seemingly impossible goal is to learn to admire, try to appreciate others’ virtues and advantages we do not own but for a long time have coveted, especially that of our peers. the distinctions between envy and admiration are obvious enough but there is one respect still worthy of mention, that jealousy would not be aroused between two persons who are by no means related in any sense. for instance, we may be envious when one of the peers has got an award but we definitely won’t be jealous if michael jordan has been conferred on the mvp. and the degree of envy often increases if the peer who has outdone us had used some treachery tricks or shamefully taken some unfair advantages. and this type of envy often inevitably results in overflowing but hidden hatred. the decided safety of the middle station of life, as advocated by confucianism, is one of the evidences that reflect man’s fear toward the grudge caused by jealousy.
but envy is not as totally devilish as it seems to be. slight jealousy can stimulate our desire to achieve what we want or what we envy. according to freudian theories, it is the emotion of jealousy which finally stirs the poor people in misery to pursue fairness and justice. but correspondingly it is a morbid and destructive emotion that sometimes bothers and frustrates us.
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