Chapter 28
| Collection: | The Book of Job and 42 Paintings |
| Author: | Fr. Antonio Oteiza |
| Type: | Painting |
| Location: | Cataloguing Room |
| Characteristics: | Acrylic paint on cardboard |
| Artwork: |
Click to enlarge |
| Description: |
Silver has its veins, and gold a place where it is refined. Iron is extracted from the earth, and bronze is obtained by smelting rock. Man sets a boundary to darkness and explores the farthest recesses, the darkest caverns. A foreign people dig galleries; forgotten by passing feet, they hang suspended and sway far from other men. The earth that gives bread is overturned below by subterranean fire. Its stones contain deposits of sapphires, and its clods hold nuggets of gold. The vulture does not know its path, nor does the eye of the hawk perceive it. Proud beasts have not trodden it, nor have lions walked upon it. Man lays his hand upon the flint and uproots mountains from their foundations. He cuts galleries through the rock, his eyes alert to everything precious. He dams the sources of rivers and brings what is hidden into the light. But Wisdom—where can it be found? Where is the source of understanding? Man does not know its price; it cannot be found in the land of the living. The Ocean says, “It is not in me,” and the Sea replies, “It is not with me.” It cannot be obtained in exchange for pure gold, nor can silver be weighed out as its price. It cannot be valued against the gold of Ophir, precious onyx or sapphire. Neither gold nor glass can pay for it, nor can it be exchanged for vessels of fine gold. Crystal and coral do not count, and acquiring it costs more than pearls. The topaz of Nubia cannot equal it, nor can it be compared with the purest gold. Where, then, does Wisdom come from? Where is the source of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature and concealed from the birds of heaven. Death and the Abyss confess: “We have heard only rumours of its fame.” God alone knows its way; he alone knows where it is found, for he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything beneath the heavens. When he appointed the weight of the wind and determined the measure of the waters, when he laid down a law for the rain and a path for lightning and thunder, then he saw Wisdom and assessed it; he examined it and established it. And he said to man: “To revere the Lord is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.” |
