DON'T YOU WISH YOU COULD WRITE THIS WELL?

The Green-Eyed Monster: Envy is nothing to be jealous of. (Joseph Epstein, July/August 2003, Washington Monthly)

Of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all. Sloth may not seem that enjoyable, nor anger either, but giving way to deep laziness has its pleasures, and the expression of anger entails a release that is not without its small delights. In recompense, envy may be the subtlest--perhaps I should say the most insidious--of the seven deadly sins. Surely it is the one that people are least likely to want to own up to, for to do so is to admit that one is probably ungenerous, mean, small-hearted. It may also be the most endemic. Apart from Socrates, Jesus, Marcus Aurelius, Saint Francis, Mother Teresa, and only a few others, at one time or another, we have all felt flashes of envy, even if in varying intensities, from its minor pricks to its deep, soul-destroying, lacerating stabs. So widespread is it--a word for envy, I have read, exists in all known languages--that one is ready to believe it is the sin for which the best argument can be made that it is part of human nature.

If you're headed out of town for the holiday and haven't decided what books to bring, you won't regret grabbing a collection of Joseph Epstein's essays. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 1, 2003 10:52 AM