10. To this man let them26432643 look who
put themselves to death when they are sought for to have life put
upon them; and by bereaving themselves of the present, deny and
refuse also that which is to come. Why, if people were driving them
to deny Christ or to do any thing contrary to righteousness, like
true Martyrs, they ought rather to bear all patiently than to dare
death impatiently. If it could be right to do this for the sake of
running away from evils, holy Job would have killed himself, that
being in so great evils, in his estate, in his sons, in his limbs,
through the devil’s cruelty, he might escape them all. But he did
it not. Far be it from him, a wise man, to commit upon himself what
not even that unwise woman suggested. And if she had suggested it,
she would with good reason here also have had that answer which she
had when suggesting blasphemy; “Thou hast spoken as one of the
foolish women. If we have received good at the hand of the Lord,
shall we not bear evil?”26442644 Seeing even he also would have
lost patience, if either by blasphemy as she had suggested, or by
killing himself which not even she had dared to speak of, he should
die, and be among them of whom it is written, “Woe unto them that
have lost patience!”26452645 and rather increase than escape
pains, if after the death of his body he should be hurried off to
punishment either of blasphemers, or of murderers, or of them which
are worse even than parricides. For if a parricide be on that
account more wicked than any homicide, because he kills not merely
a man but a near relative; and among parricides too, the nearer the
person killed, the greater criminal he is judged to be: without
doubt worse still is he who kills himself, because there is none
nearer to a man than himself. What then do these miserable persons
mean, who, though both here they have inflicted pain upon
themselves, and hereafter not only for their impiety towards God
but for the very cruelty which they have exercised upon themselves
will deservedly suffer pains of His inflicting, do yet seek
moreover the glories of Martyrs? since, even if for the true
testimony of Christ they suffered persecution, and killed
themselves, that they might not suffer any thing from their
persecutors, it would be rightly said to them, “Woe unto them
which have lost patience!” For how hath patience her just reward,
if even an impatient suffering receives the crown? or how shall
that man be judged innocent, to whom is said, “Thou shall love
thy neighbor as thyself,”26462646 if he commit murder upon himself
which he is forbidden to commit upon his neighbor?
