Cyprian of Carthage, On Jealousy and Envy

It seems like a light, minor offense to some of you, dear brothers, to be zealous for what is good and to envy those who are better. Because it is regarded as slight, no one fears it; because no one fears it, it is despised; and because it is despised, it is not easily avoided. It becomes a hidden, secret ruin that, precisely because it is barely noticed, escapes the prudent and secretly afflicts the careless. The Lord, however, commanded us to be prudent and to keep watch with careful concern, so that the adversary—always watching, always lying in wait—might not creep into our hearts and kindle fires from sparks, magnify great evils from small ones, and, while he flatters the lax and incautious with a gentle breeze and a softer breath, stir up storms and whirlwinds that threaten shipwreck of faith, salvation, and life. (1 Peter 5:8) Therefore, dear brothers, we must keep watch and strive with all our strength, so that with anxious, full vigilance we may resist the savage enemy who aims his darts at every part of the body by which we can be struck and wounded, just as the apostle Peter warns and teaches in his letter: 'Be sober and watch, because your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.' He circles each one of us, and like a hostile besieger he probes the walls, testing whether any section is less stable or less trustworthy, so that through that breach he may penetrate to the interior. He offers enticing forms and easy pleasures to the eyes, to destroy chastity by sight. He tempts the ears with melodious music, so that the hearing of a sweeter sound may loosen and soften Christian vigor. He provokes the tongue with abuse; he incites the hand to violent murder through provoking injuries. To make a deceiver, he sets out unjust gains; to capture the soul with money, he brings in destructive shortcuts. He promises earthly honors, so that he may take away heavenly ones; he displays false things, so that he may steal the true. And when he cannot deceive secretly, he threatens openly and plainly, brandishing the terror of turbulent persecution—always restless, always hostile toward God's servants, cunning in peace, violent in persecution. Consequently, dear brothers, a mind that is instructed and armed must stand against all the devil's deceitful snares and open threats, as prepared to resist as the enemy is always prepared to attack. Since his darts that creep in secretly are more frequent, and the more hidden and clandestine the assault, the less it is perceived and the more seriously and often it ravages our wounds, we must also be watchful to recognize and repel these attacks, which spring from the evil of zeal and envy. If anyone examines the matter thoroughly, he will find nothing a Christian must avoid more carefully, nothing he must guard against more cautiously, than being seized by envy and malice—lest someone, caught in the blind snares of the deceiving enemy, while brotherly zeal turns into hatred of a brother, perish unknowingly by his own sword. So that we may grasp this more fully and see it more clearly, let us go back to its head and origin. Let us see where zeal comes from, and when and how it began. For we will avoid this most pernicious evil more easily if we know both its origin and its magnitude. From the very beginning of the world, the devil perished first and was lost. He, supported by angelic majesty, he, accepted and dear to God, after he saw man made in God's image, broke out into malicious zeal and envious malice. He did not cast down another by the impulse of zeal before he himself was cast down by zeal; he was a captive before he took captive, lost before he caused loss. Goaded by envy, he tore away from man the gift of immortality, and he himself lost what he had been before. What an evil this is, dear brothers, by which an angel fell, by which that high and noble sublimity could be deceived and overthrown, by which the deceiver himself was deceived! From that time envy has raged on earth, while the one doomed to perish by envy serves the master of perdition, while he imitates the devil who envies, as it is written: 'But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world.' Therefore those who belong to his party imitate him.