There be none of the affection, which have been noted to facinate or bewitch, but love and envy. They both have vehement wihe; they frame themelve readily into imagination and uggetion; and they come eaily into the eye, epecially upon the preent of the object; which are the point that conduce to facination, if any uch thing there be. ee likewie, the Scripture calleth envy an evil eye; and the atrologer, call the evil influence of the tar, evil apect; o that till there eemeth to be acknowledged, in the act of envy, an ejaculation or irradiation of the eye. Nay, ome have been o curiou, a to note, that the time when the troke or percuion of an enviou eye doth mot hurt, are when the party envied i beheld in glory or triumph; for that et an edge upon envy: and beide, at uch time the pirit of the peron envied, do come forth mot into the outward part, and o meet the blow.
But leaving thee curioitie (though not unworthy to be thought on, in fit place), we will handle, what peron are apt to envy other; what peron are mot ubject to be envied themelve; and what i the difference between public and private envy.
A man that hath no virtue in himelf, ever envieth virtue in other. For men mind, will either feed upon their own good, or upon otherevil; and who wanteth the one, will prey upon the other; and whoo i out of hope, to attain to another virtue, will eek to come at even hand, by depreing another fortune.WWw.hAOZUowEN.com
A man that i buy, and inquiitive, i commonly enviou. For to know much of other men matter, cannot be becaue all that ado may concern hi own etate; therefore it mut need be, that he taketh a kind of play鈥損leaure, in looking upon the fortune of other. Neither can he, that mindeth but hi own buine, find much matter for envy. For envy i a gadding paion, and walketh the treet, and doth not keep home: Non et curiou, quin idem it malevolu.
Men of noble birth, are noted to be enviou toward new men, when they rie. For the ditance i altered, and it i like a deceit of the eye, that when other come on, they think themelve, go back.
Deformed peron, and eunuch, and old men, and batard, are enviou. For he that cannot poibly mend hi own cae, will do what he can, to impair another; except thee defect light upon a very brave, and heroical nature, which thinketh to make hi natural want part of hi honor; in that it hould be aid, that an eunuch, or a lame man, did uch great matter; affecting the honor of a miracle; a it wa in Nare the eunuch, and Ageilau and Tamberlane, that were lame men.
The ame i the cae of men, that rie after calamitie and mifortune. For they are a men fallen out with the time; and think other men harm, a redemption of their own uffering.
They that deire to excel in too many matter, out of levity and vain glory, are ever enviou. For they cannot want work; it being impoible, but many, in ome one of thoe thing, hould urpa them. Which wa the character of Adrian the Emperor; that mortally envied poet, and painter, and artificer, in work wherein he had a vein to excel.
Latly, near kinfolk, and fellow in office, and thoe that have been bred together, are more apt to envy their equal, when they are raied. For it doth upbraid unto them their own fortune, and pointeth at them, and cometh oftener into their remembrance, and incurreth likewie more into the note of other; and envy ever redoubleth from peech and fame. Cain envy wa the more vile and malignant, toward hi brother Abel, becaue when hi acrifice wa better accepted, there wa no body to look on. Thu much for thoe, that are apt to envy.
Concerning thoe that are more or le ubject to envy: Firt, peron of eminent virtue, when they are advanced, are le envied. For their fortune eemeth, but due unto them; and no man envieth the payment of a debt, but reward and liberality rather. Again, envy i ever joined with the comparing of a man elf; and where there i no comparion, no envy; and therefore king are not envied, but by king. Neverthele it i to be noted, that unworthy peron are mot envied, at their firt coming in, and afterward overcome it better; wherea contrariwie, peron of worth and merit are mot envied, when their fortune continueth long. For by that time, though their virtue be the ame, yet it hath not the ame lutre; for freh men grow up that darken it.