Envy: The Seven Deadly Sins [Hardcover]

Secondly, envy is one thing people I know are the most apt to own up to. And I and other envious types are amongst the most altruistic and giving of people. Someone can be envious and also active in Habitat For Humanity, Doctors Without Borders, local scouts and caregiver groups. I know I am one of those people.

There are so many people whom I know who are envious types who are also the kindest and most gentlest of humans. So I disagree with the author from the get go. And while I find some elements of the book interesting, when you make such an ignorant statement from the get go, you cast doubts with me, that you know your stuff.

Those who have studied envy may not find much new here, apart from the confessions of the author concerning the envy that has impacted his life. These confessions allow one to reflect on one's own trangressions of envy and to feel a little comfort that others have also allowed themselves to sink so low. It may be a tautology to say that those without envy cannot possibly be human. Who, no matter how successful, has not had a twinge of envy for another's wealth, lifestyle, physique, spouse or lover, moral virtue or indifference to moral depravity? Who has never smiled at the failure of such people, even though no real ill will is directed at them? The only comforting words to those self-reflecting on these issues are "you are not alone."

This book also addresses more technical issues, such as the levels that envy can occur at. There's jealousy, envy, resentment, and, finally, "ressentiment" (which takes the form of "I'm not good at painting, but painting as an art form is overvalued anyway"). You don't have to be moral scum to succumb to any of these forms of envy. What you can do is be aware of them and not allow them to control your life. This book will at least guide you in that, and it may make you appreciate the levels your envy has not reached (if you're so fortunate). But again, the subject being as it is, much that is subjective enters the playing field. How does one know if one is acting from an envious urge or a feeling of injustice done to one or others? These can be dangerous lines to draw, and interpretations of motivations can, and will almost always inevitably be, mired down in cross-interpretation.

The book does a good job of bashing the envy created by "socialism" and the tyrannies that arose in its name in the Soviet Union and China, but capitalism as a potential hotbed of envy is only lightly touched upon. Surely the contemporary United States is brewing with envy on multiple levels, driven by insatiablilty and spattered with the concern for the individual over the collective (a generalization, true, but one for which countless examples exist). The book would be even more relevant if it touched heavier on the envy created by the world's current superpower, and the ramifications of this envy both domestically and globally. To be fair, he does give us the examples of the Greeks, who knew that they were riddled with envy, and made efforts to keep the emotion in check. The country that I live in would do very well to learn from, at least on this topic, our seemingly wiser ancestors.

So take what you will from this tiny book. It is more of a popular book than a scholarly treatise (which is likely the aim of the series that can trace itself back to an idea of Ian Fleming's). If you have never studied or read a book on envy, then dig right in, there is plenty here to chew on. There is a long reading list in the bibliography (do not skip the bibliograpy!) for those seeking further enlightenment or tentacled confusion - depending upon your point of view. Go ahead and don't be ashamed to get a little medieval, along with the author, and CONFESS!! YOU ARE FILLED WITH ENVY!! CONFESS!! CONFESS!! Pardon me, my Richelieu is showing.