§1DE ZELO ET LIVORE
Zelare quod bonum uideas et inuidere melioribus leue aput quosdam et modicum crimen uidetur, fratres dilectissimi, dumque existimatur leue esse et modicum non timetur, dum non timetur contemnitur, dum contemnitur non facile uitatur, et fit caeca et occulta pernicies quae dum minus perspicitur ut caueri a prouidentibus possit, inprouidas mentes latenter adfligit.
ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY To be jealous of what good you see and to envy those who are better seems to some to be a light and small crime, beloved brethren, and while it is thought to be light and small, it is not feared; while it is not feared, it is despised; while it is despised, it is not easily avoided; and it becomes a blind and hidden ruin, which, while it is too little perceived to be guarded against by the provident, secretly afflicts improvident minds.
porro autem Dominus prudentes esse nos iussit et cauta sollicitudine uigilare praecepit, ne aduersarius uigilans semper ipse et semper insidians ubi in pectus obrepsit de scintillis conflet incendia, de paruis maxima exaggeret et dum remissis et incautis leniore aura et flatu molliore blanditur, procellis ac turbinibus excitatis ruinas fidei et salutis ac uitae naufragia moliatur.
But furthermore, the Lord ordered us to be prudent, and commanded us to watch with cautious solicitude, lest the adversary, himself always watching and always lying in wait, when he has crept into the breast, should blow up fires from sparks, exaggerate the greatest things from the smallest, and while he flatters the negligent and incautious with a gentler breeze and a softer breath, having stirred up tempests and whirlwinds, he should plot the ruins of faith and of salvation and the shipwrecks of life.
excubandum est itaque, fratres dilectissimi, adque omnibus uiribus elaborandum, ut inimico saeuienti et iacula sua in omnes corporis partes quibus percuti et uulnerari possumus dirigenti sollicita et plena uigilantia repugnemus secundum quod Petrus apostolus in epistula sua praemonet et docet dicens: sobrii estote, uigilate, quia aduersarius uester diabolus tamquam leo rugiens aliquid deuorare quaerens circuit. §2Circuit ille nos singulos et tamquam hostis clausos obsidens muros explorat et temptat an sit pars aliqua membrorum minus stabilis et minus fida, cuius aditu ad interiora penetretur.
Therefore, beloved brethren, we must watch and labor with all our strength, so that we may resist with anxious and full vigilance the raging enemy, who directs his darts into all parts of the body through which we can be struck and wounded, according to what Peter the apostle forewarns and teaches in his epistle, saying: "Be sober, watch, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking something to devour." He goes about each one of us, and, like an enemy besieging closed walls, explores and tests whether there is some part of our members less stable and less faithful, through whose entrance penetration to the interior may be made.
offert oculis formas inlices et faciles uoluptates, ut uisu destruat castitatem.
He offers to the eyes enticing forms and easy pleasures, that he may destroy chastity by sight.
aures per canora musica temptat, ut soni dulcioris auditu soluat et molliat christianum uigorem.
He tempts the ears with melodious music, that by the hearing of a sweeter sound he may relax and soften Christian vigor.
linguam conuicio prouocat, manum iniuriis lacessentibus ad petulantiam caedis instigat.
He provokes the tongue with abuse; he instigates the hand to the wantonness of slaughter by provoking injuries.
ut fraudatorem faciat lucra opponit iniusta: ut animam pecunia capiat ingerit perniciosa conpendia: honores terrenos promittit ut caelestes adimat: ostentat falsa ut uera subripiat, et cum latenter non potest fallere, exerte adque aperte minatur, terrorem turbidae persecutionis intentans, ad debellandos seruos Dei inquietus semper et semper infestus, in pace subdolus, in persecutione uiolentus.
That he may make a cheat, he opposes unjust gains; that he may capture the soul with money, he forces harmful benefits; he promises earthly honors, that he may take away heavenly ones; he shows false things, that he may steal true ones; and when he cannot deceive secretly, he threatens openly and clearly, stretching out the terror of a turbulent persecution, always restless and always hostile to subdue the servants of God, crafty in peace, violent in persecution.
§3Quamobrem, fratres dilectissimi, contra omnes diaboli uel fallaces insidias uel apertas minas stare debet instructus animus et armatus, tam paratus semper ad repugnandum quam est ad inpugnandum semper paratus inimicus.
Wherefore, beloved brethren, against all either deceitful snares or open threats of the devil, the prepared and armed mind ought to stand, always as ready to resist as the enemy is always ready to attack.
et quoniam frequentiora sunt tela eius quae latenter obrepunt magisque occulta et clandestina iaculatio quo minus perspicitur hoc et grauius et crebrius in uulnera nostra grassatur, ad haec quoque intellegenda et depellenda uigilemus.
And since his weapons which creep in secretly are more frequent, and the more hidden and clandestine shooting, the less it is perceived, the more seriously and frequently rages into our wounds, let us watch also to understand and repel these.
ex quibus est zeli et liuoris malum.
Among which is the evil of jealousy and envy.
quod si qui penitus inspiciat, inueniet nihil magis christiano cauendum, nihil cautius prouidendum, quam ne quis inuidia et liuore capiatur, ne quis fallentis inimici caecis laqueis implicatus, dum zelo frater in fratris odia conuertitur, gladio suo nescius ipse perimatur.
Which if anyone should examine deeply, he will find that nothing is more to be guarded against by a Christian, nothing to be more cautiously provided against, than lest anyone be captured by jealousy and envy, lest anyone, entangled in the blind snares of the deceiving enemy, while a brother is turned by jealousy into hatred of a brother, should himself be destroyed, without knowing it, by his own sword.
quod ut colligere plenius et manifestius perspicere possimus, ad caput eius adque ad originem recurramus.
That we may be able to gather this more fully and perceive it more clearly, let us recur to its source and to its origin.
uideamus unde zelus et quando et quomodo coeperit.
Let us see whence jealousy began, and when, and how.
facilius enim a nobis malum tam perniciosum uitabitur, si eiusdem mali et origo et magnitudo noscatur.
For so pernicious an evil will be more easily avoided by us, if both the origin and the magnitude of the same evil are known.