In the literature, we run into a sin called, in Latin, invidia clericorum. This vice refers to the envy, invidia, manifested by clerics, both lay and religious, over the true accomplishment of others. It is a subtle, dangerous vice. Except for pride, it is the most dangerous vice of them all. Why? Often, we think that greed or misuse or pleasure is the most dangerous vice. Indeed, Christianity, the most dangerous vice is pride, suburbia. In its essence, pride means using our admitted freedom to make ourselves, not God, the center of reality. Pride means to make ourselves the cause of the distinction of good and evil so that what is evil or what is good depends on our own definition of it. This places us at the center of things. Pride is the vice of a very few; it is an aristocratic vice.
Envy and vanity are two more or less related vices. Envy is certainly more dangerous than vanity, though not so perilous as pride. Both envy and vanity are concerned with others; pride is only concerned with the self.
Chesterton once remarked that vanity is a rather \"healthy\" vice since it is located, unlike pride, outside of ourselves. Vanity is concern about how we look to others. How we look to others is not under our control. Yet, to wonder how we look to others is not wrong. Vanity is a mild vice because it tends to prefer how we look to others to whether we are truly good. If we are good but do not seem so to others, it should not matter. But it is not a vice to strive to look well to others.
Envy refers to our giving or withholding honor to others. Fame means that we no only look good to others, but that our abilities or looks or accomplishments are indeed acknowledged by others. Fame has the connotation of great notoriety; it need not be a vice unless it is sought for its own sake apart from some objective accomplishment. Envy, however, always has the element of something disordered, something distorted. Envy means that we withhold honor that is due. Envy is thus a more spiritual thing, than, say, greed, which refers to material possessions. Envy deals with spiritual goods. It is sometimes difficult to understand that things that are worthy of honor should be honored. Honor means that some human being positively acknowledges something good in what another has done or what he is. \"Honor\" thy father and mother thus does not mean to give them material goods. It means to acknowledge in an appropriate way what they are and have done.
How does envy work? We know it is one of the capital sins. That is, it is a source of other sins. Aristotle had already pointed out that \"honor\" can be one of the proposed definitions of happiness. Many people locate happiness in honor, which is more political in context. Politicians are often tempted by honor rather than by riches or pleasures. But the reason that honor cannot be the definition of happiness is that it does not depend on us. It depends on the free acknowledgment of others of whatever talents or accomplishments we might have.
But let me explain why envy is a vice. When someone we do not like does something that is truly worthy, we know that we are envious if we are reluctant to congratulate the accomplishment of the other person. If someone is appointed to a job or receives a reward that is truly deserved, we \"owe\" honour or praise for that accomplishment. The other person cannot \"demand\" it of us. So it must come out of our free will to recognize something worthy in another. Thus, envy falls into a world in which human beings are supposed to respond. They are called to acknowledge something worthy in the words or deeds of another. We are not talking here of anything false or phony. We are talking of real accomplishments that ought to be recognized oar acknowledged. Envy, in this sense, remains within us, even though it is obvious to others that we do not respond objectively to the works or artistry of another.
I do not wish to identify fame with envy. The praise of others is no doubt exhilarating whether it be in a beauty contest, an election to the cardinalate or senate, the winning of a game, or election to the board of directors of a major corporation. The principle of justice intimates that something which cannot be repaid exactly in kind, as is impossible in spiritual things, still needs some manifestation. Fame is beyond justice. It is what must be given when financial considerations are already met. Moreover, the fame of one can occasion the envy of another. It takes a clear eye to see the presence of envy in our souls. But fame is, or ought to be, the way we know what we consider worthy, what we consider right.
Fame means that something worthy has been accomplished by one or our kind. No doubt, fame can be notorious. Fame is also given to unworthy things. Tell me what you praise and I will tell you what you are. This sentiment is parallel to tell me what you envy and I will tell you what you are. In either case, we are close to the heart of the spiritual things that motivate us. Both fame and envy point to what is worthy of praise and whether we possess it in ourselves. Aristotle talks of the famous magnanimous man, the man who is noble and knows he is noble. His worthiness is not a lie. It acknowledges what one is. We ought to strive to be worthy of proper praise. We are to let our lights shine before man (Luke 8:18). We ought also to strive to keep our eyes and hearts on things worthy of praise. We ought never to separate the praise from what is worthy of praise.
In the end, we are to praise God, who is worthy of our praise. That is, to say, we ought to recognize what we are. We are not the maker of things. We are receivers. We are given something worthy in our very being. We see that what is worthy comes from others. Our fame points to a fame that is not ours to have, but only ours to acknowledge. That is why our highest act is of celebration and praise, of acknowledging, not envying, what is not ours but what is given to us by what is.
Envy and vanity are two more or less related vices. Envy is certainly more dangerous than vanity, though not so perilous as pride. Both envy and vanity are concerned with others; pride is only concerned with the self.
Chesterton once remarked that vanity is a rather \"healthy\" vice since it is located, unlike pride, outside of ourselves. Vanity is concern about how we look to others. How we look to others is not under our control. Yet, to wonder how we look to others is not wrong. Vanity is a mild vice because it tends to prefer how we look to others to whether we are truly good. If we are good but do not seem so to others, it should not matter. But it is not a vice to strive to look well to others.
Envy refers to our giving or withholding honor to others. Fame means that we no only look good to others, but that our abilities or looks or accomplishments are indeed acknowledged by others. Fame has the connotation of great notoriety; it need not be a vice unless it is sought for its own sake apart from some objective accomplishment. Envy, however, always has the element of something disordered, something distorted. Envy means that we withhold honor that is due. Envy is thus a more spiritual thing, than, say, greed, which refers to material possessions. Envy deals with spiritual goods. It is sometimes difficult to understand that things that are worthy of honor should be honored. Honor means that some human being positively acknowledges something good in what another has done or what he is. \"Honor\" thy father and mother thus does not mean to give them material goods. It means to acknowledge in an appropriate way what they are and have done.
How does envy work? We know it is one of the capital sins. That is, it is a source of other sins. Aristotle had already pointed out that \"honor\" can be one of the proposed definitions of happiness. Many people locate happiness in honor, which is more political in context. Politicians are often tempted by honor rather than by riches or pleasures. But the reason that honor cannot be the definition of happiness is that it does not depend on us. It depends on the free acknowledgment of others of whatever talents or accomplishments we might have.
But let me explain why envy is a vice. When someone we do not like does something that is truly worthy, we know that we are envious if we are reluctant to congratulate the accomplishment of the other person. If someone is appointed to a job or receives a reward that is truly deserved, we \"owe\" honour or praise for that accomplishment. The other person cannot \"demand\" it of us. So it must come out of our free will to recognize something worthy in another. Thus, envy falls into a world in which human beings are supposed to respond. They are called to acknowledge something worthy in the words or deeds of another. We are not talking here of anything false or phony. We are talking of real accomplishments that ought to be recognized oar acknowledged. Envy, in this sense, remains within us, even though it is obvious to others that we do not respond objectively to the works or artistry of another.
I do not wish to identify fame with envy. The praise of others is no doubt exhilarating whether it be in a beauty contest, an election to the cardinalate or senate, the winning of a game, or election to the board of directors of a major corporation. The principle of justice intimates that something which cannot be repaid exactly in kind, as is impossible in spiritual things, still needs some manifestation. Fame is beyond justice. It is what must be given when financial considerations are already met. Moreover, the fame of one can occasion the envy of another. It takes a clear eye to see the presence of envy in our souls. But fame is, or ought to be, the way we know what we consider worthy, what we consider right.
Fame means that something worthy has been accomplished by one or our kind. No doubt, fame can be notorious. Fame is also given to unworthy things. Tell me what you praise and I will tell you what you are. This sentiment is parallel to tell me what you envy and I will tell you what you are. In either case, we are close to the heart of the spiritual things that motivate us. Both fame and envy point to what is worthy of praise and whether we possess it in ourselves. Aristotle talks of the famous magnanimous man, the man who is noble and knows he is noble. His worthiness is not a lie. It acknowledges what one is. We ought to strive to be worthy of proper praise. We are to let our lights shine before man (Luke 8:18). We ought also to strive to keep our eyes and hearts on things worthy of praise. We ought never to separate the praise from what is worthy of praise.
In the end, we are to praise God, who is worthy of our praise. That is, to say, we ought to recognize what we are. We are not the maker of things. We are receivers. We are given something worthy in our very being. We see that what is worthy comes from others. Our fame points to a fame that is not ours to have, but only ours to acknowledge. That is why our highest act is of celebration and praise, of acknowledging, not envying, what is not ours but what is given to us by what is.
© James V. Schall 2000