PRO MILITIA

PSALMVS XXXVI — NOLI AEMVLARI

Psalm 36 — Be Not Emulous

Psalm 36 (37) addresses the temptation to envy the wicked: 'Be not emulous of evildoers.' Its key verse 'Cease from anger and leave rage' (v. 8) makes it the scriptural remedy against ira (anger), the fifth of Evagrius Ponticus's eight principal vices. Cassian (Institutes VIII) teaches that 'the deadly poison of anger must be expelled from the depths of the soul.'

LATINE
Noli aemulari in malignantibus,
neque zelaveris facientes iniquitatem.
Quoniam tamquam foenum velociter arescent,
et quemadmodum olera herbarum cito decident.
Spera in Domino et fac bonitatem,
et inhabita terram et pasceris in divitiis eius.
Delectare in Domino,
et dabit tibi petitiones cordis tui.
Revela Domino viam tuam et spera in eo,
et ipse faciet.
Et educet quasi lumen iustitiam tuam,
et iudicium tuum tamquam meridiem.
Subditus esto Domino et ora eum.
Noli aemulari in eo qui prosperatur in via sua,
in homine faciente iniustitias.
Remedium contra iram
Desine ab ira et derelinque furorem;
noli aemulari ut maligneris.
Quoniam qui malignantur exterminabuntur;
sustinentes autem Dominum, ipsi hereditabunt terram.
Et adhuc pusillum, et non erit peccator;
et quaeres locum eius et non invenies.
Mansueti autem hereditabunt terram,
et delectabuntur in multitudine pacis.
ENGLISH
Be not emulous of evildoers;
nor envy them that work iniquity.
For they shall shortly wither away as grass,
and as the green herbs shall quickly fall.
Trust in the Lord and do good,
and dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches.
Delight in the Lord,
and He will give thee the requests of thy heart.
Commit thy way to the Lord and trust in Him,
and He will do it.
And He will bring forth thy justice as the light,
and thy judgment as the noonday.
Be subject to the Lord and pray to Him.
Envy not the man who prospereth in his way,
the man who doth unjust things.
The Remedy Against Anger
Cease from anger and leave rage;
have no emulation to do evil.
For evildoers shall be cut off;
but they that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the land.
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be;
and thou shalt seek his place and shalt not find it.
But the meek shall inherit the land,
and shall delight in abundance of peace.
NOTA
FONS
Psalmus 36:1-11, Vulgata / Douay-Rheims
USUS
Against anger and envy, spiritual combat against ira
CONTEXT
Cassian (Institutes VIII) teaches that anger must be utterly rooted out: 'The deadly poison of anger must be expelled from the depths of our soul.' This psalm provides the scriptural remedy.