ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 51
been wounded. Love thosewhom you previouslyhad hated;
favour thosewhom you enviedwith unjustdisparagements.
Imitate good men, if you are able to followthem ; but if
you are not able to followthem, at leastrejoicewith them,
and congratulatethose who are betterthan you. Make
yourselfa sharer1 with them in unitedlove; make yourself
theirassociatein the allianceof charityand the bond of
brotherhood. Your debtsshallbe remittedto you when you
yourselfshallhave forgiven. Your sacrificesshallbe re
ceivedwhen you shallcome in peaceto God. Your thoughts
and deeds shallbe directedfrom above,when you consider
those thingswhich aredivineand righteous,as itiswritten:
" Let the heartof a man considerrighteousthings,thathis
stepsmay be directedby the Lord." 1
18. And you have many things to consider. Think of
paradise,whither Cain does not enter,*who by jealousy
slew his brother. Think of the heavenlykingdom, to which
the Lord does not admit any but thosewho are of one heart
and mind. Considerthatthose alone can be calledsonsof
God who are peacemakers,who in heavenly4 birth and by
the divinelaw are made one,and respond to the likenessof
God the Father and of Christ. Considerthatwe are stand
ing under the eyesof God, thatwe are pursuing the course
of our conversationand our life,with God Himself looking
on and judging,thatwe may then at lengthbe ableto attain
to the resultof beholdingHim, ifwe now delightHim who
sees us,by our actions,if we show ourselvesworthy of His
favour and indulgence; ifwe, who are always topleaseHim
in His kingdom, previouslypleaseHim in the world.
1 " A fellow-heir,"accordingtoBaluziusandRouth.
* Ptot.xt.1,LXX.
3 " Return" isa morecommon reading.
4 Routh omitstheword "heavenly,"on theauthorityof fourteen
codices.