=Sequitur de Inuidia.=
§ 30. After Pryde wol I speken of the foule sinne of Envye, which is, as by
the word of the philosophre, sorwe of other mannes prosperitee; and after
the word of seint Augustin, it is sorwe of other mannes wele, and Ioye of
othere mennes harm. / This foule sinne is platly agayns the holy goost.
Al-be-it so that every sinne is agayns the holy goost, yet nathelees, for
as muche as bountee aperteneth proprely to the holy goost, and Envye comth
proprely of malice, therfore it is proprely agayn the bountee of the holy
goost. /485 Now hath malice two speces, that is to seyn, hardnesse of herte
in wikkednesse, or elles the flesh of man is so blind, that he considereth
nat that he is in sinne, or rekketh nat that he is in sinne; which is the
hardnesse of the devel. / That other spece of malice is, whan a man
werreyeth trouthe, whan he woot that it is trouthe. And eek, whan he
werreyeth the grace that god hath yeve to his neighebore; and al this is by
Envye. / Certes, thanne is Envye the worste sinne that is. For soothly,
alle othere sinnes been som-tyme only agayns o special vertu; / but certes,
Envye is agayns alle vertues and agayns alle goodnesses; for it is [599]
sory of alle the bountees of his neighebore; and in this manere it is
divers from alle othere sinnes. / For wel unnethe is ther any sinne that it
ne hath som delyt in itself, save only Envye, that evere hath in itself
anguish and sorwe. /490 The speces of Envye been thise: ther is first,
sorwe of other mannes goodnesse and of his prosperitee; and prosperitee is
kindely matere of Ioye; thanne is Envye a sinne agayns kinde. / The seconde
spece of Envye is Ioye of other mannes harm; and that is proprely lyk to
the devel, that evere reioyseth him of mannes harm. / Of thise two speces
comth bakbyting; and this sinne of bakbyting or detraccion hath certeine
speces, as thus. Som man preiseth his neighebore by a wikke entente; / for
he maketh alwey a wikked knotte atte laste ende. Alwey he maketh a ‘but’
atte laste ende, that is digne of more blame, than worth is al the
preisinge. / The seconde spece is, that if a man be good and dooth or seith
a thing to good entente, the bakbyter wol turne all thilke goodnesse
up-so-doun to his shrewed entente. /495 The thridde is, to amenuse the
bountee of his neighebore. / The fourthe spece of bakbyting is this; that
if men speke goodnesse of a man, thanne wol the bakbyter seyn, ‘parfey,
swich a man is yet bet than he’; in dispreisinge of him that men preise. /
The fifte spece is this; for to consente gladly and herkne gladly to the
harm that men speke of other folk. This sinne is ful greet, and ay
encreseth after the wikked entente of the bakbyter. / After bakbyting
cometh grucching or murmuracion; and somtyme it springeth of inpacience
agayns god, and somtyme agayns man. / Agayns god it is, whan a man
gruccheth agayn the peynes of helle, or agayns poverte, or los of catel, or
agayn reyn or tempest; or elles gruccheth that shrewes han prosperitee, or
elles for that goode men han adversitee. /500 And alle thise thinges sholde
men suffre paciently, for they comen by the rightful Iugement and ordinance
of god. / Som-tyme comth grucching of avarice; as Iudas grucched agayns the
Magdaleyne, whan she enoynte the heved of oure lord Iesu Crist with hir
precious oynement. / This maner murmure is swich as whan man gruccheth of
goodnesse that him-self dooth, or that other folk doon of hir owene catel.
/ Som-tyme comth murmure of pryde; as whan Simon the Pharisee grucched
agayn the Magdaleyne, whan she approched to Iesu Crist, and weep at his
feet for hir sinnes. / [600] And somtyme grucching sourdeth of Envye; whan
men discovereth a mannes harm that was privee, or bereth him on hond thing
that is fals. /505 Murmure eek is ofte amonges servaunts, that grucchen
whan hir sovereyns bidden hem doon leveful thinges; / and, for-as-muche as
they dar nat openly withseye the comaundements of hir sovereyns, yet wol
they seyn harm, and grucche, and murmure prively for verray despyt; /
whiche wordes men clepen the develes _Pater-noster_, though so be that the
devel ne hadde nevere _Pater-noster_, but that lewed folk yeven it swich a
name. / Som tyme grucching comth of ire or prive hate, that norisseth
rancour in herte, as afterward I shal declare. / Thanne cometh eek
bitternesse of herte; thurgh which bitternesse every good dede of his
neighebor semeth to him bitter and unsavory. /510 Thanne cometh discord,
that unbindeth alle manere of frendshipe. Thanne comth scorninge, as whan a
man seketh occasioun to anoyen his neighebor, al do he never so weel. /
Thanne comth accusinge, as whan man seketh occasion to anoyen his
neighebor, which that is lyk to the craft of the devel, that waiteth bothe
night and day to accusen us alle. / Thanne comth malignitee, thurgh which a
man anoyeth his neighebor prively if he may; / and if he noght may, algate
his wikked wil ne shal nat wante, as for to brennen his hous prively, or
empoysone or sleen hise bestes, and semblable thinges. /
485. E. _om._ foule. E. _om. 1st and 3rd_ goost. 486. Cm.
hardynesse (_twice_). 487. E. speche (_for_ spece); Hn. spece; _rest_
spice. E. malice (_and so_ Selden MS., _rightly_); _rest_ enuye.
497. parfey] E. pardee. 500. E. _om._ or _after_ catel. 502. E. Hn.
enoynte; Cm. Hl. anoynted; Pt. ennoynted. 506. E. seruauntz. Cm.
lefful; Pt. Hl. leeful. 507. E. comaundementz. 511. Cm. scornynge
as whanne a man sekyth occasioun to anoyen his; _rest_ scornynge of his
(_merely_).
=Remedium contra peccatum Inuidie.=
§ 31. Now wol I speke of the remedie agayns this foule sinne of Envye.
First, is the love of god principal, and loving of his neighebor as
him-self; for soothly, that oon ne may nat been withoute that other. /515
And truste wel, that in the name of thy neighebore thou shalt understonde
the name of thy brother; for certes alle we have o fader fleshly, and o
moder, that is to seyn, Adam and Eve; and eek o fader espirituel, and that
is god of hevene. / Thy neighebore artow holden for to love, and wilne him
alle goodnesse; and therfore seith god, ‘love thy neighebore as thyselve,’
that is to seyn, to salvacion bothe of lyf and of soule. / And more-over,
thou shalt love him in word, and in benigne amonestinge, and chastysinge;
and conforten him in hise anoyes, and preye [601] for him with al thyn
herte. / And in dede thou shall love him in swich wyse, that thou shalt
doon to him in charitee as thou woldest that it were doon to thyn owene
persone. / And therfore, thou ne shalt doon him no damage in wikked word,
ne harm in his body, ne in his catel, ne in his soule, by entysing of
wikked ensample. /520 Thou shalt nat desyren his wyf, ne none of hise
thinges. Understond eek, that in the name of neighebor is comprehended his
enemy. / Certes man shal loven his enemy by the comandement of god; and
soothly thy frend shaltow love in God. / I seye, thyn enemy shaltow love
for goddes sake, by his comandement. For if it were reson that a man sholde
haten his enemy, for sothe god nolde nat receiven us to his love that been
hise enemys. / Agayns three manere of wronges that his enemy dooth to hym,
he shal doon three thinges, as thus. / Agayns hate and rancour of herte, he
shal love him in herte. Agayns chyding and wikkede wordes, he shal preye
for his enemy. And agayn the wikked dede of his enemy, he shal doon him
bountee. /525 For Crist seith, ‘loveth youre enemys, and preyeth for hem
that speke yow harm; and eek for hem that yow chacen and pursewen, and doth
bountee to hem that yow haten.’ Lo, thus comaundeth us oure lord Iesu
Crist, to do to oure enemys. / For soothly, nature dryveth us to loven oure
freendes, and parfey, oure enemys han more nede to love than oure freendes;
and they that more nede have, certes, to hem shal men doon goodnesse; / and
certes, in thilke dede have we remembrance of the love of Iesu Crist, that
deyde for hise enemys. / And in-as-muche as thilke love is the more grevous
to perfourne, in-so-muche is the more gretter the merite; and therfore the
lovinge of oure enemy hath confounded the venim of the devel. / For right
as the devel is disconfited by humilitee, right so is he wounded to the
deeth by love of oure enemy. /530 Certes, thanne is love the medicine that
casteth out the venim of Envye fro mannes herte. / The speces of this pas
shullen be more largely in hir chapitres folwinge declared. /
515. this] E. the. love] E. louynge. 516. E. espiritueel. 517. E.
_om._ bothe. 520. E. entissyng. 521. E. Hn. Vnderstoond. 524.
wronges] E. thinges. 525. E. _om._ the. 529. Ln. Hl. parforme; Pt.
perfourme. 532. E. paas; Hl. pa_r_t; _rest_ pas.
=Sequitur de Ira.=
§ 32. After Envye wol I discryven the sinne of Ire. For soothly, who-so
hath envye upon his neighebor, anon he wole comunly [602] finde him a
matere of wratthe, in word or in dede, agayns him to whom he hath envye. /
And as wel comth Ire of Pryde, as of Envye; for soothly, he that is proude
or envious is lightly wrooth. /