him and his affairs, endeavouring to drown and undervalue them, and using means to attain this end. Envy feeds itself on all kinds, both of good and evil; whence we may collect four sorts of envy.
1. The first and grossest envy is, to see others surpass me in temporal goods of wealth, honour, and dignity, favour with princes, beauty of body, and other such excellences. This is proper to worldlings, and springs from that pride which in the eighth meditation we called worldly pride.
2. Another greater envy is fed on literature, sciences, ability and arts, and in those excellences which touch the understanding. This envy assails those that profess study, and is mixed with obstinacy, contentions, and other unlawful means of a man's exalting his own honour, and abasing and dishonouring that of another.
3. Another envy, much greater, feeds on spiritual virtues and goods, being sad that any other should have excellence in them, or should be honoured and praised as holy men. This proceeds from that pride which we call spiritual pride, and attacks those whose minds are set upon virtue, and is most familiar to beginners and hypocrites.
4. Finally, when this increases, it arrives at the last degree, which is called envy of grace, [1] and brotherly charity, and is one of those sins which are against the Holy Ghost; being sad and grieved that our neighbour should be virtuous, and should have the graces and gifts of the Holy Ghost, wishing that he had them not; whence proceeds the grievous sin of scandal, i.e., to do something to cause our neighbour to lose grace and charity. Such was the envy of the devil against man, by which, says the Wise man, [2] " death came into the world," whom they all imitate who are of his faction.
This might suffice for abhorring so abominable a vice
