Of Envy by Francis Bacon (Summary)

Of Envy

by Francis Bacon

(Summary)

The essay is of the great psychological value. It is practical essay which provides much information about the motives behind the feeling of jealousy and the ways in which one may save oneself from other people's envy. Bacon has analyzed in detail the most common feelings of mankind. Bacon throws light on the human feelings like envy and jealousy. He expresses the view that a man in love or who is jealous of another can deeply influence. In this essay, the word 'envy' is used in the sense of 'jealous'. If 'envy' is used to mean 'the spirit of emulation' it is not a bad feeling; but jealousy is certainly a bad feeling which has destructive effects upon both those who feel it and those who are its objects. The envious man may wish to equal the achievement of the man whom he envies, but the jealous man wants to do damage to the man of whom he is jealous.

At the beginning of the essay, Bacon states one of his beliefs, namely that the feeling of love and envy show themselves in the eyes of the person who experiences these feelings, and that when these feelings do appear in the eyes of the person who experiences them, they will deeply affect of these feeling, especially if the objects of these feelings are present before the person in whose eyes the feelings of love and envy have appeared. But this belief is somewhat abstruse and may not be understood by most persons. Bacon also proceeds to tell us what kind of persons feel jealous of others, what kind of persons become the objects of jealousy, and what is the difference between public jealousy and private jealousy. Envy is depicted as an unworthy passion. No envy is felt by people when a man possessing high merit or virtue gains promotion and advancement in life.

Envy or jealousy is one of the common weaknesses of human life and everyone experiences it. Some people begin to feel obsessed by this feeling. Perhaps the most significant aspect of this feeling is stated at the end of the essay by Bacon. He tells us that, of all the feelings, envy is the most pressing and continual which makes a man pine or languish. For him, envy is a morbid feeling.

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