Of all the human emotions, none is trickier or more elusive than envy
It is very difficult to actually discern the envy that motivates people's actions
The reason for this elusiveness is simple: we almost never directly express the envy we are feeling
Envy entails the admission to ourselves that we are inferior to another person in something we value
Not only is it painful to admit this inferiority, but it is even worse for others to see that we are feeling this
Envy can cause illness because people with envy can cast the "evil eye" on someone they envy, even unwittingly, or the envious person can become ill from the emotion
And so almost as soon as we experience the initial feelings of envy, we are motivated to disguise it to ourselves — it is not envy we feel but unfairness at the distribution of goods or attention, resentment at this unfairness, even anger