Sequitur de Invidia.
After Pride wol I speken of the foule synne of Envye,
which that is, as by the word of the Philosophre, "sorwe of
oother mannes prosperitee"; and after the word of Seint
Augustyn, it is "Sorwe of oother mennes wele, and joye of
othere mennes harm."
This foule synne is platly
agayns the Hooly Goost. Al be it so that every synne is agayns
the Hooly Goost, yet nathelees, for as muche as bountee
aperteneth proprely to the Hooly Goost, and Envye comth proprely
of malice, therfore it is proprely agayn the
bountee of the Hooly Goost.
Now hath malice two speces; that
is to seyn, hardnesse of herte in wikkednesse, or elles the
flessh of man is so blynd that he considereth nat that he is in
synne or rekketh nat that he is in synne, which is the hardnesse
of the devel.
That oother 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 neighebor; and
al this is by Envye.
Certes, thanne is Envye the worste synne
that is. For soothly, alle othere synnes been somtyme oonly
agayns o special vertu,
but certes Envye is agayns alle
vertues and agayns alle goodnesses. For it is sory of alle the
bountees of his neighebor, and in this manere it is divers from
alle othere synnes.
For wel unnethe is ther any synne
that it ne hath som delit in itself, save oonly Envye, that evere
hath in itself angwissh and sorwe.
The speces of Envye been
thise. Ther is first, sorwe of oother mannes goodnesse and of his
prosperitee; and prosperitee is kyndely matere of joye; thanne
is Envye a synne agayns kynde.
The seconde spece of Envye is
joye of oother mannes harm, and that is proprely lyk to the
devel, that evere rejoyseth hym of mannes harm.
Of thise two
speces comth bakbityng; and this synne of bakbityng or detraccion
hath certeine speces, as thus: Som man preiseth his neighebor by
a wikked entente,
for he maketh alwey a wikked knotte atte
laste ende. Alwey he maketh a "but" atte laste ende, that
is digne of moore blame than worth is al the preisynge.
The seconde spece is that if a man be good and dooth or
seith a thing to good entente, the bakbitere wol turne al thilke
goodnesse up-so-doun to his shrewed entente.
The thridde is
to amenuse the bountee of his neighebor.
The fourthe spece
of bakbityng is this: that if men speke goodnesse of a man,
thanne wol the bakbitere seyn, "Parfey, swich a man is yet
bet than he," in dispreisynge of hym that men preise.
The
fifte spece is this: for to consente gladly and herkne gladly to
the harm that men speke of oother folk. This synne is ful greet
and ay encreesseth after the wikked entente of the bakbitere.
After bakbityng cometh gruchchyng or murmuracioun; and
somtyme it spryngeth of inpacience agayns God, and somtyme agayns
man.
Agayn God it is whan a man gruccheth agayn the
peyne 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.
And alle thise
thynges sholde man suffre paciently, for they comen by the
rightful juggement and
ordinaunce of God.
Somtyme
comth grucching of avarice; as Judas grucched agayns the
Magdaleyne whan she enoynted the heved of oure Lord Jhesu Crist
with hir precious oynement.
This manere murmure is swich as
whan man gruccheth of goodnesse that hymself dooth, or that
oother folk doon of hir owene catel.
Somtyme comth murmure
of Pride, as whan Simon the Pharisee gruchched agayn the
Magdaleyne whan she approched to Jhesu Crist and weep at his feet
for hire synnes.
And somtyme grucchyng sourdeth of
Envye, whan men discovereth a mannes harm that was pryvee or
bereth hym on hond thyng that is fals.
Murmure eek is ofte
amonges servauntz that grucchen whan hir sovereyns bidden hem
doon leveful thynges;
and forasmuche as they dar nat openly
withseye the comaundementz of hir sovereyns, yet wol they seyn
harm, and grucche, and murmure prively for verray despit;
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.
Somtyme it 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 hym bitter and unsavory.
Thanne cometh discord that unbyndeth alle manere of
freendshipe. Thanne comth scornynge of his neighebor, al do he
never so weel.
Thanne comth accusynge, as whan man seketh
occasioun to anoyen his neighebor, which that is lyk the craft
of the devel, that waiteth bothe nyght 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 pryvely,
or empoysone or sleen his beestes, and semblable thynges.
