Chapter I.
Noah, a just man who was left to renew the seed of mankind, should be held up as an example for everyone to imitate, so that we may also find rest from all the anxieties of this world and the works of iniquity.
We try to explain the life, character, actions, and even the depth of his mind. For when the prophet himself (Jer. 17:9) says that nothing is more difficult than understanding the interior of a man, how much more difficult is it to know the mind of a just man? Indeed, he whom the Lord God has reserved to renew the seed of men, so that he might be the source of justice; it is fitting that we also describe him for the imitation of all, and rest in him from all the anxieties of this world, which we endure daily through various disturbances. It is shameful to survive for our children, it is wearying when we hear of so many adversities, to seize this light of the most dear ones: to undergo or to accept in our spirit the various waves and storms of the Churches themselves, who is so strong that they can bear it patiently? And therefore, this rest was also something that we must strive for; so that while we consider the holy Noah with greater attention, we may ourselves be refreshed, just as all kinds found rest from their works and sorrows in him.
2. Therefore, Noah is said to mean 'just' or 'rest' in Latin. Moreover, his parents said, 'Because he will make us rest from our work, and from sadness, and from the land that the Lord God cursed' (Gen. V, 29). Surely, if you think about what happened, when the flood occurred under him, it seems not to be rest for mankind, but rather destruction; not a relief from evils, but rather an accumulation of miseries. But if you consider the mindset of a just man, you will observe that justice is born to benefit others rather than oneself; it seeks not what is advantageous to itself, but what is advantageous to all. This is what allows us to find rest from wicked deeds, and it calls us back from sadness. For while we engage in what is just, we have no fear due to the security of a pure conscience, and we do not feel the burden of heavy sorrow. For there is nothing that causes greater pain than the guilt of wrongdoing. Let us also rest from all the cares of earthly life, which constantly harass our body and soul with pains, and wear down our life.