JEALOUSY

This chapter deals with jealousy, since this too relates to conjugial love. But there is justified and unjustified jealousy, justified with couples who love each other. These have a justified and prudent zeal to guard against any violation of their conjugial love, and they feel justified grief if it is violated. But unjustified jealousy is found among those who are naturally suspicious, and are sick in mind as the result of viscous and bilious blood. Besides, some people class any jealousy as a fault. These are primarily fornicators, who hurl abuse even at justified jealousy. The name jealousy is derived from zeal,* and there exists a model or image of justified and unjustified zeal. But these distinctions will be revealed in the following pages, in this order:

(i) Zeal regarded in itself is like the fire of love when it blazes up. (ii) The blaze or flame of that love, which is zeal, is a spiritual blaze or flame, which arises when love is attacked and assaulted. (iii) A person's zeal depends upon the nature of his love, so it is different if his love is good or if it is evil. (iv) The zeal of a good love and that of an evil love are outwardly similar, but utterly different inwardly. (v) The zeal of a good love conceals within it love and friendship, but the zeal of an evil love conceals within it hatred and revenge. (vi) The zeal of conjugial love is called jealousy. (vii) Jealousy is like a blazing fire against those who attack love for a married partner, and it is like a dreadful fear of the loss of that love. (viii) The monogamous have spiritual jealousy, the polygamous natural jealousy. (ix) Jealousy in the case of married couples who love each other dearly is a justified grief arising from a proper reason, a fear that their conjugial love may be split and thus destroyed. (x) Jealousy in the case of married couples who do not love each other is due to a number of reasons; in some cases it may be due to various kinds of mental illness. (xi) In some cases there may be no jealousy at all, again for a number of reasons. (xii) There is also jealousy inspired by mistresses, but this is different in nature from that inspired by wives. (xiii) There is even jealousy among animals and among birds. (xiv) The jealousy felt by men and husbands is different from that felt by women and wives.

An explanation of these points now follows. * Latin zelotypia 'jealousy' is a Greek loan-word, a compound of zelus 'zeal' and typus 'model, type'.