約伯倫理 第 662 章

Verse 13. — Let the firstborn death devour the beauty of his skin, and consume his arms. 19. The firstborn death is pride, which the rich can scarcely guard against. — The beauty of the skin is temporal glory, which, while it is craved without, is as it were an appearance retained in the skin. But by the name of arms, works are not incongruously designated, because bodily work is performed with the arms. But what is death except sin, which slays the soul away from the inner life? whence it is written: Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection (Rev. xx, 6), because he shall afterward happily rise again in the flesh, who, placed in this life, has risen again from the death of his mind.

If, therefore, sin is death, not incongruously can the firstborn death be understood as pride, because it is written: The beginning of all sin is pride (Ecclus. x, 15). The firstborn death, therefore, devours the beauty of his skin and his arms, because pride supplants the glory or the working of the unrighteous. For he could have existed gloriously even in this life without fault, had he by no means been proud; he could have been commended by the judgment of his Author for certain of his works, had not elation supplanted these very works before his eyes. For we often see certain rich men who could have had wealth and glory without fault, if they had willed to have these with humility.

But they are exalted by their possessions, puffed up by honours, disdain others, and place all the confidence of their life in that very abundance of things. Whence a certain rich man also said: Soul, you have many good things laid up for many years; rest, eat, drink, make merry (Luke xii, 19). While the supernal Judge beholds these their thoughts, he plucks them out of this very confidence of theirs. Whence here too it is fitly subjoined: