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[[Image:Giotto - Scrovegni - -48- - Envy.jpg|right|thumb|120px|A personification of envy, painted by [[Giotto]].]]

[[Image:Giotto - Scrovegni - -48- - Envy.jpg|right|thumb|120px|A personification of envy, painted by [[Giotto]].]]

'''Envy''' is the [[sin]] of wanting (or coveting) what other people have, or more precisely resentment or bitterness over what other people have. This can include possessions, power, social standing, or even things that the envious person could not possibly gain for himself, such as talent or looks. It is forbidden by one of the [[Ten Commandments]] and also considered one of the [[Seven Deadly Sins]].  In Virtue ethics, envy is considered an excess of Righteous Indignation- "the envious person is pained [by the] good fortune of others, whether deserved or not".[http://web.archive.org/web/20100108184422/http://www.molloy.edu/sophia/aristotle/ne2_notes.htm]  As such, even people not among God's chosen recognized this as a vice before the birth of Christ.

'''Envy''' is the [[sin]] of wanting (or coveting) what other people have, or more precisely resentment or bitterness over what other people have. This can include possessions, power, social standing, or even things that the envious person could not possibly gain for himself, such as talent or looks. To covet what another has is to desire primarily to deprive the other person of the good they have and secondarily to take and possess it as one's own, as revenge for the other ever having had it. It is forbidden by one of the [[Ten Commandments]] and also considered one of the [[Seven Deadly Sins]].  In Virtue ethics, envy is considered an excess of Righteous Indignation- "the envious person is pained [by the] good fortune of others, whether deserved or not".[http://web.archive.org/web/20100108184422/http://www.molloy.edu/sophia/aristotle/ne2_notes.htm]  As such, even people not among God's chosen recognized this as a vice before the birth of Christ.

The sin of envy is interesting in that it does not cause any direct harm to others by itself. Rather, people commit other sins such as [[theft]] or [[deceit]] when they act on their envious feelings.  (Like other sins, of course, it distances the sinner from God.)  

The sin of envy is interesting in that it does not cause any direct harm to others by itself. Rather, people commit other sins such as [[theft]] or [[deceit]] when they act on their envious feelings.  (Like other sins, of course, it distances the sinner from God.) Envy is a form of [[enmity]] or [[hate]] and is opposed by the virtues of [[generosity]] and [[charity]].

Famous examples of people motivated by envy include Iago, the villain from [[Shakespeare]]'s [[Othello]], and [[Cain]], who was driven to commit the first [[murder]] because he envied his brother [[Abel]].

Famous examples of people motivated by envy include Iago, the villain from [[Shakespeare]]'s [[Othello]], and [[Cain]], who was driven to commit the first [[murder]] because he envied his brother [[Abel]].