On Envy

OK, maybe a collection of Lex Luther comic books is not the final word on envy. But it is a starting place. After all, do you really want to start our study of envy with Aquinas? You do? OK.

Aquinas defines Envy by quoting Damascene: “Envy is sorrow for another’s good.” That seems like a crisp, clean definition.

Aquinas elaborates:

Since envy is about another’s good name in so far as it diminishes the good name a man desires to have, it follows that a man is envious of those only whom he wishes to rival or surpass in reputation.
But this does not apply to people who are far removed from one another: for no man, unless he be out of his mind, endeavors to rival or surpass in reputation those who are far above him. Thus a commoner does not envy the king, nor does the king envy a commoner whom he is far above. Wherefore a man envies not those who are far removed from him, whether in place, time, or station, but those who are near him, and whom he strives to rival or surpass. For it is against our will that these should be in better repute than we are, and that gives rise to sorrow.

We, like Aquinas, need to pause here for a moment to make sure we are talking about envy, and not things that look like envy. Aquinas notes, quoting Galatians 5:26, that envy in indeed a sin. But, the definition “sorrow for another’s good” encompasses things that are not a sin and thus not properly defined as envy. Aquinas notes four way such a sorrow might come about. (Remember, you are the one who wanted to start with Aquinas. I told you we could start with Lex Luther, but you scoffed at using a comic book to study envy. You did. I heard you.)

First, if the reason you are sorrowing at another’s good is that you believe the other’s good will cause harm to yourself or others, then it is not envy. You are, in other words, perfectly allowed to sorrow when evil triumphs.

Second, you may sorrow over another’s virtue (good) because you lack that virtue and wish you had it. This is zeal, not envy, and it is not a sin.

Third, one reason you may sorrow over another’s good is because the other is not worthy of the good. When an evil person gets lots of material goods, you might feel sorrow. Aristotle dubs this “indignation.” This sort of sorrow is misplaced and thus wrong; one should strive for virtuous, not temporal goods. But, while still wrong, this is not envy.

Fourth, “we grieve over a man’s good, in so far as his good surpasses ours; this is envy properly speaking, and is always sinful, as also the Philosopher states (Rhet. ii, 10), because to do so is to grieve over what should make us rejoice, viz. over our neighbor’s good.”

Now that envy has been defined, Aquinas goes on to explore first whether envy is a mortal sin and second whether envy is a capital vice. I know the suspense is killing you, so I’ll just quickly note the answer to both is “Yes.”

Here is the question: does this taxonomy of envy make you less likely to experience envy? Did it increase your zeal for good? No? Hmm. Maybe an example or two of the way that envy actually can destroy happiness would help. I know just the thing.

Lex Luthor: A Celebration of 75 Years is, like all the other volumes in this series, a really interesting way to see the development of a character. Luthor started out as a two-bit crook involving himself in international affairs. The most notable thing about him as that he had hair. Bright red hair. He also had some bald henchmen in his original story. In a subsequent appearance, an artist made the mistake of thinking the bald guy was Luthor and suddenly Luthor lost his hair. The look of an iconic villain was an artist’s mistake!

It took time for Luthor to acquire a personality, but when he finally did, there was no doubt what constituted the central passion of his life. Luthor is a genius. He is the sort of guy who would win all the awards in school and go on to be a hero of the whole planet. A 1983 story “Luthor Unleashed” shows the potential. Luthor ends up stranded on another planet and helps the people of the planet solve all their problems and he becomes the planet’s hero. (Alas, it does not last. Luthor cannot rid himself of his desire to beat Superman. In the ensuing battle, Luthor accidentally destroys the planet on which he was a hero. Do you feel sorrow for the demise of Luthor?)

Why is Luthor so obsessed with Superman? Luthor has it all. Brains and Brawn. Master inventor. He becomes President of the United States. He can do anything. Why spend his days fighting Superman? “The Gospel According to Lex Luthor” from 2006 has a fascinating conversation between Luthor and Clark Kent:

Luthor: This would never have happened if anyone else on this planet had the wit to see it. The smug self-regard that powers his beaming boyish grin. How does a man like you feel about Superman? Honestly?
Kent: I’m…ah…I’m fine with him. He’s always been friendly around the office.
Luther: And you don’t feel in any way diminished by his very presence on this planet? Strange….Imagine life on this world if some opportunistic alien vermin hadn’t decided to dump its trash here, Kent. That’s all I’ve ever asked anyone to do. Imagine how it was meant to be. We all fall short of that sickening, inhuman perfection, that impossible ideal….
Kent: Is it really all about Superman?

Yes, it is really all about Superman. Luthor is a textbook example of envy. Aquinas: “those who love to be honored are more envious.” Luthor wants to be honored for all that he can do. And yet, standing next to Superman, nobody will ever notice Luthor. That fuels everything Luthor ever does. As long as Superman is around, Luthor will always be at best the second greatest hero on Earth. He is close, oh so close, to being the Greatest. But, he will never get there.

Luthor teaches us that envy is destructive. It may seem like envy is a victimless crime, but it is not. The victim of envy is not necessarily the person who is envied. The victims are all the people who would benefit from the activities of the envier if only the envier could set aside envy and simply do good.

Do the lessons of Lex Luthor generalize? Of course they do. Tom Mayer, my advisor from back in college, once made this observation. Professors and researchers like to pretend they are truly interested in the advancement of knowledge. Imagine you have spent years working on a problem which really interests you and which you think is very important. Just when you are finishing up that project, someone else publishes a paper which addresses exactly the same problem and does a better job than you have done and gets better results that yours. Are you happy at this advance of knowledge?

The cure for envy? Virgil explains it to Dante:

Because your appetites are fixed on things
that, divided, lessen each one’s share,
envy’s bellows pushes breath into your sighs.

But if love for the highest sphere
could turn your longings toward heavenly things,
then fear of sharing would pass from your hearts.

For there above, when more souls speak of ours,
the more of goodness each one owns,
the more of love burning in that cloister.

So, is envy a sin? Does it cause damage to the envier and those whom the envier knows? When Aquinas, Dante, and Lex Luthor comic books all agree, surely we can count that as conclusive, right?