“Why did I not die in the womb?” Job’s cursing the day of his birth in the interpretations of Gregory the Great and Thomas Aquinas (a comparative approach)

Abstract

The Book of Job presents a just, blameless man, who after being afflicted with great pain and suffering begins to curse the day of his birth. The aim of the article is to elucidate the reasons for and the meaning of Job’s harsh words by comparing two different interpretations of the passage offered by Gregory the Great and Thomas Aquinas. Both expositions seem to be incompatible regarding: the reasons for and the aims of Job’s cursing, the moral evaluation of his cursing, the reasons for and the objects of Job’s sorrow, the virtuous way of expressing sorrow. On the other hand, they seem compatible concerning the admission of the fact of experiencing sorrow by Job and the moral imperative to tame sorrow. The incompatibilities appear to be rooted in two different approaches to passions (the Stoic versus the Peripatetic one) and in different evaluations of earthly life and goods. It is shown that Aquinas’ interpretation is more faithful to the text and relies on a more adequate anthropology and psychology.