Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The Greeks Have a Word For It

Via classicist Victor Davis Hanson I learned a new word today--phthonos. It's a particularly profound and ugly type of envy, the "anguish induced by the good fortune of others."

Great word--and a great way to explain what's behind a lot of today's Zionhass. It's the "phthonos," the anguish induced by the sight of what sovereign Jews have made of their eensy parcel of land.

"Phthonos." Call it the Siamese twin of "schadenfreude," the perverse delight engendered by others' misfortune.

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