77. On Envy and Jealousy

77.—On Envy and Jealousy.

SS. CYPRIAN, CHRYSOSTOM, and BASIL.

"By the envy of the devil death came into the world, and they follow him that are of his side."—WISDOM ii. 24, 25.

[ST. CYPRIAN was born in the year 200 at Carthage. In his forty-sixth year he was converted to Christianity, and in 248 he was made Bishop of Carthage. On the 14th of September 258 he was beheaded at Carthage, because, in opposition to the orders of the Government, he had preached the gospel, in his own gardens.

Lactantius calls him one of the most eloquent of the early Fathers of the Church. St. Jerome compares his style to a spring of the purest water, whose course is mild and peaceable. Others have compared it, perhaps with more reason, to a torrent, which draws down with it, all that impedes its progress.

All his writings have been translated into French by Lombert, and published in the year 1672 in four volumes.]

OH! ye who are envious, let me tell you, that however often you may seek for the opportunity of injuring him, whom you hate, you will never be able to do him so much harm, as you do harm to yourselves.

He, whom you would pursue through the malice of your envy, may probably escape, but you will never be able to fly from yourselves. Wherever you may be, your adversary is with you, your sin rankles within.

It must be a self-willed evil, to persecute a person whom God has taken under the protection of His grace; it becomes an irremediable sin, to hate a man whom God wishes to make happy.

Envy is as prolific as it is hurtful; it is the root of all evil, the source of endless disorder and misery, the cause of most sins that are committed. Envy gives birth to hatred and animosity. From it, avarice is begotten, for it sees with an evil eye honours and emoluments heaped upon a stranger, and thinks that such honours should have been, by right, bestowed upon himself. From envy, comes contempt of God, and of the salutary precepts of our Saviour.

The envious man is cruel, proud, unfaithful, impatient, and quarrelsome; and, what is strange, when this vice gains the mastery, he is no longer master of himself, and he is unable to correct his many faults. If the bond of peace is broken, if the rights of fraternal charity are violated, if truth is altered or disguised, it is often envy, that hurries him on to crime.

What happiness can such a man enjoy in this world? To be envious or jealous of another, because such a one is virtuous and happy, is to hate in him, the graces and blessings God has showered down upon him.

Does he not punish himself when he sees the success and welfare of others? Does he not draw down upon himself tortures, from which there is no respite? Are not his thoughts, his mind, constantly on the rack?

He pitilessly punishes himself, and, in his heart, performs the same cruel office which Divine Justice reserves, for the chastisement of the greatest criminal.

ST. CYPRIAN.

De Zelo. Oh! envious man, you injure yourself, more than he, whom you would injure, and the sword with which you wound, will recoil and wound yourself. What harm did Cain do to Abel? Contrary to his intention, he did him the greatest good, for he caused him to pass to a better and a blessed life, and he himself was plunged into an abyss of woe. In what did Esau injure Jacob? Did not his envy prevent him from being enriched in the place, in which he lived; and, losing the inheritance and the blessing of his father, did he not die a miserable death? What harm did the brothers of Joseph do to Joseph, whose envy went so far as to wish to shed his blood? Were they not driven to the last extremity, and well nigh perishing with hunger, whilst their brother reigned all through Egypt?

It is ever thus; the more you envy your brother, the greater good you confer upon him. God, who sees all, takes the cause of the innocent in hand, and, irritated by the injury you inflict, deigns to raise up him, whom you wish to lower, and will punish you to the full extent of your crime.

If God usually punishes those, who rejoice at the misfortunes of their enemies, how much more will He punish those who, excited by envy, seek to do an injury to those who have never injured them?

ST. CHRYSOSTOM.

Sermon 40.

Envy is a gnawing pain which springs from the success and prosperity of another; and this is the reason why the envious are never exempt, from trouble and vexation. If an abundant harvest fills the granaries of a neighbour, if success crowns his efforts, the envious man is chagrined and sad. If one man can boast of prudence, talent, and eloquence; if another is rich, and is very liberal to the poor, if good works are praised by all around, the envious man is shocked and grieved.

The envious, however, dare not speak; although envy makes them counterfeit gladness, their hearts are sore within. If you ask him what vexes him, he dare not tell the reason. It is not really the happiness of his friend that annoys him, neither is it his gaiety that makes him sad, nor is he sorry to see his friend prosper; but it is, that he is persuaded that the prosperity of others, is the cause of his misery.

This is what the envious would be forced to acknowledge, if they spoke the truth sincerely; but because they dare not confess so shameful a sin, they, in secret, feed a sore which tortures them and eats away their rest.

As the shadow ever accompanies the pedestrian when walking in the sun, so envy throws its shadow on those who are successful in the world.

ST. BASIL.

De Invidia.