Of Peace and Contentment of Mind, Book 3 · Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII. Of Envy.
HEre is one more of the Daughters of Pride, and therefore a grandchild of Ignorance and Selfe love. She is much like Hatred her elder Siſter. In this they differ, that Hatred is bent againſt the evill; and Envy, againſt the good. But to ſhew herſelfe deſcended from Ignorance, ſhe miſtakes the falſe goods for the true; For no man will envy the Chriſtian vertues of his neighbours, nor the riches of his minde, but the goods of fortune wch often deſerve rather to be called evils. Let a man grow in learning & holineſſe, let him be a Saint upon earth, let him have Seraphicall raptures no man will envy him for it, but let him once get favour at Court, let his degree and his rents be augmented, preſently the arrowes of envy will be ſhot at him on all ſides. Indeed great Oratours, great Warriours, and men eminent in civill prudence are much envied by idle droanes; but if you looke to the ground of that envy, it is not the vertue and capacity of thoſe brave men that begets it, but the fame and credit which they get thereby. Think not that Satan envieth God becauſe he is good & wiſe, if he did he would endeavour to be ſo: He envieth God becauſe he is Almighty, and becauſe he is worſhiped by men and Angels, whereas himſelfe would have all power in heaven and earth, and every knee to bow unto him. It is not vertue but the reward of vertue, that moveth envy. If it were in an envious mans power to diſtribute all the wealth, ſpirituall and temporall which is among men, he would not diſpute to his enemies the poſſeſſion of all the vertues, but he would keepe to himſelfe all the rewards.
This is the cauſe of that diſpoſition. When an envious man ſeeth others enjoy wealth, he feareth there will not be enough left for him. But as for Vertue, he is ſure that the plenty of it with others, will not hinder his owne poſſeſſion of the like; So he doth not envy it. For nothing moveth envy but ſuch things as have moved cupidity before: Cupidity is for light & glittering ſtuffe, and envy keepes pace with cupidity. Vertue is a ſubſtance too dark and ſolid for their turne. Learne we then to ſtore ourſelves with thoſe goods, which provoke no envy, and which we may poſſeſſe, no body being the poorer by our riches.
Envy is a great enemy to tranquillity of the ſuol. It is the rottenneſs of the bones ſaith Solomon, Prov. 14.30. which is a pregnant character of a paſsing malignant and corroding paſsion. It hath two unnaturall effects, The one that an envious man is afflicted with the proſperity of others, the other that he puniſheth himſelfe.
The firſt effect is particular to Envy, and herein it doth not enter commons with any other Paſſion. The envious man is ſick, becauſe his neighbour is well. He groweth leane, becauſe another growes fat; he thinkes that he loſeth all that another gets, and makes of his neighbours proſperity his adverſity. He is directly oppoſite to Chriſtian ſympathy and the commandement of the Apoſtle, Rom. 12.15. Rejoyce with them that rejoyce, and weepe with them that weepe, for he is weeping with them that rejoyce, and rejoycing with them that weepe. Whereas the Apoſtle ſaith, that Charity is not envious, 1. Cor. 13.4. wee may invert the termes, and ſay that Enuy is not charitable: yea, of all vices it is moſt incompatible with charity. Envious men are the onelyonly kind of men, to whom without forme of juſtice & without breach of charity wee may doe harme, ſince to doe them harme wee need but doe good to their neighbours.
But it is needleſſe to doe harme to an envious man, or wiſh him more harme then he doth to himſelfe, vexing his mind and drying up his body by a continuall and juſt puniſhment. This is wiſely expreſt in the CXII Pſalme, where after the promiſe made to the juſt that his righteouſnes endureth for ever, and his horne ſhall be exalted with honoùr, the text addeth. The wicked ſhall ſee it and be grieved, he ſhall gnaſh with his teeth, the deſire of the wicked ſhall periſh. And it is very probable that in the outward darknes where there is weeping and gnaſhing of teeth, that burning fire and that gnawing and never-dying worme is Envy, biting the damned to the quick, while they are thinking of the glory and felicity of God, and how the Saints whom they have deſpiſed & oppreſt in the world are filled with joy and crowned with glory, while themſelves are infamous and miſerable. That compariſon is a maine article of their miſery,
The envious man cannot ſuffer as much as he deſerveth, ſince he ſets himſelfe againſt God and all that God loveth, controuling His diſtribution of his goods. He that is grieved at the good he ſeeth, deſerveth never to have any good, & it were pitty he ſhould have any, if he can get no good but by his neighbours harme.
Beſides the cauſes of envy which I obſerved before, there are two more that are great contributours to that wicked vice. The one is want of faith; for a man becomes envious becauſe he beleeveth not that God hath enough in his ſtore to doe good to him and others, or that God doth wiſely to give him ſuperiours or equals. Which unbelecfe makes him to murmure and fall out with God. Matth. 20.15. His eye is evill, becauſe God is good.
The other cauſe is Idleneſs. It makes men envious, but it makes them poore before; for when they are growne poore through idlenes they look upon the wealth of their neighbours with envy. The ſoul of the ſluggard deſireth and hath nothing and the thing he deſireth is his neighbours eſtate, wch he lookes upon with an evill eye. Hence warres, robberies, and piracies. For while diligent men grow rich by their induſtry, idle and envious men ſtudy onelyonly to have ſtrength on their ſide to rob the induſtrious, or at leaſt to put a ſtop to their increaſe.
This ſearch of the cauſes of envy opens us the way to the remedies. Since all diſorder in the appetite begins by errour in the underſtanding, wee muſt before all things heale our underſtanding of that errour and ignorance which occaſions envy, even that falſe opinion that the wealth and honour of the world make a man happy; whereas they are inſtruments of wickednes and miſery unto weake ſouls; and to the ſtrong, hinderances and ſeeds of care. They are the ropes wherewith Satan drawes men into perdition; For one that uſeth them well, a thouſand are corrupted and undone by them. And who would envy ſlaves and miſerable perſons?
Then wee muſt beate downe pride and the exceſſive love of ourſelves, with the ſtudy of humility charity, and meekenes. Let nothing be done through ſtrife or vaine glory, but in lowlines of mind let each eſteeme other better then themſelves. Looke not every man on his owne things, but every man alſo to the things of others, Phil. 2.3. If once wee can get an humble opinion of ourſelves, and a charitable opinion of our neighbours, wee ſhall not be vexed with envy ſeeing their proſperity, for we ſhall think that they deſerve it better then we. In ſtead of an envious comparing of our neighbours eſtates with ours, let us compare what we have received of God, with what wee deſerve of him, and that will quell our pride and envy.
An eſpeciall care muſt be taken to cut our deſire ſhort, which is the next cauſe of envy. He that deſireth little ſhall envy no body; For ſo little as he needs, he would not ſtrip another to cloath himſelfe.
If ſometimes the luſter of worldly advancements dazle our eyes and breed in us ſome motions of envy, let us conſider what thoſe advancements coſt them that have attained them, how much time, money, and labour they have ſpent, how many doors of great perſons they beſieged, how many frownes from their ſuperiours, how many juſtlings from their emulatours: Then, how many temptations, how many ſhifts were they put to, even to diſguiſing of truth and wreſting of juſtice. Let us think well whether we would have bought preferment at that rate, and that if we have it not, we did not ſpend for it what others did. We have not broken our ſleep with cares, we have not bin many yeares tottering betweene feare and hope: We have given no thankes for affronts. We have not courted a porter and a groome. We have not purchaſed with gifts a Clarkes favour. We have not turned the whole bent of our mind from the ſervice of God to the ſervice of the world. In a word if we have not the wares, we have not payd our money for it. And if we would not have ſpent ſo much about that advancement, we have no reaſon to envy them that have bought it ſo deare
The chiefe remedy againſt that fretting diſeaſe is, faith in the power goodneſſe and wiſedome of God, with an entire ſubmiſſion to his holy will. Why ſhould we afflict ourſelves for Gods gifts to others? Rom. 10.12. The ſame Lord over all, is rich unto all that call upon him. He hath enough to enrich us all. Let us not looke what he gives to others, but let us humbly aske him that which he knowes to bee fit for us, and thankfully receive what he giveth us, being ſure that all that he gives is good becauſe it comes from his good hand. If we can truly ſay, with Davids faith, The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, Pſal. 16.5. how can we after that looke upon our neighbours portion with envy.
It is alſo an antidote againſt envy to be alwayes; well imployed for idleneſſe makes a man to leave his buſines to looke upon his neighbours worke, and doing nothing controule them that do well.
As for the envy which others beare to us, we have reaſon to rejoyce that our condition is ſuch as deſerves envy, at leaſt in the opinion of others: It is true we muſt not referre ourſelves to the opinion of others, but to our own ſelfe about the happineſſe or unhappineſſe of our condition; but becauſe we are not ſenſible as we ought of Gods benefits towards us, and many times complaine when we ſhould praiſe God, our neighbours envy ſerveth to awake our ſenſe of Gods mercies, and to move us to thankfullneſſe.