James 4

Such examples, therefore, brethren, it is right that we should follow; since it is written, "Cleave to the holy, for those that cleave to them shall [themselves] be made holy." And again, in another place, [the Scripture] says, "With a harmless man you shall prove yourself harmless, and with an elect man you shall be elect, and with a perverse man you shall show yourself perverse." Let us cleave, therefore, to the innocent and righteous, since these are the elect of God. Why are there strifes, and tumults, and divisions, and schisms, and wars among you? Have we not [all] one God and one Christ? Is there not one Spirit of grace poured out upon us? And have we not one calling in Christ? [Ephesians 4:4-6] Why do we divide and tear in pieces the members of Christ, and raise up strife against our own body, and have reached such a height of madness as to forget that "we are members one of another?" [Romans 12:5]

Letter to the Corinthians (Clement)

When a man has bought a large enough field and sees that his neighbor’s is larger still, he wants to increase his own so as to make his house greater.

Catena

Where do wars and conflicts come from among you? Is it not from here, namely from your pleasures that wage war in your members? It shows that although they may imitate the speech of the teacher, they are all entirely fleshly and commit the most disgraceful acts, calling pleasures to themselves: some indeed seek a more delicate table (which Paul also argues against them saying, "For such are not serving our Lord but their own belly;") (Col. 2:1) others desire the possession of precious fields or houses: others again wish to take on a household or join one house to another: while another seeks something else, in which that evil one imposes upon them, attempting to steal their souls.

Commentary on James

James shows that the teaching is not working, for they are all carnal and doing the most wicked things.

Catena

And from your desires which wage war in your members, etc. Desires wage war in the members when the hands, or tongue, or the consent of other members intemperately obey the wicked suggestions of an evil mind. Concerning this, also in the earlier parts of this Epistle, he says: But each one is tempted by his own desire, being drawn away and enticed, etc. But desires for earthly goods can also be understood in this place, namely the desire for kingdoms, riches, honors, dignities. For because of these and similar innumerable things, fights and wars frequently arise among the wicked.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

The apostle shows that although the aforementioned people claim for themselves the title of teachers, they are entirely carnal. They do much that is exceedingly contrary, devising pleasures for themselves: some seek a lavish table, which Paul also condemns, saying that "such people do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly" (Rom. 16:18); others desire to acquire estates; still others, wealthy houses; and another, something else that the evil one suggests to them, striving to deprive them of salvation.

Commentary on James

You desire and do not have; you kill and covet, and cannot obtain; you fight and wage war, "You desire and do not have," etc. According to position and elevation, it proceeds from the position, being removed due to the absurdity. The absurdity, due to the pleasures, is expected to be the underlying cause of what is contemplated in the position. For both desire ends in the perfection of pleasures, and murder, rivalry, and similarly strife and war are not good: therefore, neither do those things follow whose cause they affect. It should be noted at this point that he speaks of murder and war not in a bodily sense: for it would be serious even to think about robbers; much less, therefore, about those who were somewhat faithful and approached the Lord. But as it seems to me, those are said to kill who, through these reckless attempts, destroy their own soul, which is why war is also against piety for them. And just as in the course of the text he calls adulterers and adulteresses, not because they are entirely such, but because they corrupt divine and rightly established precepts by turning to other illegitimate things: for no one would tolerate a whoremonger as a teacher, even if he were more entangled in filth than a pig: so he speaks of murder and wars not in a bodily sense, but concerning the soul,

Commentary on James

You quarrel and fight, and you do not have because you do not ask. You quarrel, he says, and fight for temporal glory, and you are not able to obtain this, precisely because you do not care to ask the Lord, so that he himself might bestow upon you whatever is beneficial. For if you were to ask him with pious intention, he would grant you both the earthly necessities for temporal use and the heavenly goods for eternal enjoyment.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

Here he persuades through affirmation and negation. However, the affirmation is passed over in silence as being indecent. The indecency lies in the fact that what is implied in the affirmation constitutes the kindling of desire, for desire ends in the fulfillment of sensual pleasure. Murder and envy, strife and enmity are not good deeds, which is why those who pursue them do not attain what they strive for. One should, however, know that here he speaks not of bodily murder and enmity, for this is hard to hear even concerning robbers, much less concerning believers (though some) who come to the Lord. But it seems to me that he calls murderers those who kill their own souls by such undertakings, on account of which enmity against piety also arises in them. So too further on (Jas. 4:4) he called them adulterers and adulteresses — not, of course, those who are such in reality, but those who sin against the Divine commandments by mixing in their own inventions, for no one would tolerate a teacher who is a fornicator, even if the person himself were filthier than a swine. So too he speaks of murders and wars not as bodily, but as spiritual.

Commentary on James

The Savior said: “Ask and you will receive. Everyone who asks will receive.” How can it be then that some people pray but do not get what they ask for? To this it must be answered that if someone comes to prayer in the right way, omitting none of the prerequisites for intercession, he will receive everything he asks for. But if someone appears to be going beyond the permissible bounds laid down for intercession, he will appear to be asking for something in the wrong way and therefore will not obtain it.

Commentary on James

If someone intends to misuse what he receives, he will not receive it. Instead, God will pity him.

Tractates 73.1

and you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. "You ask and do not receive." Just as the Pharisee, of whom it is written in the Gospel according to Luke (18:11); for the more he recounted his good works, the more he blocked the divine ears, and the empty splendor of words flowed around his lips and dissolved into foam like a surging wave. But someone will say: if the promise of the Lord Jesus, who cannot be deceived, is true, in which He says: "Everyone who asks receives," (Matt. 7:8) how does the present apostle say this now? But we say that he who proceeds in the proper way and order to ask also has the complete promise, not being frustrated in anything he asks for. If, however, he seems to ask outside the scope of the given petition, not asking as he ought, he does not even ask, and therefore he will not receive. For example, if a grammar teacher promises to teach everyone who comes to him grammar, but the one who wishes to learn approaches improperly and does not direct himself towards the reception of what has been promised, then if he falls into absurdity similar to his own, will anyone justly accuse the teacher of lying? Certainly, such a person would not act wisely. Nor did the one who was to receive the discipline approach as the teacher exhorts. However, someone might say: And how or what should one ask? Listen to Him who made the promise. "Seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness." (Matt. 6:33) Therefore, it is clear that he who asks in this way, especially concerning such things, will not be disappointed in other matters, since receiving them will not fall outside of what is for his salvation. But he who asks for harmful and damaging things will not have them from Him who gives every good gift. Moreover, if one seeks divine knowledge or some spiritual gift out of pleasure, he will not receive it: for he asks wrongly, and it is for his own destruction; furthermore, God does not grant evil things at all.

Commentary on James

It appears that some ask but do not receive. God ignores those who attack him and those who ask wrongly, according to their own desires. But someone will say that even those who ask for divine wisdom and virtue do not receive them. In reply it must be said that such people may be worthy to receive these good things, but they must do so in the right way. Perhaps they want such things merely for the pleasure of having them, and if so, they will not get them.

Catena

Those who continue in their sins ask wrongly. They entreat the Lord ill-advisedly to forgive them sins which they are not prepared to forgive in others.

Homilies on the Gospels 2.14

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, etc. He had foretold that they do not ask, and now he says that they ask wrongly, because he who asks wrongly seems to ask nothing at all in the sight of the inner witness. He asks wrongly who, despising the Lord’s commands, desires supreme benefits from the Lord. He also asks wrongly who, having lost the love of higher things, seeks merely to gain lower goods, and this not for the sustenance of human frailty, but for the excess of unrestrained pleasure. This is indeed what he means when he says: So that you may spend it on your passions.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

So it was with the Pharisee mentioned in the Gospel (Luke 18:10–14). The more he enumerated his virtues, the more he blocked the Divine hearing, and his lofty speech was idle on his lips and turned to foam like a raging wave. But someone will say: if the promise of the Lord Jesus, that truthful Teacher, is true — "everyone who asks receives" (Matt. 7:8) — then how does the present apostle say this? We answer: for one who approaches prayer in the proper way, the aforementioned promise is true; he will not be disappointed in anything he asks for. But whoever, having departed from the purpose of devout prayer, asks in appearance only but does not ask as he ought, in reality does not even ask, and therefore will not receive. Imagine, for example, that a grammar teacher promises to teach grammatical knowledge to everyone who comes to him, but the one desiring to learn comes not as he should and does not exert himself to master what is taught, so that in practice the result does not correspond to the promise. Would anyone justly ascribe the falsehood in this case to the teacher himself? Such a person would act unreasonably, for the one who wished to learn did not come as the teacher required. How then and for what should one ask, someone will say. Listen to the One Who gave the aforementioned promise: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matt. 6:33). Evidently, whoever asks in this way and chiefly for this will not be disappointed in other things either, the receiving of which will not tear him away from salvation. But to the one who asks for what is harmful and destructive, He from Whom comes "every good gift" (Jas. 1:17) will not give. Even the one who asks for knowledge of the Divine or some other spiritual gift, but asks for the sake of his own desires, will not receive, because he asks badly and to his own destruction, and God does not give what is bad.

Commentary on James

Since evil forms a friendship with the world and virtue a friendship with God, virtue and evil cannot coexist.

Catena

Whoever loves the world by committing sin is revealed as an enemy of God, just as, on the other hand, one who affirms friendship with God by not sinning is a constant enemy of the world. Therefore, just as it is impossible to serve both God and mammon, so it is also impossible to be a friend of the world and of God at the same time.

Commentary on James

It was because of these enmities toward God that not even his only-begotten Son was spared.

Tractates 101.2

Love of honor and pride and boastfulness is hostile to God, for these things were the undoing of the fallen angels as well as of the first human couple, which is why to this day they are described as “enemies of God.”

Introductory Tractate on the Letter of James

You adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hatred against God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. "You adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world." For James had previously reproached a few false wise men who would corrupt the divine Scripture and pervert it to their own will, so that they might have a backing for their luxurious life: this arises from nothing other than arrogance and pride, and for this reason, he now proceeds more severely and uses words that are particularly strange to his own humor, calling such people adulterers and adulteresses, and by reproaching them, he brings them to shame, and using almost such accusations: Tell me, vain one: do you wish to present yourself as wise? and from where do you have that, while you continually avoid conflict and war, you are always fixated on the present and pursue the joy of this life with certainty of mind? This is not the way of the wise but of ordinary men, and those who have inclination towards the friendship of the world, and it shows you to be adulterers who prefer the vulgar, profane, and shameful over the hidden, divine, and honorable beauty, and bear hatred towards God out of affection for the present. Do you not know that the friendship of the world alienates from the friendship of God, or makes one an enemy of God? In this context, the world refers to all material and vile life, as if it were the mother of corruption, of which he who attempts to partake becomes an enemy of God. For due to a passion for the useless, he neglectfully and disdainfully regards the divine, which pertains only to those whom we hate and who are our enemies. Therefore, since there are two things that men strive for, namely God and the world, and around both of these revolve two things, friendship and hatred: if we are found to be studious of either, we seem to entirely neglect the other. However, diligence produces friendship, while negligence produces hatred. Therefore, whoever clings to the divine is a friend of God, and it is said: But whoever neglects God and is firmly attached to the things of the world should be considered among those who are the greatest enemies of God. Moreover, since this and all such evil has been shown to have originated from the arrogance of the false wisdom of the teachers, he used another argument, wishing to bring them back from such drunkenness and to free them from gluttony, and he says:

Commentary on James

Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with this world is enmity with God? He rightly calls adulterers those whom, having turned from the love of heavenly wisdom to the embrace of worldly friendship, he reproaches, seeing that they serve mammon more than the Creator whom they despise. He had indeed spoken above about the manifest enemies of God: Do not the rich oppress you by their power, and do they not drag you to the courts? Do they not blaspheme the good name that has been invoked upon you (James II)? But lest you think that only those who openly blaspheme God, who persecute His faith in the saints, and unjustly condemn them are His enemies, he shows that those are also enemies of God who, under the faith and confession of the name of Christ, serve the lure and love of the world, who, only in name being faithful, set earthly things above heavenly ones. This he more earnestly enforces in the following verse, adding: Whoever therefore wishes to be a friend of this world constitutes himself an enemy of God. Therefore, all lovers of the world are enemies of God, all seekers of trifles, all who belong to those of whom it is said: Behold, your enemies, O Lord, shall perish (Psalm XCI). Whether they enter the churches or do not enter the churches, they are enemies of God. For a time they may flourish like grass, but when the heat of judgment appears, they will perish, and the beauty of their face shall fade.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

When one is at enmity toward someone else, he has no idea how to explain to others what that person approves of or likes, nor is he able to instruct them concerning his desires.

Discourses 2.11

Above, the apostle only slightly rebuked certain false wise men who distort the Divine Scriptures and of their own will use them in a perverted manner, so as to have a pretext for their sensual life — and this is nothing other than a form of pride. But now he comes against them more sternly and, as if contrary to his usual mildness, employs words of reproach, calling such people adulterers and adulteresses, and makes rebuke somewhat like this: "Tell me, thoughtless one, you wish to present yourself as a wise man? But whence come the quarrels and constant enmity in your life? Whence comes the constant attachment to the present? Whence the unceasing pursuit of the pleasures of this present life? This is characteristic not of wise men, but of ordinary people inclined to friendship with the world, which also shows that you are adulterers, for you prefer common, shameful, and base beauty to the Divine and chaste beauty hidden within, and by your striving for the present you raise up enmity against God. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God, alienating us from the love of God and showing us to be His enemies?"

By "world" he here means the entire material life as the mother of corruption, and whoever partakes of it immediately becomes an enemy of God, for in his zeal for what is useless he negligently and contemptuously relates to Divine matters — the kind of attitude we have toward people who are hateful and hostile to us. Since there are two objects with which people occupy themselves — God and the world — and toward each of these two objects one turns with either love or hatred, as soon as we strongly attach ourselves to one, we obviously appear negligent of the other, for attention produces love, and negligence produces hatred. Therefore, whoever cleaves to Divine matters is and is called a friend of God, while whoever has grown negligent of God and has loved the world is numbered among the enemies of God. And since all this proceeds from the arrogance and pride of the false wise men, the apostle employs yet another rebuke, wishing to sober such people from their drunkenness and rouse them from their slumber.

Commentary on James

Mr. Rudyard Kipling has asked in a celebrated epigram what they can know of England who know England only. It is a far deeper and sharper question to ask, "What can they know of England who know only the world?" for the world does not include England any more than it includes the Church. The moment we care for anything deeply, the world—that is, all the other miscellaneous interests—becomes our enemy. Christians showed it when they talked of keeping one's self "unspotted from the world;" but lovers talk of it just as much when they talk of the "world well lost." Astronomically speaking, I understand that England is situated on the world; similarly, I suppose that the Church was a part of the world, and even the lovers inhabitants of that orb. But they all felt a certain truth—the truth that the moment you love anything the world becomes your foe.

Heretics, Ch. 3: On Mr. Rudyard Kipling and Making the World Small (1905)

[On the distinction between the false "friendship" of the World — the secret intimacy of the "Inner Ring" of insiders — and true friendship, which the Inner Ringer by the very nature of his desire can never have]

If in your spare time you consort simply with the people you like, you will find that you have come unawares to a real inside: that you are indeed snug and safe at the centre of something which, seen from without, would look exactly like an Inner Ring. But the difference is that its secrecy is accidental, and its exclusiveness a by-product, and no one was led thither by the lure of the esoteric: for it is only four or five people who like one another meeting to do things that they like. This is friendship. Aristotle placed it among the virtues. It causes perhaps half of all the happiness in the world, and no Inner Ringer can ever have it. In any wholesome group of people which holds together for a good purpose, the exclusions are in a sense accidental. Three or four people who are together for the sake of some piece of work exclude others because there is work only for so many or because the others can't in fact do it. But your genuine Inner Ring exists for exclusion. There'd be no fun if there were no outsiders. The invisible line would have no meaning unless most people were on the wrong side of it. Exclusion is no accident: it is the essence.

The Inner Ring, from Transposition and Other Addresses

"Adulteresses" St. James calls us, because we turn aside to the "friendship of the world", while God "Jealously longs for the spirit He has implanted in us".

The Problem of Pain, Ch. 3

What this means is that the Spirit in us tends toward fellowship with God. He turns us away from the love of the world and gives us ever more grace.

Catena

5–6

Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, or out of envy? That the spirit desires which dwells in you? But he gives a greater grace? This signifies something through these means, through the lack of using language, and again through the use of abbreviated wording. Therefore, James says: Indeed, I have criticized you in my own words regarding the correct and blameless use of your wisdom, lest you, abusing it out of arrogance, pollute and deceitfully handle the discourse of doctrine. But if you seek this from Scripture, listen. For it says: "The Lord resists the proud." (1 Peter 5:5) Therefore, I was not speaking absurdly when I said that contempt for divine doctrines arises from pride and a great zeal for the world constitutes hate against God. For if He resists the proud, and we are accustomed to resist enemies, surely the proud must also be numbered among the enemies. For Scripture does not publish difficult precepts to us in vain or out of envy, but to desire or seek the grace that dwells in us through its exhortation: which, when it finds working in us through spiritual modesty, gives a greater grace. Therefore, if you obey the Scriptures, humble yourselves and become lowly before the Lord, and you will find grace through His exaltation. Pride (Ὑπερηφανία), however, is a vice that inflates deeply, which we call elevation: and it differs from arrogance, which is called conceit (οἴῃσις), because the former is exalted by what it has, while the latter is exalted by what does not belong to it in any way. On the contrary, humility or modesty of the mind is a great good. And since both are voluntary for us; whoever exalts himself through arrogance, apart from being condemned by the Lord, is also humbled by Him: exalted through the occasion of the one who had humbled himself out of modesty of spirit: so that, guided by this, he who exercises himself in these things achieves spiritual greatness in the contests. "Do you think that Scripture speaks in vain, or out of envy?" None of these, but it desires or seeks grace in you through its counsel dwelling within. It is similar through the restraint of the response, as in Job: Do you think I have answered you for any other purpose than to appear just? Indeed, in this place the response: No, is not expressed. "The spirit desires." It refers to the good intention, as David also says: "With a willing spirit:" (Ps. 50:14) that is, by the Lord's will through which He sends afflictions. And it refers to the right spirit as the right will.

Commentary on James

Do you think that the Scripture says uselessly? Namely, that Scripture which, restraining the faithful from the society of evildoers, thus speaks through Moses: You shall not make a covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not live in your land, lest they make you sin against Me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a scandal to you (Exodus XXIII). And again: You shall not make their works, but you shall destroy them and break their statues (Ibid.).

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

Does the spirit that dwells within you desire to envoke envy? It should be read as a rhetorical question, as if he were saying: Does the Spirit of grace, with which you were marked on the day of redemption, desire this, that you should envy one another? Not, indeed, a good spirit in you, but an evil spirit causes the vice of envy. There is a similar mode of expression in the psalm: “A brother cannot redeem; a man shall redeem” (Psalm 48). For it is understood thus: If Christ, who deigned to become our brother through humanity, did not redeem us, could any mere human suffice to redeem us? Some interpret this passage thus: The spirit that dwells within you desires against envy—desiring, that is, that the sickness of envy be conquered and eradicated from your minds. Others understand it to refer to the human spirit, with the sense being: Do not covet, do not cling to the friendships of this world because the spirit of your mind, while it covets earthly things, indeed desires envy when you desire to acquire things for yourself, envying others who have them.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

5–6

Here the figure of omission is employed — a customary form of abbreviated speech. The apostle speaks as if to say: "I have with my own words been persuading you to use your wisdom rightly and without condemnation, so that you would not abuse it through pride, would not counterfeit and distort true teaching. But if you desire instruction from Scripture as well, then listen: 'God resists the proud.' If He 'resists the proud' (and we usually resist enemies), then without doubt the proud must be numbered among His enemies, for Scripture does not in vain, without foundation, or out of envy command us to do the impossible, but earnestly desires that through its exhortations grace may dwell in us. Therefore, if you are obedient to Scripture, humble yourselves before God and you will receive grace through exaltation from Him. Pride is arrogance taken to the extreme of malice, but it differs from self-conceit. Pride exalts itself over those subject to it, while self-conceit exalts itself over what does not even exist. Modesty also differs from humility. Modesty, or humility, being directly opposed to pride, is a great good. And since both arise in us by our own free will, everyone who exalts himself through pride is already condemned and is humbled by the Lord, while the one who has humbled himself through modesty He exalts in due time, for the very practice of humility raises the one who has acquired it to spiritual heights."

Saint Cyril explains it differently. If death entered the world through the envy of the devil (Wis. 2:24), and if Christ, according to Scripture, has dwelt in our inner man (Eph. 3:16–17), then He dwelt there in order to abolish the death that came through envy. But He not only gives this, but also greater grace. "I have come," He says, "that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). And that God dwelt in us out of His great love for us, the prophet clearly expressed when he said that neither an angel nor a mediator, but "the Lord Himself will save us" (Isa. 33:22), out of love for us and care for us. How then did the Savior grant even greater grace? By casting down our adversary Satan, which is why it is added: "God resists the proud." For how is he not proud who proclaims: "and my hand has seized the whole world like a nest" ("and my hand has found like a nest the riches of the peoples") (Isa. 10:14)?

Commentary on James

Seeing, therefore, that we are the portion of the Holy One, let us do all those things which pertain to holiness, avoiding all evil-speaking, all abominable and impure embraces, together with all drunkenness, seeking after change, all abominable lusts, detestable adultery, and execrable pride. "For God," [says the Scripture], "resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Letter to the Corinthians (Clement)

Scripture says that God resists the arrogant but gives grace to the humble. We should associate with those to whom God’s grace has been given.

Letter to the Corinthians 1.30.2-3

By this he manifested his pride, and condemned himself. For it is written, "God resisteth the proud." For he that yields not obedience to his superiors is self-confident, quarrelsome, and proud.

Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians

There are those who say openly that marriage is fornication. They lay it down as a dogma that it was instituted by the devil. They are arrogant and claim that they are emulating the Lord, who did not marry and had no worldly possessions. It is their boast that they have a deeper understanding of the gospel than anyone else. To them Scripture says that God is against the proud and gives grace to the humble.

The Stromata Book 3

We add, in the next place, that neither is every one that prophesies holy, nor every one that casts out devils religious: for even Balaam the son of Beor the prophet did prophesy, though he was himself ungodly; as also did Caiaphas, the falsely-named high priest. Nay, the devil foretells many things, and the demons, about Him; and yet for all that, there is not a spark of piety in them: for they are oppressed with ignorance, by reason of their voluntary wickedness. It is manifest, therefore, that the ungodly, although they prophesy, do not by their prophesying cover their own impiety; nor will those who cast out demons be sanctified by the demons being made subject to them: for they only mock one another, as they do who play childish tricks for mirth, and destroy those who give heed to them. For neither is a wicked king any longer a king, but a tyrant; nor is a bishop oppressed with ignorance or an evil disposition a bishop, but falsely so called, being not one sent out by God, but by men, as Ananiah and Samoeah in Jerusalem, and Zedekiah and Achiah the false prophets in Babylon. And indeed Balaam the prophet, when he had corrupted Israel by Baalpeor, suffered punishment; and Caiaphas at last was his own murderer; and the sons of Sceva, endeavouring to cast out demons, were wounded by them, and fled away in an unseemly manner; and the kings of Israel and of Judah, when they became impious, suffered all sorts of punishments. It is therefore evident how bishops and presbyters, also falsely so called, will not escape the judgment of God. For it will be said to them even now: "O ye priests that despise my name, I will deliver you up to the slaughter, as I did Zedekiah and Achiah, whom the king of Babylon fried in a frying-pan," as says Jeremiah the prophet. We say these things, not in contempt of true prophecies, for we know that they are wrought in holy men by the inspiration of God, but to put a stop to the boldness of vainglorious men; and add this withal, that from such as these God takes away His grace: for "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble."

Constitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 8

The true sign of a Christian is the following: to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty, to endure hunger and thirst, to be poor in spirit, humble and contemptible in one’s own eyes.

First Syriac Epistle 2

One who holds his head high in arrogance hates God.

Sermons 15

Give me someone professing perpetual continence, who is free from all vices and blemishes of conduct. For her I fear pride—I dread the swelling of self-conceit from so great a blessing. The more there is in her which she is satisfied with, the more I fear that in pleasing herself she will displease the one who resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

On Holy Virginity 34

One man is invited to grace in proportion to his love of humility. Another is consigned to punishment in proportion to his sin of pride. So if the swelling of pride is taking place in anyone, let him combat it, lest he draw the arms of heavenly justice against himself.

Sermons 14.2

Be humble, in order that God may rest in you, which he wants to do.

Sermons 210.5

But He gives greater grace. The Lord gives greater grace than the friendship of the world, because while it provides these earthly goods temporarily and with the pain of losing them, He bestows eternal joy. He subsequently explains to whom He grants this grace.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

For this reason it says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Thieves, indeed, perjurers, the lustful, and other sinners are punished by God as despisers of His precepts, but He is said to resist the proud especially, because those who trust in their own virtue, who neglect to submit by repenting to divine power, who act as if they are sufficient to save themselves, and refuse to seek the aid of heavenly grace, are certainly afflicted with greater punishment. On the other hand, He gives grace to the humble, because those who submissively submit to the hands of the true physician in the wounds of their vices deservedly receive the gifts of the desired health. It is to be noted, however, that this statement regarding the proud and humble was placed by the blessed James from the proverbs of Solomon according to the ancient Translation, just as Peter did in his Epistle. In our Edition, which descends from Hebrew truth, it is said thus: He will mock the mockers, and He will give grace to the meek. The Lord will mock the mockers according to what Paul speaks about those who, refusing to receive Him coming in the name of His Father, will accept the Antichrist coming in his own name (John V): Because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved, therefore God will send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie (Thess. II). He mocked the mockers when, to the Jews saying: If he is the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross and we will believe in him (Matt. XXVII), He patiently endured until, having died and been buried, He overcame their insults and even death itself by a swift resurrection. But He will give grace to the meek, because to those who humbly follow Him, He abundantly grants both the perfection of good work and the gifts of blessed eternity.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that—and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison—you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you...

We must not think Pride is something God forbids because He is offended at it, or that Humility is something He demands as due to His own dignity—as if God Himself was proud. He is not in the least worried about His dignity. The point is, He wants you to know Him: wants to give you Himself. And He and you are two things of such a kind that if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble—delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life. He is trying to make you humble in order to make this moment possible: trying to take off a lot of silly, ugly, fancy-dress in which we have all got ourselves up and are strutting about like the little idiots we are.

Mere Christianity, The Great Sin

A brother felt hungry at dawn, and struggled not to eat till nine o’clock. When nine o’clock came, he made himself wait till noon. At noon he dipped his bread and sat down to eat, but then got up again, saying, ‘I will wait till three.’ At three o’clock he prayed, and saw the devil’s work going out of him like smoke; and his hunger ceased.

The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

A brother came to Poemen and said to him, ‘Many thoughts come into my mind and put me in danger.’ He sent him out into the open air, and said, ‘Open your lungs and do not breathe.’ He replied, ‘I can’t do that.’ Then he said to him: ‘Just as you can’t stop air coming into your lungs, so you can’t stop thoughts coming into your mind. Your part is to resist them.’

The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

A hermit said, ‘If anyone says “Forgive me”, and humbles himself, he burns up the demons that tempt him.’

The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

Let us fight as hard as we can, with the Lord’s help, against that most harsh captivity of the soul [which is the devil’s ability to divert our thoughts away from spiritual concerns].

Sermons 77.7

If death came into the world by the malice of the devil, and Christ dwells in the inner man according to the Scriptures, this is the reason why he dwells in us, that he might destroy the death which has come upon us through the devil’s cunning. And not only this, but that he might give us more grace as well. For he said: “I have come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.”

Catena

The more a man was in the Devil's power, the less he would be aware of it, on the principle that a man is still fairly sober as long as he knows he's drunk. It is the people who are fully awake and trying hard to be good who would be most aware of the Devil. It is when you start arming against Hitler that you first realize your country is full of Nazi agents. Of course, they don't want you to believe in the Devil. If devils exist, their first aim is to give you an anesthetic—to put you off your guard. Only if that fails, do you become aware of them.

Answers to Questions on Christianity, from God in the Dock

For God, approaching is not a repulsion of those who approach; for He wants to be the cause of salvation for all, not of death. In fact, He repels no one, unless they think they should be kept away from His sight. For behold, those who distance themselves from you will perish, as it is said. For each person either joins or separates themselves from your piety through their actions. For he who performs things that he fears being caught for avoids God, just as that person who is hidden by walls and surrounded by darkness considers himself unseen by the Lord God.

Interrogation of Job and David 3.11.29

One of the hermits said, ‘No one can see his face reflected in muddy water; so the soul cannot pray to God with contemplation unless it is first cleansed of harmful thoughts.’

The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

Approach God, and he will approach you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners: and purify your hearts, you double minded. "purify your hearts, you double minded." 'Double of mind' refers to those who do not wish to live in a certain way but are driven and carried away by the wickedness of men. For they do not dwell in the house under the Lord in one way. Moreover, that the soul is also called life will be sufficiently taught to us in Job. "Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give as a ransom for his life." (Job 2:4)

Commentary on James

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you: Draw near to the Lord by following His footsteps in humility, and He will draw near to you through mercy, freeing you from distress. For no one is far from God in terms of regions, but in terms of affections. Indeed, dwelling in one place on earth, both he who is diligent in virtues and he who wallows in the filth of vices, one is far from God, the other has God near. Hence the Psalmist says: "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth" (Psalm 145). Again: "Salvation is far from sinners" (Psalm 119). That same salvation of which we sing: "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" (Psalm 27). And the Lord Himself, when He encouraged us to draw near to Him by saying: "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11), immediately demonstrated that this should be fulfilled not by feet but by actions when He added: "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart" (ibid.).

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. This is truly to draw near to the Lord, namely to have purity of works and simplicity of heart. "Innocent," he says, "with clean hands and a pure heart, this one shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy" (Psalm 25). And this is truly the Lord drawing near to us, to give to us simply those gifts of His mercy which we seek. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee deceit, and will withdraw from thoughts that are without understanding (Wisdom 1).

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

The apostle calls double-minded those who do not wish to live uniformly, but are constantly led and carried away by the pressure of people, and do not dwell in the house of the Lord with one mind, for God settles "those of one mind in a home" ("the solitary in a home") (Ps. 68:6). And that life is also called "soul" is evident from the words of the prophet: "skin for skin, and all that a man has he will give for his soul" ("skin for skin, and a man will give everything he has for his life") — that is, for his life (Job 2:4).

Commentary on James

The person who repents after sinning is worthy of blessings, not of mourning, as he returns to the company of the righteous. First, confess your sins that you may be justified, for if someone is not ashamed of his sin he is miserable, not so much because he fell from grace but because he has remained in his fallen state. And if it is a wicked thing not to repent after sinning, what punishment will someone deserve who sins as a matter of course? If a person overcome with the need to repent is unclean, what forgiveness will there be for someone who suffers because he remains in his sins?

Catena

Flee laughter as a sin and change temporal joy into mourning so that you may be blessed, for those who mourn are blessed and shall be comforted.

The Training of Nuns 21

Be miserable, mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. Do not, He says, love to become wealthy and rejoice in this world, but being mindful of the sins you have committed, rather aim that through the brief miseries, poverty and transient lamentation of this life you may reach the eternal joys of the heavenly kingdom, so that you do not, for the temporary joy of wealth which you have acquired through unjust labor, perpetually beg, mourn, and pay the penalties in torment.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

Pride is the greatest of all evils. To the extent that humility can oppose it, it is a great good. And when both of these are consciously and deliberately at work, good I mean and evil, everyone who humbles himself before God and rejects the proud will be raised up, and his humility will take him to the heights.

Catena

It is a blessed thing to humble oneself before the Lord. For James says: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” Whenever we are thus humbled, even if we are tempted by demons and even if we are attacked by those who hate virtue, we have God to deliver us, as long as we do not forget his law or curse him in our sufferings.

Catena

The whole secret of the practical success of Christendom lies in the Christian humility, however imperfectly fulfilled. For with the removal of all question of merit or payment, the soul is suddenly released for incredible voyages. If we ask a sane man how much he merits, his mind shrinks instinctively and instantaneously. It is doubtful whether he merits six feet of earth. But if you ask him what he can conquer—he can conquer the stars. Thus comes the thing called Romance, a purely Christian product. A man cannot deserve adventures; he cannot earn dragons and hippogriffs. The mediaeval Europe which asserted humility gained Romance; the civilization which gained Romance has gained the habitable globe.

Heretics, Ch. 5: Mr. H. G. Wells and the Giants (1905)

For the truth is much stranger even than it appears in the formal doctrine of the sin of pride. It is not only true that humility is a much wiser and more vigorous thing than pride. It is also true that vanity is a much wiser and more vigorous thing than pride. Vanity is social—it is almost a kind of comradeship; pride is solitary and uncivilized. Vanity is active; it desires the applause of infinite multitudes; pride is passive, desiring only the applause of one person, which it already has. Vanity is humorous, and can enjoy the joke even of itself; pride is dull, and cannot even smile. ... Stevenson had found that the secret of life lies in laughter and humility. Self is the gorgon. Vanity sees it in the mirror of other men and lives. Pride studies it for itself and is turned to stone.

Heretics, Ch. 9: The Moods of Mr. George Moore (1905)

As a matter of fact, the strongest nations are those, like Prussia or Japan, which began from very mean beginnings, but have not been too proud to sit at the feet of the foreigner and learn everything from him. Almost every obvious and direct victory has been the victory of the plagiarist. This is, indeed, only a very paltry by-product of humility, but it is a product of humility, and, therefore, it is successful. Prussia had no Christian humility in its internal arrangements; hence its internal arrangements were miserable. But it had enough Christian humility slavishly to copy France (even down to Frederick the Great’s poetry), and that which it had the humility to copy it had ultimately the honour to conquer. The case of the Japanese is even more obvious; their only Christian and their only beautiful quality is that they have humbled themselves to be exalted.

Heretics, Ch. 12: Paganism and Mr. Lowes Dickinson (1905)

Every wicked act dulls the sense of our thoughts and gives birth to arrogance. For although it is necessary for each one to examine himself and behave according to God’s will, many people do not do this but prefer to mind the business of others. If they happen to see others suffering, it seems that they forget their own weaknesses and set about criticizing them and slandering them. They condemn them, not knowing that they suffer from the same things as the people they have criticized, and in so doing they condemn themselves. The wise Paul writes exactly the same thing: “If you judge another in something, you condemn yourself, for the one who judges does the same things.”

Catena

11–12

Do not speak ill of one another my brethren. He that speaks ill of his brother, or he that judges his brother, speaks ill of the Law, and judges the Law. But if you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law, but a judge. For there is one law-maker, and judge that can destroy and deliver. But you, who are you that judges another? "Do not speak ill of one another." New pride and arrogance arise from contempt and speaks ill against the meek, which drives those who use it to complete contempt for these things. Therefore, withdrawing them from this, James wishes to make them modest through what is submitted here, saying: "He speaks ill of the Law and judges the Law." This is to condemn, to despise. For he who condemns does so out of contempt. But which law? First indeed that which commands: "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged." (Matt. 7:1) Therefore, what is in the Psalms: "I was secretly pursuing this one who was detracting from his neighbor." (Ps. 101:5) And because this is done out of contempt, he adds: If you judge the law, whether you condemn it, you are not a keeper of the law. For who indeed despises anyone, how will he bear to live from now under his authority? Therefore, he says, do not despise, and have as if a contrary legislator. For it is not permitted to you, since there is only one lawmaker, God, who can save and destroy the transgressors of His law. For it is the role of the law and the lawmaker to make their transgressors subject to punishment; it is not yours, who can do nothing else but joke about these matters. Moreover, you fall upon yourself and are contrary to yourself, bringing a judgment against yourself. For when you do the same things as the one you speak ill of, in the very act of condemning him, you condemn yourself long before. "Who are you that judges another?" By despising: that is, when you are such, how do you dare to judge or condemn him who is similarly affected?

Commentary on James

Do not slander one another, my brothers. This vice of slander looks to the deadly venom of the tongue, about which it is said: You quarrel and fight.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

He who slanders a brother or judges his brother, slanders the law and judges the law. He slanders the law who slanders a brother, as if it were not right for it to have forbidden slander, saying through the Prophet: "I pursued the one who secretly slanders his neighbor" (Psalm 101). And in Leviticus: "You shall not be a slanderer, nor a whisperer among the people" (Leviticus 19). It can also be understood this way: He who slanders a brother who is obeying the law, slanders the law and judges the law that gave such commands. For instance, the law commanded, saying: "You shall not remember the wrongs of your fellow citizens." Therefore, he who slanders a brother and judges a brother whom he sees willingly accepting injuries for the love of God, certainly slanders the law and judges the law that commanded us to forget wrongs.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

The apostle knows that pride, beginning with contempt and slander, brings those who trample on the meek to utter humiliation. Drawing them away from this, he wishes by the present statement to bring them to their senses. "Judges the law" means despises it, for the one who judges does so out of contempt. What law does he judge? First, the one that commands: "Judge not, and you shall not be judged" (Luke 6:37). Second, the one expressed in the psalm: "Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy" (Ps. 101:5). And since this proceeds from contempt, he adds that if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, for would anyone wish to live under the authority of one whom he despises?

Commentary on James

The law of the Bible was given through many agents, like Moses and Elijah and John the Baptist, but ultimately it is still only one law, and there is only one lawgiver.

Introductory Tractate on the Letter of James

But who are you to judge your neighbor? He condemns the recklessness of the one who delights in judging his neighbor without taking care to consider the state of his own frailty and the uncertainties of his temporal life. And because sometimes, through the change of the right hand of the Most High, those who judged their neighbor are subjected to the power of the one they judged, sometimes they are suddenly taken from the world while still living, he subsequently also condemns the recklessness of those who, having no certainty of their own life, stretch their minds into the future, thinking of the profits of many years to come. For it follows:

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

Therefore, do not presume, he says, to degrade and, as it were, to counter-legislate, for this will not be forgiven you, since there is only one Lawgiver — God, who is able "to save and to destroy" transgressors of His law, for to punish the transgressors of the law belongs to the law and the Lawgiver, while you have nothing more than idle talk and yourself bring upon yourself the sentence of condemnation, for doing the same thing as the one you condemn, you condemn yourself to the same degree that you condemn him. He speaks dismissively. When you yourself are such, how dare you judge one of like nature?

Commentary on James

Some people go on endless journeys for the sake of business and the profits which they can make thereby, enduring even sea travel for their sake. Some fight in order to get some advantage over others by increasing their power. Still others fatten their purses by cheating and by extortion, bringing down fire and brimstone on their heads.

Catena

Whoever says, Today or tomorrow we will go to that city, and we will spend a year there, and we will trade and make a profit. "Whoever says, Today." It does not take away power or free will but shows that not everything is in his hands: for even the heavenly needs grace. For although one may strive, run, engage in business, and do all things necessary for life, one should not attribute these to one's own efforts, but to divine kindness. For Jeremiah says: "Lord, life is not in man himself." (Jer. 10:33) And the author of Proverbs (Παροιμιαστής) says: "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring." (Prov. 27:1)

Commentary on James

13–14

Behold now, you who say: "Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and spend a year there, and trade, and make a profit," yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. He notes the folly in this kind of planning in many ways, since clearly they both consult about the increase of profit and assume they will live for a long time, and that it is within their power to spend a year there, and in all of these things they disdain to recall the judgment of the Supreme Judge to mind.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

He does not destroy free will, but shows that not everything depends on man himself — the grace from above is also needed, for one may run about, and trade, and do everything necessary for life, but one must ascribe this not to one's own labors, but solely to the lovingkindness of God. Jeremiah also says: "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself" (Jer. 10:23), and the author of Proverbs: "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth" (Prov. 27:1).

Commentary on James

13–14

Our business is to get them away from the eternal, and from the Present. With this in view, we sometimes tempt a human (say a widow or a scholar) to live in the Past. But this is of limited value, for they have some real knowledge of the past and it has a determinate nature and, to that extent, resembles eternity. It is far better to make them live in the Future. Biological necessity makes all their passions point in that direction already, so that thought about the Future inflames hope and fear. Also, it is unknown to them, so that in making them think about it we make them think of unrealities. In a word, the Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. It is the most completely temporal part of time--for the Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays. Hence the encouragement we have given to all those schemes of thought such as Creative Evolution, Scientific Humanism, or Communism, which fix men's affections on the Future, on the very core of temporality. Hence nearly all vices are rooted in the future. Gratitude looks to the past and love to the present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead. Do not think lust an exception. When the present pleasure arrives, the sin (which alone interests us) is already over. The pleasure is just the part of the process which we regret and would exclude if we could do so without losing the sin; it is the part contributed by the Enemy, and therefore experienced in a Present. The sin, which is our contribution, looked forward.

The Screwtape Letters, Chapter XV

13–14

The assumption which you want him to go on making is so absurd that, if once it is questioned, even we cannot find a shred of argument in its defence. The man can neither make, nor retain, one moment of time; it all comes to him by pure gift; he might as well regard the sun and moon as his chattels. He is also, in theory, committed to a total service of the Enemy; and if the Enemy appeared to him in bodily form and demanded that total service for even one day, he would not refuse. He would be greatly relieved if that one day involved nothing harder than listening to the conversation of a foolish woman; and he would be relieved almost to the pitch of disappointment if for one half-hour in that day the Enemy said "Now you may go and amuse yourself". Now if he thinks about his assumption for a moment, even he is bound to realise that he is actually in this situation every day. When I speak of preserving this assumption in his mind, therefore, the last thing I mean you to do is to furnish him with arguments in its defence. There aren't any. Your task is purely negative. Don't let his thoughts come anywhere near it. Wrap a darkness about it; and in the centre of that darkness let his sense of ownership-in-Time lie silent, uninspected, and operative.

The Screwtape Letters, Ch. XXI

Restoring health for a time to a man’s body amounts to no more than extending his breath for a little while longer. Therefore it should not be considered of great importance, because it is temporal, not eternal.

Sermons 124.1

Who are ignorant what shall be tomorrow. For what is your life? It is a vapor appearing for a little while, and afterward it shall vanish away; "For what is your life?" This says, pointing out the vanity and wretchedness of our life: and shaming us for the fact that throughout all the time of our life we consume ourselves in temporary evils, and in those things that arise and vanish simultaneously, all our labor is fulfilled. This is also echoed by David, saying: "Yet man passes away like a shadow; yet he is in vain troubled," (Ps. 38:7) that is, about that which is not, but exists only in a mere illusion: for such are the things and the image; or about that which does not exist, but insofar as it has a resemblance and image with life that truly proceeds. "It is a vapor." Vapor is a condensation of air expiring from the moisture due to the heat of fire, having minimal existence. For due to its extreme low density, it easily yields to the surrounding body and vanishes and dissolves, like a moderate moisture when water is added. Thus, it has similarity to our life: and that very cleverly.

Commentary on James

For what is your life? It is a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. He does not say what is our life, but what, he says, is your life? Because the righteous truly begin to live when they reach the end of this life. But the enemies of the Lord, when they have been honored and exalted, will perish like smoke (Psalm 36). However, it should not be thought that this is the same sentiment which the ungodly are reported to have expressed in the book of Wisdom: For we are born from nothing, and after this we will be as though we had never been (Wisdom 2). Because smoke has been blown into our nostrils, and a word as a spark to stir up our heart. When this is extinguished, the body will be ashes, and the spirit will be dispersed like soft air. For these things reasoned with those who believed in no life except this one, saying with Epicurus: “After death there is nothing, and death itself is nothing.” But the blessed James added that the life of the wicked is short in the present, yet in the future, eternal death follows, according to the saying of the blessed Job: They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave (Job 21).

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

He shows the vanity of our life and puts us to shame for spending our entire life in vanity, for all our labor is exhausted on temporal evil. David says the same: "Surely every man walks about like a shadow; surely he busies himself in vain" ("Truly, man walks about like a phantom; in vain he bustles") (Ps. 39:6) — that is, he busies himself over what does not exist but appears as if in a shadow, or over what has no independent existence but constitutes merely a likeness and image of a truly flourishing life.

Vapor is a dark compound arising from intense heat and moisture and having the briefest existence, for on account of its extreme fineness it quickly "vanishes" from contact with its surroundings, entering into them and dissolving, just as a small portion of moisture dissolves in water. This is what the apostle likened our "life" to, and most fittingly.

Commentary on James

James is not trying to take away our freedom to decide, but he is showing us that it is not just what we want that matters. We need God’s grace to complement our efforts and ought to rely not on them but on God’s love for us. As it says in Proverbs: “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

Catena

15–16

for that you should say, If the Lord wills, and if we live, we will do this or that. But now you glory in your arrogance. All such rejoicing is wicked. Furthermore, having intercepted such speech by this example, it again returns from the perspective to what was following. For the whole particle is to be ordered in this way: Now you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to that city, and we will spend a year there, and we will trade and make a profit," for what you ought to say. If the Lord wills, and if we live, we will do this or that. "But now you glory in your arrogance." Since this was truly a consequence of the discourse, it does not do this, but after it interrupts the continuity of the discourse with an example, it subsequently adds what it intended, by portraying the thing and proving the vanity that lies beneath what distracts us regarding this world. It is to be understood in this way: "Glory in your arrogance." Who are you that do not know what will happen the next day? What is your life? etc. By saying, "What is your life?" it despises life, and by this, it paves the way with an example set against brittleness, thus it also adds an example, rendering this most solid. "Glory in your arrogance." The arrogant and arrogance are affections for non-sustaining things. Therefore, it is also called ἁλαζών, which means "living with the sea," that is, living with something unstable and lacking permanence.

Commentary on James

Having interrupted the discourse midway with this comparison, he returns to it again and continues. Here is the connection: "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, and buy and sell and make a profit'" (Jas. 4:13)... "Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that'" (Jas. 4:15).

Having interrupted the connection of the discourse with the example by which the apostle wished to show more strikingly the vanity of worldly cares proceeding from pride, he then adds what was omitted. The course of the speech is this: "You, in your arrogance, boast." Who? "You who do not know what will happen tomorrow, for what is your life..." and so forth. With the words "what is your life?" he prepared for himself the way to this subtle precept; then he adds the instruction itself, doing so most appropriately.

Commentary on James

16–17

All such rejoicing is wicked. To one therefore knowing to do good, and not doing it: to him it is sin. "All such rejoicing is wicked." James repeats the empty boasting that desires to arise from pride, and as if concluding his speech, he supposes that it is evil: if it is evil, it is certainly also from the Evil One. However, those who have been consecrated to the Lord through baptism should not receive any corruptions from the Evil One. He also infers this: Therefore, he who knows how to do right and does not do it is held by sin; he also rebukes false teachers. Do you dare to rebuke these things when you have not first acted rightly in them? "For blessed," he says, "is not he who has taught, but he who has both done and taught." (Matt. 5:17) For it is necessary that works precede the word, since the righteous proclaim the faith they have exhibited. "For whoever breaks one of these least commandments," says the Lord, "and teaches men so, that is, in vain, namely in those things in which he has not labored, shall be called least; but he who has both done and taught shall be called great." (Matt. 3:19) Since both God and man taught this doctrine which He had begun to practice first. It also seems to be the case that Paul says: "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord;" (2 Cor. 10:17) that is, according to the Lord, using His example long before, and thus doing and teaching. For when David says: "My soul shall make its boast in the Lord," (Ps. 33:3) he says nothing other than that by walking according to the Lord's commandments, he is praised.

Commentary on James

The proud person and pride occupy themselves with unreal things, which is why the proud one is so called — meaning "one living in delusion or deception." All such boasting is evil.

Commentary on James

James does not remove the power to do good, but he shows that it is not just a matter of one’s own will. To do good as we ought, we need the grace of God.

Catena

Does the one who does not know how to do good and does not do it commit a sin? He certainly does, but the one who knows what is good and does not do it sins more grievously.

Adulterous Marriages 9

To him therefore who knows to do good and does not do it, it is sin. Throughout the text of this Epistle, the blessed James shows that those to whom he wrote had the knowledge of doing good, and had also learned the right faith, so that they had presumed they could become teachers to others, yet had not attained the perfection of works, or humility of mind, or even moderation of speech. Hence, he now among other words of reproof and exhortation greatly frightens them with this statement, that he who knows how to do good, and does not do what he knows, is said to have a greater sin than he who sins out of ignorance. Although he who sins in ignorance cannot be entirely free from guilt, for ignorance of good itself is not a small evil. Hence the Lord said: The servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few (Luke 12).

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

He again takes up the subject of vain arrogance, which usually arises from pride, and as if concluding the discourse, says that boasting is evil. If it is evil, then it proceeds without doubt from the evil one. But those who through holy baptism have given themselves over to the Lord should not accept what is sown by the evil one. He adds also this: "to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin" (Jas. 4:17). Again he admonishes the false teachers not to dare to teach what they themselves have not first practiced, for blessed, it is said, is not the one who teaches, but the one "who does and teaches" (Matt. 5:19), since deeds must precede words, by which the righteous man also proclaims the faith he manifests. For whoever, says the Lord, breaks one of these least commandments and teaches men so — that is, teaches that which he himself has not labored at — shall be called least... "but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great" (Matt. 5:19). Therefore the God-man Himself first began to do and then to teach (Acts 1:1). Such, in my opinion, is the thought also in these words: "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Cor. 1:31) — that is, as one like the Lord, having in Him a teacher and example. Similarly, David says: "In the Lord shall my soul boast" ("My soul shall make its boast in the Lord") (Ps. 34:2) — saying nothing other than this: I would wish to boast in that I walk according to the commandments of the Lord.

Commentary on James

These, then, are the two points I wanted to make. First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in.

Mere Christianity, Book 1, Chapter 1: The Law of Human Nature

A man occupying the corner seat in the train because he got there first, and a man who slipped into it while my back was turned and removed my bag, are both equally inconvenient. But I blame the second man and do not blame the first. I am not angry—except perhaps for a moment before I come to my senses—with a man who trips me up by accident; I am angry with a man who tries to trip me up even if he does not succeed. Yet the first has hurt me and the second has not. Sometimes the behaviour which I call bad is not inconvenient to me at all, but the very opposite. In war, each side may find a traitor on the other side very useful. But though they use him and pay him they regard him as human vermin. So you cannot say that what we call decent behaviour in others is simply the behaviour that happens to be useful to us.

Mere Christianity, Book 1, Chapter 3: The Reality of the Law

Men ought to be unselfish, ought to be fair. Not that men are unselfish, not that they like being unselfish, but that they ought to be. The Moral Law, or Law of Human Nature, is not simply a fact about human behaviour in the same way as the Law of Gravitation is, or may be, simply a fact about how heavy objects behave. On the other hand, it is not a mere fancy, for we cannot get rid of the idea, and most of the things we say and think about men would be reduced to nonsense if we did. And it is not simply a statement about how we should like men to behave for our own convenience; for the behaviour we call bad or unfair is not exactly the same as the behaviour we find inconvenient, and may even be the opposite.

Mere Christianity, Book 1, Chapter 3: The Reality of the Law