Morals on the Book of Job, Volume 3, Part 1 by Pope Gregory I

Therefore, the somewhat fluid translation by Brian Kerns from the standard Latin edition in Corpus Christianorum accurately reflects in contemporary English the conversational tone Gregory must have had in delivering these lectures. 5) both this rationale for the comparative brevity of his interpretation and that the wording reflected that of his lectures virtually word for word. Gregory noted in the beginning of this volume (p. He used this more direct approach in this volume in order to squeeze the examination of a large section of Job (324 verses) within the size constraints of a codex.

In this volume, however, Gregory allowed the lectures to stand as he presented them, focusing on the primary interpretation (usually the moral or typological interpretation) rather than explicating each of the possible senses by which the verse could be interpreted. Volume III, an exposition of Job 12:6–24:20, differs significantly in format from the first volume, in which Gregory later added content to his spoken remarks, delineating the traditional threefold medieval pattern of interpretation of the literal sense, the moral sense, and the typological sense. These homilies were transcribed by stenographers. Then serving as a deacon of the church, Gregory spoke these expositions of Job to some monks in the area and his friend Leander, Archbishop of Seville, to whom the later work was dedicated. As the extremely helpful introduction by Mark DelCogliano notes, Gregory delivered these lectures in Constantinople when Pope Pelagius II sent him there as an ambassador to the imperial court of Tiberius (and later Maurice).

This recent translation of Gregory the Great’s lectures on the book of Job, better known as the Moralia, is a significant contribution to the history of the church.

Morals on the Book of Job, Volume 3, Part 1 by Pope Gregory I