jeremiah rightly, taking upon himself the likeness of the whole human conversation, complains by lamentation, saying:

He hath made me drunk with wormwood (Lam. iii, 15). For as we have already said above (Book VII, n. 25), whoever is drunk knows not what he suffers. But he who is inebriated with wormwood — both what he has taken is bitter, and yet he does not perceive the very bitterness with which he is filled. The human race, therefore, by the right judgment of God left to itself in its pleasures, and through those same pleasures given over to voluntary tribulations, is drunk with wormwood, because both the things which it tolerates out of love of this life are bitter, and yet it is ignorant of that same bitterness through the blindness of cupidity, as through the insensibility of drunkenness. For thirsting after the glory of the world, while it finds many tribulations for its sake, bitter is that which it drinks.

But because it has taken this too greedily, it is no longer able, by reason of that very drunkenness, to discern the evil of that same bitterness. For perverse men love, even for the sake of this world's glory, tribulations too, and willingly serve with all sweats for its sake, and most devotedly submit their necks to the yoke of grievous labours. Which is well described under the figure of Ephraim, Hosea prophesying, who says: Ephraim is a heifer taught to love the threshing (Hos. x, 11). For a heifer accustomed to the labours of threshing, when let loose, for the most part returns of her own accord, not even compelled, to the same use of labour.

So the mind of the wicked, given over to the servitude of this world, and accustomed to the wearinesses of temporal things, even if it be permitted to be freely at leisure, yet hastens to be subject to earthly labours, and seeks the threshing of labour as the use of its wretched conversation, so that it may not please it to cease from the yoke of worldly servitude, even if it be permitted. Which yoke, forsooth, the Lord loosened from the neck of the disciples, when He said: Take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness (Luke xxi, 34), and immediately added: And with the cares of this life; and that day come upon you suddenly. And again: Come to me, all you that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart (Matt. xi, 28). For what is it for the Lord to call Himself meek in His teaching, and humble, but, the difficulties of exercised pride being left behind, to demonstrate certain plain paths of living well? But because the minds of the wicked are more delighted by the harshness of pride than by the gentleness of humility and meekness, they reckon it delights to be under the thorns. For they are prepared to bear hard things, out of love of the world, as though certain soft and delightful things, while they endeavour to grasp the summits of things in this life. — They are delighted more by the harshness of labour than by the sweetness of rest. — The Lord commands cessation from worldly labours, He persuades the sweetness of holy rest;

and yet the frenzied mind of the wicked rejoices more to attain harsh things carnally than to hold soft things spiritually, and is fed more by the acerbity of weariness than by the sweetness of rest. Which the Israelite people plainly showed us in itself (Exod. xvi, 3), who, while it received the refreshment of manna from above, coveted from Egypt the pots of flesh, the melons, the leeks, and the onions. For what is signified in manna but the food of grace, sweetly tasting, given from above for the refreshment of the inner life to those who are well at leisure? And what by the pots of flesh but carnal works, scarcely to be boiled out, as by fires, by the labours of tribulations? What by the melons but earthly sweetnesses?

What is expressed by the leeks and onions, which for the most part those who eat them shed tears, but the difficulty of the present life, which by its lovers is carried on not without weeping, and yet is loved with tears? Forsaking the manna, therefore, they sought the leeks and onions along with the melons and the flesh, because forsooth perverse minds despise the sweet gifts through the grace of rest, and covet, for the sake of carnal pleasures, the laborious paths of this life, full even of tears; they disdain to have where they might spiritually rejoice, and desirously seek where they may also carnally groan.

Let Job therefore with truthful voice reprove the folly of these, because forsooth by perverse judgment they prefer troubled things to tranquil, hard to gentle, harsh to mild, transitory to eternal, suspect to secure. Let the holy Church remember the folly of these, when she is pressed outwardly by savage adversities — those whom she contained within herself as though faithful, but whose life adverse to the faith she long tolerated — and let her say: Who rejoiced amid such things, and reckoned it delights to be under the thorns, because forsooth the evils which they do they learned from the depravity of the wicked who preceded. Whence also it is rightly subjoined: