If the sun did not exist, it would be night
despite the presence of other stars
Heraclitus of Ephesus
In This Chapter
Someone may think: “So-and-so has more than I do, and this makes me lose my calm.”
However, for a non-envious person, proportional and reasonable inequalities should be a source of satisfaction. For the envious, inequality is a cause of nervousness.
God made the human race unequal, and egalitarians rise up against that. They are always discontented, bitter and revolted.
Conversely, joyful and good souls strive to be in accord with God’s superior designs in Creation. They are always satisfied because they are ready to admire. They know the delight and duty of admiration.
Statue of Charlemagne near Notre-Dame in Paris, with his peers Roland and Olivier by his side
Inequalities Satisfy Man
Seeing that someone is superior to us and deserves our admiration should not be a torment but a joy. All proportionate inequalities, which have a reason for being, are a satisfaction to man. Even more, they give glory to God, Our Lord, Who, in the highest heaven, is the summit of inequality concerning everything He created.
How can we explain and justify this thesis?
Valedictorian at a School for the Blind
Many years ago, I spoke at an educational establishment where I was invited to be the valedictorian. At the end of my speech, I noticed a few young men sitting in the front row—to whom I paid little attention—arose holding one another by the hand. I realized they were blind and were led by one with normal sight. They were about to take a bus and return to an institute for the blind.
Later, I thought about those young men returning to the institute for the blind. They had a monotonous day; the next day, a Sunday, could not help but be monotonous again. Since they had not lost their hearing, they would naturally play a little music, something which could not fill their whole day.
What soon sprang to my mind is that, while all were equal from the standpoint of lack of vision, equality was a source of sadness for them, whereas inequality would be a source of joy. Listening to a speech by someone superior, at least from the standpoint of normal vision, was entertaining and satisfying. In addition, they naturally felt promoted by the fact that boys with normal vision were there to talk to them when the usual thing would be to avoid conversing with a poor blind man who cannot tell a whole lot.
When well engaged, contact between the lesser and the higher gives both a special joy. The lesser (the blind in this case) has an evident joy, for he has something to admire. He does not see but realizes what things would be like if he could. Besides, they tell him things that he did not know, and so the world he does not see but can understand with his intellect becomes more beautiful than he had supposed. The eyes of the seeer are the riches of the blind.
Envy at a Leprosarium
This problem can occur with every form of disgrace.
Quando eu estava nos últimos anos da Faculdade de Direito, resolvi visitar com amigos um leprosário nos arredores de São Paulo. Umas freiras que tratavam dos leprosos – jovens ainda, e de saúde normal – nos receberam com muito sorriso, muita amabilidade, e uma delas nos perguntou:
In the last years of the Law School, I decided to visit with friends a leprosarium in the outskirts of São Paulo. Some young and healthy nuns who cared for the lepers received us with a smile and much kindness. One of them asked us,
“Do you really want to visit a leper institution?”
We answered yes, and she said,
“All right, the Mother Superior has sent me as a guide for you, and I will show you everything.” You will see how sad a leper’s situation is.”
We started the visit. It was a very clean and well-arranged leprosarium. The nuns were still from the good old times when they fulfilled their duty in an exemplary way. The guide told us:
“Let’s begin by showing you a room with a leper inside, and you’ll see what a leper’s morning looks like.”
We entered and saw a man sitting at a table with an open book. His whole skin was altered, something horrible. We noticed that he could see with some difficulty but could still read. He had become a leper rather recently. He found no pleasure in reading but had that book before him because he had nothing to do.
When we entered, he realized we were young visitors. He glanced up at us and understood he was being shown as a leper specimen to healthy young people. Before our joviality and good disposition, he had no joy but a surge of envy. The usual thing would be for him to think: “These young men took an interest in seeing what we are like; they have some compassion and want to understand our situation and way of life. They took pity on us, look upon us in our misfortune, and want to help us.”
On the contrary, he thought, “They are disgusted with me. I am revolted because I do not allow anyone to be disgusted with me.” He did not even turn his eyes to look at us. Usually, we would greet him and ask what his name was, how he was doing, how long he had been there, and how he was feeling. We had not taken a little gift because we were students and very short of money, but at least we would talk to him and show some compassion. By receiving us this way, he made conversation impossible, as we recognized his right not to receive anyone he did not want to.
This man had closed the door to inequality. We were superior in the sense that we were students, would soon graduate and would occupy in life a situation that he, a kind of manual worker, had never occupied. We were healthy, and he was a poor patient with the saddest of diseases, savoring his unhappiness in that place. When considering this inequality, he could be content to receive the alms of some concern, esteem, and friendship, and that could have worked as a balm for several days.
Because he refused to receive inequality and to rejoice with those who had what he had not, he closed for himself the door of consolation and locked himself in his own vinegar. This reflection came to my mind: A man who does not accept inequality is an erroneous man who does not understand the reality of situations.
A Young Leper’s Envy and Reality
Later we passed by a large group of lepers about to enter a chapel to pray. A very young, fair-haired girl with a full face, probably of Italian descent, walked with the lepers but looked healthy, with no leprous appearance. The nun whispered:
— Esta entrou há poucos dias aqui, viera visitar uma parente leprosa, mas não sabia que ela mesma fosse leprosa. Uma freira olhou-a atentamente, reconheceu nela uma leprosa e pensou: “Esta é leprosa e não sabe. Ela tem um modo de arrastar o pé que é característico do leproso”. Quem lida continuamente com os leprosos facilmente percebe essas coisas. Aproximou-se da jovem loura, pegou-a por detrás e disse:
“She came here a few days ago to visit a leprous relative but did not know that she herself was leprous. A nun looked at her closely, recognized her leprosy, and thought, ‘She is leprous and does not know it. She has a way of dragging her foot, characteristic of a leper.’” A person who continually deals with lepers easily perceives these things. She approached the blond girl from behind and said,
“My daughter, I wanted to tell you something: You think you’re going to leave, but you’re staying here with us. You are one of ours.”
The girl did not immediately understand or want to understand, and the nun continued:
“Come here to the bedroom; I will show you something.”
Already in the room, she ordered her to take off her shoe and stocking and pointed:
“You have a spot here. This means that you are leprous, my daughter, and you will stay here.”
She was still excited and had not entirely realized her misfortune. When she saw our group of healthy boys walking there—thinking of everything except dating, let alone with a poor, sick woman like her—she slowed her pace and stayed a little behind, signaling with some glances that she wanted to start dating. Again, she disagreed with her situation’s inequality and showed a desire to impose herself.
People and things that are better, more beautiful, nobler and higher than us are made to raise us to the idea of what God is like, so we should admire them with joy. By seeing one who is more than us, we have an idea of what God is like.
Even if somebody is less than us, he is more than us from some standpoint, and we should admire him. Suppose there is someone from a family that is less illustrious, rich, elegant, cultivated, and has less good manners than ours, but to whom God gave a magnificent voice, for example. We must admire this person and be glad to hear his voice.
The Duty of Praising Those Who Deserve It
Those who are superior have a right to the public recognition of their superiority. Good souls are always satisfied and joyful because they know the delight and duty of admiration and are ready to admire. Egalitarians are always bitter and revolted. When someone has a quality, and we are silent about it out of envy, this creates a sadness that makes our lives bitter.
Catholic doctrine has something very relevant about this point. In addition to teaching that one does not have a right to slander others, it draws an interesting consequence: Just as one can not attribute to someone a bad act that he did not do, so also sins he who knows a good quality of others and keeps silent about it out of envy. If someone has a higher quality, we have a duty of justice to comment on it with third parties. A superior man has the right to the recognition of his superiority.
Justice commanded that those who committed shameful actions be tied to the pillory. Conversely, one should praise those worthy of admiration or who practice some act worthy of admiration. This is justice, hierarchy, inequality.
Our Lady and Inequality
Dante praises Our Lady as the daughter of her own Son and Mother of the One who created her. She really is the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, but as God, He is the One that created her. He is her Creator, infinitely superior to her, but on the other hand, He sought to practice the virtue of humility. As a child, he would cry when he felt cold, ask for water when thirsty, and beg Our Lady to teach him how to do things. To teach God Himself, from Whom all her knowledge had come from. This is the ultimate word as far as the love for hierarchy is concerned.[1]
Note:
[1] 1-27-90.