Fathers

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What the Fathers say

Job 39:14

Western Saints

Gregory the Dialogist

When she leaveth her eggs in the earth, wilt thou perchance warm them in the dust? [MYSTICAL INTERPRETATION] 37. In 'eggs' there is one thing which is seen, another which is hoped for: and hope cannot be seen, as Paul witnesses, who says, What a man seeth, why doth he hope for? [Rom. 8, 24] What then is designated by the 'eggs' of the ostrich, but the Apostles born of the flesh of the synagogue? who whilst they present themselves as despised and lowly in the world, teach us to look for glory in heavenly places. …

Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXXI ↗

Thomas Aquinas

There is, however, another property of the ostrich which distinguishes it from other birds, i.e., that she does not hatch her own eggs, but digs in the sand, deposits them there and covers them with sand, and so he says, "she leaves her eggs in the earth." She has a natural instinct for recognizing hot weather, namely, when the constellation called Virgo begins to appear in the month of July. …

Commentary on Job ↗