September, Ninth Day: "Where envying and contention is"

(St. James iii. 16).

I. Consider first, that the zeal here spoken of—for the word translated "envying" is zelus—is the same thing which the Apostle has just before described as "bitter zeal." And that, therefore, it is envy which is meant, for it is frequently called "zeal," because that from which it springs is jealousy of our own reputation; there being always this difference between envying another and hating him, that both do indeed make a man grieve at the good of another, but whereas he who hates his enemy is grieved directly because of evil will against him, he who envies another grieves on account of the love which he bears himself, because he thinks that the exaltation of his adversary must be his own abasement! "Saul was exceeding angry . . . and he said, They have given David ten thousands, and to me they have given but a thousand, what can he have more but the kingdom?" Hence, as St. Augustine says, an equal envies his equal, because he sees that he is on a level with him; the inferior envies his superior, because he is not on a level with him; and the superior envies his inferior because, although he sees that he is not on a level with him, he fears that he may become so. Now, this envy is sometimes shut up in the heart, and then it is simple envy; and sometimes it breaks out into outward act, and then it becomes "contention," which is odious, in proportion to its ambitious character; for contention, according to the same Saint, is nothing else than a quarrelsome persistency in having the precedence in all possible ways, lawful or unlawful, since its object is not the advancement of merit, but of self. Wherever, therefore, an audacious envy of this kind lurks, there, the Apostle declares by Divine inspiration, "is inconstancy and every evil work:" "inconstancy" in the understanding, and "evil work" in the will. Oh, how necessary it is for thee to abhor this miserable condition! Beg of God, therefore, to make thee know the evil of it, so that thou mayest speedily come out of it.

II. Consider secondly, that wherever there is the envy we have spoken of, there is, in the first place, "inconstancy" in the understanding. And this is so, because envy not only darkens it, as every other passion does, but distorts it—"Saul did not look on David with a good eye from that day forward"—so that the man who once appeared to thee deserving of all good, will seem utterly different from what he was, so soon as thou hast begun to envy him. What once appeared to thee to be devotion in him is at once changed into hypocrisy, generosity into effrontery, affability into affectation, and so on with all the qualities which once adorned him in thy eyes. And the reason is, not that the man himself is changed, but that thou art changed towards him: thou dost not "look on him with a good eye." It is that accursed spell, of which we are speaking, that has changed thee: it is envy. Thy understanding, no longer constant, but wavering, has been led by envy to change its judgment, or rather, it is never fixed in one opinion. For envy will sometimes make thee think that thy enemy is really deserving of the honours which he has gained, and at other times that he is undeserving of them. And it is impossible to say whether it disturbs thee most when it represents him as justly or unjustly honoured. Hence it is that this wretched inconstancy of judgment must necessarily show itself in thy manner of speaking of him, sometimes making thee appear reluctant to believe in the greatness of the credit which thou hearest attributed to him, so that thou persuadest thyself that it is less than is represented; and again, making thee believe it to be even greater than it is: and thus thou art never at rest. And although thou wouldst fain hide the poison hidden within thy heart, thou art unable to do so, but despite thyself it will in the end betray itself in thy words, so far will thy agitation carry thee: "An evil spirit troubled him." Hence it comes to pass that, in speaking of thy rival, it is impossible for thee to do so consistently, but after joining in praising him to some extent with those who speak well of him, for fear of openly showing thy envious disposition, by and bye in talking with others who blame him, thou wilt even go beyond them, in order to embrace an opportunity of depreciating him. And thus it is very easy for those who observe thee to perceive thy inconstancy: "And the servants of Saul said to him, An evil spirit troubleth thee." It must be remarked, however, that there is a master-stroke of art which always is practised by thee in blaming another, and which is the exact reverse of that which flatterers generally adopt, availing themselves of that affinity which exists between a man's virtues and vices; so that whereas they, for instance, call the cunning of some prince prudence, avarice thrift, insolence courage, ferocity justice; thou, on the contrary, art wont to call the justice of thy enemy ferocity, his courage insolence, his thrift avarice, his prudence cunning; and in this way thou makest a bad use of this affinity between vices and virtues in order to give a colour to the malignity of the passion that troubles thee: "Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?" What has been here said is enough to show thee whether envy has taken root in thy heart, for the signs which have been mentioned are considered by many the very clearest which betray its existence.

III. Consider thirdly, that just as there is inconstancy in the understanding wherever there is this envy of which we have spoken so much—"there is inconstancy"—so also is there "every evil work" in the will. To explain this, it is commonly said that envy transports a man to the greatest excesses of wickedness, so that, when he perceives that he can do no more to injure his adversary's reputation by words, he accomplishes it by deeds, and in this way goes on to deceit, plots, treachery, violence, and even to the most terrible murders that have been known in the world: "And Saul became David's enemy continually." But there is another reason why it may be said that where envy is, there is "every evil work," not only "there will be," but "there is;" because envy is in itself an epitome of all wickedness: "An evil beast." And so, if thou examinest other vices, thou wilt see that each one of them is opposed to some virtue, but only to its opposite, and that therefore that vice which is opposed to one particular virtue is not opposed to another. Gluttony is opposed to temperance, but not to liberality; cruelty to mercy, but not to chastity; anger to meekness, but not to frugality; deceit to loyalty, but not to long-suffering; and so on with all other vices: but it is not so with envy. Envy is the only vice which is opposed to all the virtues: because it is tormented by the sight of them all, as though they were all its opposites, and so it would fain either lessen, or uproot, or turn them all into vices: "Wherefore the Philistines, envying him, stopped up at that time all the wells that the servants of his father Abraham had digged, filling them up with earth." In the same way, when any other vice occasions an evil of one sort, it necessarily hinders another: if it makes a man avaricious, it prevents his being prodigal; if it makes him audacious, it prevents his being pusillanimous, and so on. But not so envy: envy, so far from preventing any evil, encourages all. Therefore, as thou seest, it was envy which brought them all into the world: "By the envy of the devil death came into the world." And so there is something devilish in the conduct of the envious, for they, like the devil, are grieved at the good, and rejoice at the harm which happens to man. This is the reason of the word used by the Apostle, which is translated "evil;" it is not opus malum, but opus pravum, because the evil of the works wrought by the envious is not an evil done by chance, but of purpose; it is sharpened by malice and poisoned by malignity, and so it is an evil which springs from an utterly perverted will, like the evil wrought by the devil. And canst thou give admittance to such an evil as this within thy heart?

IV. Consider fourthly, that although envy is really so very hard to cure, that it is on that account compared to a corruption lurking in the bones—"Envy is the rottenness of the bones"—yet even it can be cured by the grace of God. But the remedies must be applied in time, otherwise the gangrene will become a grievous malady, only to be healed by a miracle; and this is why envy, when it has reached the highest pitch of iniquity, is counted among those sins which are said to be sins against the Holy Ghost, for it is not just that He should do good to one who grieves at the good which He does to others. These remedies are of two kinds: one speculative, the other practical. The first is to attain to a clear knowledge of the injury thou art doing to thyself by envy. For whereas, if thou accustomest thyself to rejoice in the good of another, all his good becomes thine by means of that beautiful act of charity, so that thou, too, mayest say to God with exceeding joy, "I am a partaker with all them that fear Thee," so, on the contrary, if thou art displeased at it, all the good of another is changed instantly into thy evil, and a very grievous evil: bodily evil, which afflicts, agitates, and torments thee in vain; and mental evil, which makes thee as hateful to God as a devil, who persecutes with enmity the good which God does to the world. What a mad bargain is this! To change all the good of others into evil for thyself, when thou mightest so easily turn it to thy own good: "With a good eye do according to the ability of thy hands; for the Lord maketh recompense, and will give thee seven times as much." The second remedy is to be prompt in repressing the first motions of this detestable vice, so that if the devil, like a serpent, as a rule lurks at thy heel, that is, at the end of every good work, to prevent its proceeding to a good issue—"Thou shalt lie in wait for her heel"—thou, on the contrary, shouldst at once endeavour to crush his head by attacking the temptation which he arouses in thee at its first beginnings: "She shall crush thy head." And this is to be done, in the case we are considering, in three ways: in the heart, in words, and in works. In the heart, by praying immediately to God for the person against whom the devil is striving to excite thy envy, and by wishing him all prosperity, grace, honour, and happiness. In words, by purposely speaking well of him when thou hast an opportunity, and still more by not saying anything to the contrary when thou feelest annoyance at hearing him spoken well of by others. In works, by endeavouring, if possible, to assist in advancing his interests in any matter, so far as justice allows. Do this, and the gangrene will be cured as by the application of steel and fire. The steel is the first remedy, coming from the understanding, and probing the hideous wound so as to discover all the corrupt matter contained in it. The fire is the second remedy, which arises from the will, and which absorbs this matter by acts of charity, which are effectual in proportion to their fervour.