N the following chapters it is the purpose of the writer to deal not simply with the deeply interesting Book of! Job, but also, and much rather, with the important problem, with which the book is concerned, viz., the problem of human suffering, so as, if possible, to consider the whole subject, from its earliest forms, down to our own time, and trace the progress of thought upon a matter that has engaged the best consideration of men in successive ages of the world's history. The Book of Job is a classic of the greatest value in this connection, and, as we shall see in full detail, it makes a most impressive contribution to the solution of the whole question.