XXXVI. Liber Sapientiae ad eamdem rem.

XXXVI. Liber Sapientiae ad eamdem rem.

The envy of the devil brought death into the world; they imitate him who are of his part. Its meaning is such. The devil opposed God and wanted to divide His honor, yet he sought to usurp an equal share of that honor for himself; therefore, God cast him into hell and did not allow him to fulfill his will. When he saw the created human being, he recognized his own nature, and immediately his envy grew, as he questioned why God had given him the command that he had received. And so, through the great envy from the devil, he turned away from God the work that was man; and he drew him to himself, because that man had forsaken his God and had joined himself to the devil. In this way, through the breath of diabolical envy and suggestion, death, which eliminates everything, openly entered the world and subjugated it, displaying its power over it, when it forced man, who was meant to be a god in the world, to serve it: just as someone enters a tent where they exercise their dominion. Following the footsteps of that ancient seducer, all who take their example of wickedness from him walk in his ways, so that they oppress others out of envy. And so they are partly his, because they know what is good and just, yet they cast aside their own selves and bitterly corrode the gifts of God that he himself has given and established; therefore, they will also have fellowship in hell with him. But those who flee from this evil and embrace God through faith are children of the heavenly reward, because they long for God. Therefore, even heaven will be named for all its adornments. However, envy leans over the same darkness like a right hand on a shoulder, which means that when a person envies the progress of others, they neglect the proper confidence and authority they should have in good and holy works, and instead they set themselves against diabolical evils, wanting to take away from another what they have received from God. For envy is a thief, similar to a robber who sets traps along the way to deceive anyone passing by and steal the money they carry; it is also like a viper, which, by conceiving and giving birth, kills its own offspring. For envy sets traps in its own character, as it takes away a person's good; it also tears apart those who have shared their good with it, laying snares for them in every way, just as it demonstrates in the words mentioned above. Charity, however, rebukes this, and warns that people should not be envious.