The Amendment of Life, Book 2 · Chapter 20
Of Enuie. Chap. 20.
NOw let vsus ſpeake of Enuie the ſiſter and inſeperable companion of couetouſneſſe and ambition,Wiſd. 1.24. Auguſtine of Chriſt. Doctrine. which likewiſe proceedeth of a fooliſh & wicked ſelfe louelove. As it is written in the booke of wiſedome. Thorow Enuie of the Deuill, death came into the world. Which Saint Auguſtine alſo confirmeth, ſaying. Enuie is a deueliſh vice, whereof the Deuill is vnpardonably guiltie in the ſight of God. For in the ſentence of the Deuils damnation, it is not ſaide that he had committed adulterie or theft, but that hee had enuyed the ſtate of man, created to the image of God. Againe,Petrarck of the remedies of fortune. whereas all other vices doe breede ſome pleaſure and contentment, albeit but falſe and wretched: OnelyOnly Enuie engendereth nothing but ſorrow: feedeth vponupon miſchiefe: grieueth at others good: and in it ſelfe alreadie hath that euill which it wiſheth to others.Aug. In a certaine Sermon And indeede Enuie is a paſsion in the ſoule, yeelding ſorrow and heauineſſe for ſuch benefites as other hauehave, that may bee deſireable, amiable, or commendable, and thereof enſueth a hatred of their felicitie and proſperitie: If they be our betters, becauſe we be not ſo good as they: If our inferiours, leaſt they ſhould grow equall with vsus:Plut. of curioſitie. If our equals, for feare they ſhoulde get before vsus.
2 Concerning the firſt. We ordinarily ſee, that they which are endued with the greateſt vertues, and exalted into higheſt proſperitie, are ſubiect to Enuie, as Ariſtotle ſaith. That Enuie is the enemie that aſſaulteth vertue and others proſperitie.Plut. of Enuie and hatred. Alſo as there is no ſhadow, where there is no ſunne: ſo where there is no proſperitie, there is no Enuie. We doe Enuie, ſaith Plutarch, ſuch as proſper, and therefore as they that are tender ſighted, doe finde themſelues grieued with eueryevery light and bright obiect, ſo is it with the enuious in eueryevery the proſperitie of others. Whereupon he compareth enuious perſons to Cantharides, a certaine greene and venimous worme, or a Flie that vſually feedeth vponupon wheate when it waxeth ripe, and roſes in their pride: for ſo doth the enuious man: he taketh againſt thoſe that be honeſt,Cicero to Heren. lib. 4. & greeueth at the encreaſe of other mens vertue: Cicero alſo ſaith that Enuie as a companion to vertue do ſtill proſ…cute the good. And therefore Seneca aptly ſaith.Seneca of maners. It is more eaſie for a poore man to ſhunne contempt, then for a rich man to auoide Enuie.
3 Enuie vſeth onelyonly one point of diſcretion and temperance, which is this. That ſeldome or neuer…t medleth with thoſe, whoſe greatneſſe and excellencie doe take from the enuious all hope of attaining to the like degree.Ariſto. in his Rhet. lib. 2. And this doth Ariſtotle note, ſaying. Enuie for the moſt part ſeaſeth vponupon that which it may beſt ouertake or out goe: and that in this conſideration, men neuer Enuie the dead,Plut. of Enuie and hatred. neither ſuch as in greatneſſe do without compariſon exceede them. Father, as Plutarch ſaith, thoſe that in age doe farre out goe them. And in that ſence it is written that Enuie is many times extinguiſhed by the greatnes and excellencie of other mens proſperitie. And for example hee addeth ſaying. No man enuied Alexander the great or Cirus when they had attained the tipe of their deuiſes. For as the ſunne beating directly vponupon the crowne of the head, yeeldeth but a ſmall ſhadow, ſo they that are in eminencie farre aboue vsus, doe purchaſe ſmall Enuie againſt them. And therefore hee very properly compareth enuie vntounto ſmoke, which ſo long as the fire is but ſmall maketh a great ſhew: but ſo ſoone as it ſtaineth vaniſheth away; or at the leaſt appeareth nothing ſo plainely as at the firſt.
4 As for thoſe that be equall in degree, it is an old-ſaying that the earthen potter enuieth the potter,Eraſ. in his Chiliads. whether for gaine or for reputatation and honor: & this doth another prouerbe note ſaying. The neighbours eye is alwaies an enemie and enuieth. For ſurely men cannot abide that others of their owne callings ſhould bee better thought of or come to be greater then themſelues.Gen. 4. As Cain enuied Abell,Gen. 30.1. becauſe the ſacrifice of Abell was more acceptable in the ſight of God then his. Rachell enuied her ſiſter Leah, becauſe God gaue her iſſue, & none to her ſelfe.Gen. 37.4. Likewiſe Iacobs children enuied their brother Ioſeph becauſe he was their fathers darling. This enuie alſo extendeth to our inferiors as Saul was ſore wounded therewith againſt Dauid,1. Sam. 1…. by hearing the ſong of the daughters of Iſraell. Saul hath ſlaine one thouſand, and Dauid ten thouſand.
5 But as ſelfe louelove is ſuch a plague as that all the children of Adam are therewith poyſoned, ſo the enuie that groweth thereof is but ouer common and too deepely rooted, euen in thoſe that profeſſe themſelues to be the children of God. And therefore as Ieſus Chriſt admoniſheth vsus to Amend our liues: ſo let vsus Amend in reſpect of this vice, whereby eſpecially we approch and draw neere to the malice of Deuils, the enuiers and enemies of the glorie of God & ſaluation of mankind. And to that end let vsus conſider that if we could truely louelove our ſelues, we would forſake enuie, which aboue all vice doth moſt cruelly and vnceſtantly torment thoſe that are poyſoned therewith.Plut. of Enuy and hatred. Proſper of cō templ. lyfe. lib. 3 c. 9. Aug. To Iulian, Epiſt. 111 Great Alexander ſaid that the enuious, are both executioners, and tortures to themſelues. And herevpon ſaid an auncient father. Enuie is a tormenting of the minde, grounded vponupon the good of others. Enuie, ſaith Saint Auguſtine, reſembleth a ſhip toſſed with the waues of the ſea. It is ſti… …oubled. It is alſo like to a rauening Wolfe, mad without a cauſe: Alwaies in miſerie: and ſetting ſure ſooting, is brought to nothing. By continual raging it is made a pertaker with Deuils. Enuie,Cyprian of zeale and Enuie. Baſil of Enuy Proue. 14.13 ſaith Cyprian, is a moth to the ſoule, a Canker to the thought, & a ruſt to the ſoule. And in this ſence ſaith Baſill. As ruſt conſumeth the yron, ſo doth enuie waſt the man that is poſſeſſed therewith. The ſame doth Salomon meane, wher he ſaith: Enuie is the rotting of the bones. Moſes propoundeth a notable example hereof in Cayn,Gen. 4.5. ſaying, His countenance fell downe, yea which is more. As it is ſaide that the viper by deuouring the wombe of her damme maketh her paſſage forth,Baſil of Enuy Iob. 5.2. ſo enuie eateth & conſumeth the ſoule of that man that in his hart hath conceiued her, and hereupon ſaith Iob, As anger ſlayeth the foole, ſo enuie killeth the Idiot. And in this ſence ſaid Socrates, enuie is as a fret to the ſoule.
Petrarck. his remedies for both fortunes6 It might ſuffice that our owne calamities, which are both great and manifold, ſhould torment vsus, albeit wee were not tormented by other mens felicitie, and ſo made our ſelues two folde miſerable. But that will not this accurſed enuie, the enemie of her hoſtes quiet, abide as Anacharſis very fitly declareth. For being demanded wherefore men are many times ſorrowfull, hee ſaith, becauſe that beſides their owne cauſes had troubled them,Eraſ. Apotheg lib. 7. Plutarch in his Lacon. Apotheg. they are alſo grieued at the felicity of others. And to this purpoſe, By as beholding the ſad countenance of an enuious man, ſaide vntounto him. Eyther thy ſelfe haſt had ſome miſhappe, or ſome other body, ſome good. The ſame alſo doth Agis the firſt King of the Lacedemonians note: For being informed that certaine of another familie enu…ed his proſperitie, hee aunſwered: Then ſhall their griefes bee doubled, if they be grieued both at their owne miſeries and at the felicitie of me and mine. Heereof alſo followeth the ſame which experience teacheth,Proſper of cō templ. lyfe. li. 3. c. 5 &. c. 9 Seneca of maner. 5. and Proſper confirmeth, ſaying: The enuyous man hath as many tormentors tormenting him, as enuie hath people that prayſe him. And therefore Seneca ſayth, I could with that the eyes of the enuious were ſo opened that in euerie towne they might beholde all that be in proſperitie, whereby their torments might bee increaſed. For as the ioyes of the happie doe encreaſe, ſo doe the ſorrowes of the enuious multiply. And to the ſame purpoſe in another place he ſaith. We can no waie more vex the enuious man,Seneca in his Epiſtle. then by applying our ſelues to vertue and honor. And indeede the poyſon of enuie doth in nature farre differ from the poyſon of Serpentes, whoſe poyſon hurteth other but not themſelues: but the poyſon of the enuious hurteth themſelues but not others. The enuious man, ſayth Cyprian, conuerteth the good of another to his owne hurt:Cyprian of zeale and Enuie. Hee tormenteth himſelfe at the felicitie of others: The glorie of others is an heartbreaking to him: The proſperitie of others is a tormenter to moleſt his ſoule, and as it were, to rent it in peeces: Hee hath no taſte in his meate or drinke: hee continually ſobbeth and ſigheth: Night or day, his ſorrowes are neuer at an ende: And the more that hee proſpereth, whome hee doth enuie, the more doth he feele the kindling of his owne paſsions and griefes. This breedeth in him a threatning looke, a crooked countenaunce, a pale face, trembling lips, gna…hing of teeth, furious ſpeeches, exceſsiue iniuries, a readie hand to miſcheefe and where his ſworde will not preuaile, he ſlayeth in heart by hatred and malice. There is ſome hope of Cure for viſible woundes, but the wound of enuie that lurketh in the hart can hauehave no helpe. Then he addeth, O enuious wretch. Whoſe enemie art thou but thy owne? The man whom thou hating doſt enuy, can depart from thee, but thou canſt not depart from thy ſelfe. Wherſoeuer thou become, thy enemie is ſtil in thy boſome, thy aduerſarie reſteth in thy hart, thy deſtruction is ſhut vp in thy ſelfe.
7 Theſe torments of enuie hauehave the Poets liuely laid open. As Virgil, Enuy to a wicked man is a putrifying poyſon, which drieth vp the marow, yet hurteth not the bone,Ouid Meta. 2. & waſteth the bloud moſt bitterly. Another Poet to repreſēt the paſsions of enuy, ſaith thus.
Her lippes were pale, her cheekes were wan, and all her face was ſwart,
Her body leaue as any rake, ſhee looked as askew,
Her teeth were furd with fylth and droſie, her gummes were watriſh blew,
The working of her ſeſtred gaule had made her stomake greene,Horace.
And all be …e…omd was her tonge, no ſleepe her eyes had ſeene, &c.
The ſame doth another confirme by the examples of the Sicilian kings, ſaying. Enuie hath euer beene the chiefeſt tormentor of the liues of the Sicilian kings.
8 Which is more. Enuie, not contented to grieue at the proſperitie of others, doth euermore apprehend it as indeede it is: Yea ſhe alwaies imagineth it greater then it is, thereby to enforce her owne ſorrow and miſerie.Pentane. And therefore as on a time there grew a queſtion among diuers Phiſitians, concerning the cheefeſt helpe to the eye, as one ſaide Fennell, another Glaſſe. &c. Nay ſayth one, It is enuie: for ſhe ſtill cauſeth other mens goods to ſeeme greater then they are: and confirmed his ſpeech by this authoritie of a Poet, ſaying.
The neighbours fieldes are euermore with corne much better ſped,Ouid.
Their ſtockes in milke more plentifull, how euer they be fed.
9 The feeling of this ſorrow, anguiſh, heauines, and torment bred in the hart by enuie, might make vsus to loath and deteſt it: Yet is there farther occaſion.Rom. 13.10. Col. 3.14. 1. Ioh. 4.7. Ioh. 13, 35. 1. Cor. 13. There is nothing more repugnant to Charitie, which notwithſtanding is, as Saint Paul ſaith, The fulfilling of the law: The bond of perfectnes: The true marke of the children of God: As Ieſus Chriſt alſo ſaith, Herein ſhall men know that yee are my Diſciples, if yee louelove one another, euen as I hauehave loued you. LoueLove, ſayth Saint Paule, Enuieth not: She reioyceth not in vnrighteouſnes, but reioyceth in the truth. And contrariwiſe. The enuious man mourneth and afflictions as is aforeſaid,Nazianz. in his firſt book of diuinitie. Chriſoſtome on Mathew, Hom. 41. therin reſembling ſlies that light vponupon wounds, and cleuing to the ſame do there at ſucke their ſuſtenance: Or as the Dorre who naturally lurking in dung taketh her food thereof: ſo doth the enuious man grow fat in other mens calamities. Can there then be any thing more repugnant to charitie and this vnion of the members of Chriſtes body, which, as Saint Paul ſaith, Cauſeth them to hauehave the ſame care one for another? So that if one member ſuffer, Cor. 12.25.all ſuffer with it, if one bee had in honour, all the reſt reioyce with it? And therfore it is a ſhame to vsus Chriſtians, that we do not vnderſtand it, and the rather becauſe euen the heathen doe inſtruct vsus,Plut. of Enuie and hatred. as among others, Plutarch, who ſaith. Hatred and Enuie are directlye oppoſite to louelove, which reioyceth in other mens felicitie.
10 Likewiſe as enuie is repugnant to louelove, ſo is thee contrarie to the peace and concord that ſhould dwell among the children of God.Iam. 3.14. & 16. In this ſence doth S. Iames tearme her bytter, thereby vnderſtanding that ſhe is a poyſon of a Cankered will, conuerting all to bitterneſſe, whereupon doe enſue contention and debate, and therefore he addeth. For where enuying and ſtrife is, there is ſedition and all manner of euill workes. Plutarch alſo ſaith. Enuie and Ielouzie are paſsions which euermore doe engender vſuall and daungerous enmitie.Plut. of profit to be taken of enemies. And ſo it is the more pernitious, in reſpect, that as the ſame Author ſaith, ordynarily it followeth ſuch as deale in matters of eſtate, wherein contention and enuie are moſt hurtfull. Hereupon ſaith Antiſthenes.Laertius. It is in vaine to cleanſe Wheate from Chaſſe, and to purge an armie of vnprofitable ſouldiers, vnleſſe wee alſo purge the common wealth of all enuious perſons and baniſh them from among vsus.
11 Moreouer as enuie ordinarily accompanieth hatred, which Saint Iohn placeth in the degrees of murder:1. Ioh. 3, 15. So doth it beare ſuch ſway in ſome that it plungeth them headlong in murder & al horrible wickednes. Who moued the deuil to vrge man to eate of the forbidden fruit, wherby to throw him downe, & to draw him with himſelfe into euerlaſting death?Wiſd. 2.24. The booke of Wiſedome, as is aforeſaid, teſtifieth that it was enuie. What cauſed Cayn ſo cruelly to murder his brother Abell? Eunie as the holy Scripture plainely noteth. God warneth him to forbeare, yet hee went forward. And indeed as Chriſoſtom ſaith,Gen. 4.5. Cain enuying his brother, cold not diſgeſt the hatred that he had cōceaued: but the more that God warned him,1. Sam. 18. the more did his ſorow, anguiſh & hatred encreaſe, which driue him to ſhed his brothers bloud. Who ſtirred vp Saul ſo often and by ſo many deuiſes to attempt, & to ſeeke to kill Dauid? Yea when he had ſo often miſled & with his owne mouth acknowledged his wrong, yet to purſue him ſo obſtinately to the death? Euen that accurſed enuie, that was firſt engendered of this,Gen. 37. that the daughters of Iſraell in their ſong, Saule hath ſlaine his thouſand, and Dauid his tenne thouſand, preferred Dauid before him, and afterward encreaſed by Samuels anointing him to be King. What moued the ſonnes of Iacob to reſolue vponupon Ioſephs death, and when they had defiled his coate with bloud, to ſend it to their father, whereby to vexe him with moſt cruell and mortall ſorrow and heauineſſe, and laſtly to ſell him to the Iſmaelites, to carie him into Egypt, & ſo to ſeperate him from the Church, & conſequently to abandon his body to tribulation, and his ſoule to deſtruction? The ſole enuie that they had conceiued againſt him for the priuate affection that Iacob bare vntounto him,Mat. 21.15. which afterward was encreaſed through his dreames. To bee ſhort. What induced the high Prieſts and Scribes,Mat. 27.18. at the hands of Iudas a traitor to his Lord and Maſter, to buy Ieſus Chriſt, to deliuer him into the hands of Pilate, & ſo obſtinately to purſue him to the death? So euident was their enuie that Pilate himſelfe (as S. Mathew noteth) knew that for enuie they had deliuered him. In this ſence doth Paule,Gal. 5.21. ſpeaking of the frutes of the fleſh, ioyne murder with enuie, as the curſed frute thereof.
12 To conclude,Plut. of Enuie and hatred. what a villanous & abhominable vice is enuie ſaith Plutarch: conſidering that many can confeſſe that they hate him whom they doe not enuie? Sooner will they acknowledge themſelues to be poſſeſſed with wrath, feare, hatred,Chriſoſtome vponupon Mathew or ſome other like paſsion and vice, then confeſſe any enuie, as teſtifieng therby that enuy is the moſt villanous & deteſtable diſeaſe that can come to the ſoule. Chriſoſtome doth aptly deſcribe the Original of this diſeaſe, ſaying He that enuieth, p…rchaſeth to himſelfe reproch, and honor to him that is enuied. For as ambition is the mother & nurſe of enuie, ſo is there nothing more contrarie to ambition then the acknowledgement that a man is enuious, conſidering that enuie is a confeſsion that the enuied is endued with greater vertue, proſperitie or ſome other excellencie, then he that enuieth.
13 In as much therfore as enuie engendreth ſo many tormen…s & vexations in our harts: that nothing is more contrarie to louelove: that it breedeth hatred, ſtrife & debate: that it draweth men to commit murder and other horrible tranſgreſsions: To be ſhort, that euen among men it is ſo deteſtable that they will rather colour it with other vices then acknowledge it: Let vsus, to the end according to the admonition of Ieſus Chriſt to amend our liues, refraine al ſelfe louelove, and conſequently all enuie. Let eueryevery man bee content with that eſtate and condition, whereto God hath called him, & faithfully imploy himſelfe therin, euer waiting the bleſsing of the Lord, without enuying others proſperitie. Let vsus remember that the enuious man pretendeth to oppoſe himſelfe againſt the prouidence & liberty of God, as grieuing at the good that God vouchſafeth to thoſe whom he pleaſeth, after his owne wiſedome and power: and that to ſuch enuious perſons belongeth the ſaying of Ieſus Chriſt. Is thine eye euill becauſe I am good, or, is it not lawfull for me to doe as I wil with mine own? Mat. 20.15.Neither muſt we forget that the end of our liues ought to tend to ſerue, not our ſelues, but God & our neighbour: & that it is a moſt monſtrous ſin for vsus to enuie that good which our ſelues either doe or ſhould procure and ſet forward. Yea that we euen make a skorne of God, when, according to our duties, wee pray vntounto him to enreaſe his mercies and bleſsings to our neighbours, and in the meane time do enuie, and are ſorie for their weldoing, and proſperitie through the bleſsings of God. As alſo wee ought in our harts to print this ſaying of Chriſoſtome.Chriſoſtome hom. 36. As by enuying of others we offend God: ſo by reioycing at their proſperitie wee ſhall be pertakers of their goods: Saint Cyprian alſo exhorteth vsus to imitate the good,Cyprian of zeale & Enuy if we can follow them: yet if wee can not follow them, reioyce, ſayth he, at their good. In liew of enuiing, make your ſelues pertakers through ſteadfaſt louelove: make your ſelues coheires of their goods by the coniunction of louelove and brotherly vnion. Finally let vsus remember that there is but one commendable and profitable kinde of enuie, euen the ſame that we ſo beare to the vertuous, as to imitate their vertue: As Themiſtocles giuing a reaſon why hee, who in his yoouth was bent wholly to pleaſures,Plut. in his Apotheg. Auguſtine vponupon 139. Pſal. had laſtly applyed his mind to vertue, ſaith, that the victorie of Miltiades would not ſuffer him to ſleep. As Auguſtine alſo commendeth that enuy of the righteous that pricketh vsus forward to become righteous with them.