翻譯下面的文字時，腦袋裡突然想到了曾看過的電影《七宗罪》》。
七宗罪
——天主教教義中的七宗罪又稱七原罪，這一類別裡的罪過可以引發其它不道德的行為習慣。而七原罪按嚴重程度，由重到輕依次為傲慢、嫉妒、憤怒、懶惰、貪婪、暴食和淫慾（以上來自百度百科）。
——嫉妒就是七原罪之一。
我們每個人的身邊都隨時有人在演繹著“嫉妒”，但我從未將這種情緒看的那麼嚴重。然而，我想我是錯的。我很可能低估了嫉妒在人們內心的存在，更可能低估了兒童時代的遭遇對孩子們未來成長的巨大影響。
拿我自己來說，四十年過去了，我還記得自己當年的“惡行”——
當時我家裡只有一輛腳踏車，因為大姐上學需要，父母親就把車子給了姐姐。我清晰地記得自己當年撒潑打諢，甚至給車子上鎖，自己用不了命也不讓姐姐使用。
雖然現在想起來覺得臉紅，但當時卻憤憤不平，滿肚子的羨慕嫉妒恨——好在自己並沒有真的掉進“嫉妒”的坭坑裡。
不是每個人都有我的好運，比如，我大學一位同學——
他剛上學不久，父母就因工作忙，無暇照顧子女而讓他輟學，於是，他六七歲的時候就不得不放棄學業，每天照顧弟妹，揹著弟妹滿地走。
過去司空見慣的事情，卻影響了他幾十年——他一直在內心深處告訴自己，自己是父母不喜歡的 那一個，被遺棄的那一個。這令他在許多年裡都生活在內心的自卑、不甘、不滿之中。
為此，他去看過心理醫生，也讀了很多書，可喜的是，他擅長反省，也堅持努力，如今他的心態調整得很好。
我很喜歡讀羅素的文字，也認同他很多的分析和想法。不過，截至目前，在他論述嫉妒的文字裡還不曾提出真正有效的治療方案。
從我自己和朋友的經歷來說，我認為讀書和思考是非常有效的方法——開啟心結的方法無非是分析、理解、體驗、感悟等等，而好的圖書是非常好的鑰匙，可以幫助我們感受和領悟更多。
Chapter 6： Envy
第六章 嫉妒
被忽略的男孩
Next to worry probably one of the most potent causes of unhappiness is envy。 Envy is， I should say， one of the most universal and deep-seated of human passions。 It is very noticeable in children before they are a year old， and has to be treated with the most tender respect by every educator。 The very slightest appearance of favouring one child at the expense of another is instantly observed and resented。 Distributive justice， absolute， rigid， and unvarying， must be observed by anyone who has children to deal with。 But children are only slightly more open in their expressions of envy， and of jealousy （which is a special form of envy）， than are grown-up people。 The emotion is just as prevalent among adults as among children。 Take， for example， maid-servants： I remember when one of our maids， who was a married woman， became pregnant， and we said that she was not to be expected to lift heavy weights， the instant result was that none of the others would lift heavy weights， and any work of that sort that needed doing we had to do ourselves。
除焦慮之外，使人不幸福的最主要的原因可能就是嫉妒了。
嫉妒可以說是人類最普遍，最根深蒂固的情感之一，在不到一歲的嬰兒身上就可以很明顯地看到這一點，教育者必須以最為細膩溫和的方式對待它。
只要對一個孩子多那麼一丁點偏愛，另外一個孩子馬上就會敏感地注意到，並對你不滿。如果家裡有幾個孩子，那做父母的必須注意，要一碗水端平，嚴格地、始終如一地、絕對公平地對待每個孩子。
不過，孩子們只是在表露自己的嫉妒和猜忌（嫉妒的一種特殊形式）時比成年人要稍微公開一些，事實上嫉妒這種情緒在孩子們和成人之間同樣普遍。
就以女傭為例吧：我記得當我家一個已婚的女傭懷孕時，我們就對她說以後你就別拿重的東西了。然後，後果立刻就出來了，再沒有一個女傭會去拿重物，但凡是需要幹這種活的時候，就只有我們自己動手了。
Envy is the basis of democracy。 Heraclitus asserts that the citizens of Ephesus ought all to be hanged because they said， “there shall be none first among us”。 The democratic movement in Greek States must have been almost wholly inspired by this passion。 And the same is true of modern democracy。 There is， it is true， an idealistic theory according to which democracy is the best form of government。 I think myself that this theory is true。 But there is no department of practical politics where idealistic theories are strong enough to cause great changes； when great changes occur， the theories which justify them are always a camouflage for passion。 And the passion that has given driving force to democratic theories is undoubtedly the passion of envy。 Read the memoirs of Madame Roland， who is frequently represented as a noble woman inspired by devotion to the people。 You will find that what made her such a vehement democrat was the experience of being shown into the servants‘ hall when she had occasion to visit an aristocratic chateau。
嫉妒是民主的基礎。
古希臘的哲學家赫拉克利特曾說：以弗所所有的公民都應該被絞死，這是因為他們說過：“我們當中絕不允許有人高高在上。”
希臘城邦的民主運動幾乎完全是由這種強烈的感情所激發，而現代民主的興起也如出一轍。
確實有一種理想主義的理論認為，民主是政府最好的組織形式，而我也同樣認為。但是，在實際政治活動中，沒有什麼機構的理想主義強大到足以引發巨大的變革。即使這巨大的變革得以發生，這理論也只是證明了它只是激情的偽裝。
驅動民主理論前行的激情毫無疑問就是嫉妒。讓我們讀一讀羅蘭夫人的回憶錄吧——她常常被視為一位被獻身於人民的激情所感染的高貴女人——在閱讀中，你會發現，正是一次特殊的經歷促使她成為激情的民主主義者。要點在於：在那次經歷中，她去訪問一個貴族城堡，卻被帶進了僕人的房間接見。
Among average respectable women envy plays an extraordinarily large part。 If you are sitting in the underground and a well-dressed woman happens to walk along the car， watch the eyes of the other women。 You will see that every one of them， with the possible exception of those who are better dressed， will watch the woman with malevolent glances， and will be struggling to draw derogatory to her。 The love of scandal is an expression of this general malevolence： any story against another woman is instantly believed， even on the flimsiest evidence。 A lofty morality serves the same purpose： those who have a chance to sin against it are envied， and it is considered virtuous to punish them for their sins。 This particular form of virtue is certainly its own reward。
在那些有點身份的普通婦女的生活中，嫉妒扮演了相當大的角色。
假設你恰好坐在地鐵中，然後一位穿著入時的婦女恰好從車廂經過。這時，如果你注意觀察一下其他婦女的眼神，你就會看到：可能除了穿得更好的那幾位，每一位婦女都會給她惡意的一瞥，然後想方設法地貶損她。
對於流言蜚語的熱愛就是這種普遍性惡意的表現：任何對於其它女人的八卦，就算是沒什麼證據，也馬上會有人相信。而一種高尚的道德也會起同樣的作用：那些有機會違反道德的人會被人嫉妒，對他們的懲罰則被視為美德，而這種特殊形式的美德則是對嫉妒的獎賞。
Exactly the same thing， however， is to be observed among men， except that women regard all other women as their competitors， whereas men as a rule only have this feeling towards other men in the same profession。 Have you， reader， ever been so imprudent as to praise an artist to another artist？ Have you ever praised a politician to another politician of the same party？ Have you ever praised an Egyptologist to another Egyptologist？ If you have， it is a hundred to one that you will have produced an explosion of jealousy。
同樣的情況在男人中也可以看到，其間的差別是，女人把所有其他的女人都視為競爭對手，而男人的規則是，只把那些與自己同一領域的人當成敵人。
親愛的讀者們，你們是否曾冒冒失失地在一位藝術家面前稱讚另一位？在一位政治家面前稱讚與他同黨派的另一位？或者在一位埃及考古學家面前稱讚另一位？如果你真的這麼幹過，那麼你極有可能引發一場嫉妒的大爆發。
牛頓、萊布尼茨、惠更斯
In the correspondence of Leibniz and Huygens there are a number of letters lamenting the supposed fact that Newton had become insane。 “Is it not sad，” they write to each other， “that the incomparable genius of Mr Newton should have become overclouded by the loss of reason？” And these two eminent men， in one letter after another， wept crocodile tears with obvious relish。 As a matter of fact， the event which they were hypocritically lamenting had not taken place， though a few examples of eccentric behaviour had given rise to the rumour。
在萊布尼茨和惠更斯的通訊中，有一部分信件對牛頓患精神病這所謂的事實表示感嘆。
“這豈不令人悲哀嗎？”他們相互寫道：“蓋世無雙的天才牛頓先生竟然墜落凡塵，喪失了神智！”這兩位傑出的男人，在一封接一封的信中，幸災樂禍地掉著鱷魚的眼淚。
但是事實上，他們假惺惺地哀嘆的事情並沒有真的發生，只不過是牛頓的幾個古怪行為造成了一些謠言而已。
Of all the characteristics of ordinary human nature envy is the most unfortunate； not only does the envious person wish to inflict misfortune and do so whenever he can with impunity， but he is also himself rendered unhappy by envy。 Instead of deriving pleasure from what he has， he derives pain from what others have。 If he can， he deprives others of their advantages， which to him is as desirable as it would be to secure the same advantages himself。 If this passion is allowed to run riot it becomes fatal to all excellence， and even to the most useful exercise of exceptional skill。 Why should a medical man go to see his patients in a car when the labourer has to walk to his work？ Why should the scientific investigator be allowed to spend his time in a warm room when others have to face the inclemency of the elements？ Why should a man who possesses some rare talent of great importance to the world be saved from the drudgery of his own housework？ To such questions envy finds no answer。 Fortunately， however， there is in human nature a compensating passion， namely that of admiration。 Whoever wishes to increase human happiness must wish to increase admiration and to diminish envy。
在普通人自然本性所有的特性中，嫉妒是最易招致不幸的那一種。
嫉妒者希望別人遭遇不幸，而如果自己不會受到懲罰，他隨時會付諸行動；但與此同時，他自己也會因嫉妒而悶悶不樂。
他不是從自己所擁有的一切中尋求快樂，而是從別人的痛苦中尋求痛苦。如果可能，他會想方設法地剝奪別人的利益，似乎這樣自己就可以得到同樣的利益。
如果放任這種情緒到處蔓延，它會對這世上卓越優秀的一切，甚至對傑出技能最有用的應用造成致命的打擊。
為什麼醫生應該乘坐轎車去看他的病人，而工人只能走路上班？為什麼科學研究者可以在一座溫暖的房子裡度過時光，而其他人卻得面對惡劣的天氣？為什麼一個擁有對這個世界來說非常重要的、非凡才華的人就可以免除他自己家的家務苦差？
對於這些問題，嫉妒是找不到答案的，不過，幸運的是，人性中有一種情感可以作為補償，那就是欽佩。無論是誰，但凡他想要增進人類幸福，就必須同樣期望增進欽佩，而減少嫉妒。
What cure is there for envy？ For the saint there is the cure of selflessness， though even in the case of saints envy of other saints is by no means impossible。 I doubt whether St Simeon Stylites would have been wholly pleased if he had learnt of some other saint who had stood even longer on an even narrower pillar。 But， leaving saints out of account， the only cure for envy in the case of ordinary men and women is happiness， and the difficulty is that envy is itself a terrible obstacle to happiness。 I think envy is immensely promoted by misfortunes in childhood。 The child who finds a brother or sister preferred before himself acquires the habit of envy， and when he goes out into the world looks for injustices of which he is the victim， perceives them at once if they occur， and imagines them if they do not。 Such a man is inevitably unhappy， and becomes a nuisance to his friends， who cannot be always remembering to avoid imaginary slights。 Having begun by believing that no one likes him， he at last by his behaviour makes his belief true。 Another misfortune in childhood which has the same result is to have parents without much parental feeling。 Without having an unduly favoured brother or sister， a child may perceive that the children in other families are more loved by their mother and father than he is。 This will cause him to hate the other children and his own parents， and when he grows up he will feel himself an Ishmael。 Some kinds of happiness are everyone’s natural birthright， and to be deprived of them is almost inevitably to become warped and embittered。
到底有什麼辦法可以治癒嫉妒？
對於聖人來說，他們自帶治療的藥方，那就是無私。然而，就算是聖人，他們嫉妒其他聖人也並非不可能。比如，我就懷疑高柱修士聖·西米恩如果知道還有別的聖人能夠在一條更窄的柱子上站更長的時間，他是不是還會完完全全保持愉快的心情。
不過，我們還是不說那些聖人了。對於普通的飲食男女來說，唯一的治療方法就是幸福，但其中的困難在於嫉妒本身就是幸福最大的阻礙。
我想，孩提時代的不幸會近乎無限地刺激嫉妒的形成。如果這孩子發現自己的兄弟或者姐妹比自己更受偏愛，他就可能形成嫉妒的習慣。而當他步入社會的時候，他就會有意無意地尋找那些使自己遭受傷害的不公。一旦這種情況發生，他立刻會敏感地發現；而倘若這一切沒有發生，他就會在腦海中想像這不公的存在。
這樣一個人註定是沒法幸福的，而且他也會成為朋友們厭棄的人——他們沒法做到時時刻刻都小心翼翼地規避他想象中的那種忽略或者怠慢。一旦開始相信沒人喜歡自己，那麼最終他的行為會令他所相信的一切成真。
雖有父母，但卻不曾得到父母的疼愛，這是孩提時代另一個不幸，這也會導致相同的結果。自己家裡雖然沒有被偏愛的兄弟姐妹，但是孩子可能會察覺到別人家的孩子比自己要幸福，因為他們得到了他們父母更多的寵愛。這會導致他嫉恨其他的孩子和他自己的父母，而當他長大的時候，他會覺得自己就是被遺棄的人。
某些種類的幸福是每個人與生俱來的權利，一旦這些幸福被剝奪，人們不可避免地會變得性格扭曲而暴躁。
But the envious man may say：“What is the good of telling me that the cure for envy is happiness？ I cannot find happiness while I continue to feel envy， and you tell me that I cannot cease to be envious until I find happiness。” But real life is never so logical as this。 Merely to realise the causes of one‘s own envious feelings is to take a long step towards curing them。 The habit of thinking in terms of comparisons is a fatal one。 When anything pleasant occurs it should be enjoyed to the fun， without stopping to think that it is not so pleasant as something else that may possibly be happening to someone else。
但是嫉妒的人也許會說：“告訴我治癒嫉妒的良方就是幸福，這有什麼用？這是個悖論——只要我還在嫉妒就不可能發現幸福，而你告訴我在發現幸福之前我是無法停止嫉妒的。”
從邏輯上的確如此，但現實生活並不嚴格地按照邏輯走，僅僅意識到嫉妒情感的起因就意味著向著治癒走了一大步。
與別人比較、攀比的思維習慣是一個致命的問題。遇到快樂的事情，只管去享受就好，不要停下來去想這快樂比起別人的快樂根本算不了什麼等等。
“Yes，” says the envious man， “this is a sunny day， and it is springtime， and the birds are singing， and the flowers are in bloom， but I understand that the springtime in Sicily is a thousand times more beautiful， that the birds sing more exquisitely in the groves of Helicon， and that the rose of Sharon is more lovely than any in my garden。” And as he thinks these thoughts the sun is dimmed， and the birds’ song becomes a meaningless twitter， and the flowers seem not worth a moment‘s regard。 All the other joys of life he treats in the same way。 “Yes，” he will say to himself， “the lady of my heart is lovely， I love her and she loves me， but how much more exquisite must have been the Queen of Sheba！ Ah， if I had but had Solomon’s opportunities！”
“的確，”心懷嫉妒的人會這樣說：“今天陽光明媚，春意盎然，鳥兒在歌唱，鮮花在盛開，但是，我明白，義大利西西里的春天比這裡要美1000倍；希臘赫利孔山上的叢林中鳥兒也唱得更動聽；而以色列沙崙的玫瑰也必然比我花園中的玫瑰更嬌豔欲滴。”——所有美好的一切都在他的想法裡褪色，陽光不再明媚，鳥鳴不值一聽，鮮花也不值一顧！
他會用同樣的方式來面對生活裡其它的樂趣。“是的”，他會告訴自己：“我心中的姑娘很可愛，我愛她，而她也愛我！嗯，但最美貌高雅的一定還是希巴女王，唉，如果我有所羅門王的那樣的機遇，那該有多好！”
All such comparisons are pointless and foolish； whether the Queen of Sheba or our next-door neighbour be the cause of discontent， either is equally futile。 With the wise man， what he has does not cease to be enjoyable because someone else has something else。 Envy， in fact， is one form of a vice， partly moral， partly intellectual， which consists in seeing things never in themselves， but only in their relations。 I am earning， let us say， a salary sufficient for my needs。 I should be content， but I hear that someone else whom I believe to be in no way my superior is earning a salary twice as great as mine。 Instantly， if I am of an envious disposition， the satisfactions to be derived from what I have grow dim， and I begin to be eaten up with a sense of injustice。
所有這樣的比較都不得要領，也是愚蠢之極的；而無論西巴女王還是隔壁鄰居帶來了不滿，都沒什麼意義。對於聰明的人來說，無論別人擁有什麼，他所擁有的一切都不會受到影響，而是會依舊充滿樂趣。
事實上，嫉妒是一種惡習，其部分是道德上的，部分是智力上的。這種惡習的問題在於，看待事物時從不看事物本身，反而只關注事物之間的關係。比如，我賺的錢已經足夠滿足自己的需要， 本來我應該感到滿意了，但我卻聽說，某個並不比我強的人卻能賺我兩倍的薪水。這時，如果我有嫉妒的天性，那麼，頃刻之間我的滿足感就會變得暗淡無光，隨後就會被世道不公的怨念所霎吞噬。
