^1:20 Then Job arose and tore his tunic, and, having shaved his head, falling to the ground, worshiped,
^1:21 and said: Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it pleased the Lord, so has it been done. Blessed be the name of the Lord!
^1:22 In all these things Job did not sin, nor did he speak any foolish thing against God.

31. Then Job arose, etc. Having enumerated the adversity of blessed Job, the text here treats of the patience that he showed in adversity. Now for the clarity of what is said here, it should be known that concerning bodily goods and concerning the passions of the soul, there were different opinions among the ancient philosophers. For the Stoics said that exterior goods are no goods of man at all, and that over their loss no sadness could be present in the soul of the wise man. But the opinion of the Peripatetics was that exterior goods are indeed certain goods of man, not principal goods, but goods ordered instrumentally, as it were, to the principal good of man, which is the good of the mind; and on account of this they granted that the wise man is moderately saddened at the loss of exterior goods, in such a way, namely, that reason is not absorbed by sadness so as to decline from rectitude. And this opinion is truer and accords with the doctrine of the Church, as is clear from Augustine in the book The City of God.

32. Therefore, following this opinion, Job indeed showed sadness in adversity, yet so moderated that it was subject to reason; and therefore it is said that then Job arose and tore his tunic, which among men is customarily an indication of sadness. Now it should be noted that he says then, namely, after the death of his children had been heard, so that he may be seen to have grieved over them more than over the loss of things. For not to grieve over dead friends seems to belong to a hard and insensible heart, but it belongs to the virtuous man to have this grief not immoderately, according to that saying of the Apostle in 1 Thessalonians 4:13: We do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who are sleeping, so that you may not be sorrowful like the rest, who have no hope:

and this was the case in blessed Job, whence also the state of his mind appeared through an exterior act. For because reason stood upright, it is fittingly said that Job arose, although men who are grieving are usually more inclined to be cast down; but because he suffered sadness, yet not one penetrating to the inner depths so as to disturb reason, he showed a sign of sadness in exterior things with respect to two things: namely, with respect to those things that are outside the nature of the body, whence it is said, and he tore his tunic, and with respect to those things that proceed from the nature of the body, whence it is said, and having shaved his head, which among those who grow their hair is customarily an indication of grief. Hence these two signs of sadness fittingly correspond to the adversities set forth above, for the tearing of the tunic corresponds to the loss of things, and the shaving of the head to the loss of children. But the mind stands upright when it is humbly subject to God: for each thing stands in a height of nobility so much the greater, the more it is subject to what perfects it, as air when it is subject to light and matter when it is subject to form. Therefore, that the mind of blessed Job was not cast down by sadness, but persisted in its rectitude, is manifested by the fact that he humbly subjected himself to God, for there follows: falling to the ground, he worshiped, to show an indication of humility and devotion.

33. And not only by deeds did he declare the state of his mind, but also by words; for he reasonably showed that, although he suffered sadness, he ought not to succumb to sadness.

First, indeed, from the condition of nature, whence it is said, and he said: Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, namely, of the earth, which is the common mother of all, naked shall I return there, that is, into the earth; and according to this way Sirach 40:1 says: A great occupation has been created for men, and a heavy yoke upon the children of Adam, from the day of their coming forth from their mother’s womb until the day of burial into the mother of all. It can also be understood otherwise, so that what is said, from my mother’s womb, is taken literally of the womb of the woman who bore him, while what is said, naked shall I return there, is understood in such a way that this word there makes a simple reference: for no one returns a second time into his mother’s womb, but he returns to that state which he had in his mother’s womb in some respect, namely, as regards being alien to human society. Therefore, by saying this he reasonably shows that, because of the loss of exterior goods, a man ought not to be swallowed up by sadness, because exterior goods are not connatural to him but come to him accidentally; this is clear from the fact that man comes into this world without them and departs without them. Hence, when accidental goods have been taken away, if what is substantial remains, a man ought not to be overcome by sadness, although sadness may touch him.

34. Second, he shows the same from divine action, saying, The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. Here first his true judgment concerning divine providence about human affairs must be considered. For in saying, The Lord gave, he confessed that worldly prosperity comes to men not by chance, nor from the fate of the stars, nor from human effort alone, but from divine dispensation; but in saying, The Lord has taken away, he confesses also that worldly adversities occur among men by the judgment of divine providence. Now this leads to the conclusion that man has no just complaint against God if he is stripped of temporal goods, because he who freely gave them could bestow them either until the end or for a time; hence, when he takes temporal things away from man before the end, man cannot complain.

35. Third, he shows the same from the good pleasure of the divine will, saying, As it pleased the Lord, so has it been done. Now friends will and reject the same things; hence, if it proceeds from the divine good pleasure that someone be stripped of temporal goods, if he loves God, he ought to conform his will to the divine will, so that by this consideration he may not be swallowed up by sadness.

36. Therefore these three reasons are set down in due order:

for in the first reason it is set down that temporal goods are extraneous to man,

in the second, that they are given to man and taken away by God,

in the third, that this happens according to the good pleasure of the divine will.

Hence from the first reason it is concluded that, because of the loss of temporal goods, man ought not to be swallowed up by sadness,

from the second, that he cannot even complain,

from the third, that he ought even to rejoice.

For it would not be pleasing to God that someone should suffer adversity unless because of some good resulting from it. Hence adversity, although in itself it is bitter and begets sadness, nevertheless, from the consideration of the usefulness on account of which it is pleasing to God, ought to be joyful, just as it is said of the Apostles: the Apostles went away rejoicing, etc.; for even in taking a bitter medicine someone rejoices according to reason because of the hope of health, although he is disturbed according to sense. And because joy is the matter of thanksgiving, therefore he concludes this third reason in thanksgiving, saying: Blessed be the name of the Lord. Indeed, the name of the Lord is blessed by men insofar as they have knowledge of his goodness, namely, that he disposes all things well and does nothing unjustly.

37. Thus, therefore, the innocence of Job is concluded when it is said: In all these things Job did not sin with his lips, namely, so as to express a movement of impatience by words, nor did he speak any foolish thing against God, that is, anything blasphemous, so as to blaspheme divine providence; for foolishness is opposed to wisdom, which properly is knowledge of divine things.