By Msgr. Charles Pope - Envy is diabolical. St. Augustine called envy the diabolical sin because it seeks to minimize, end, or destroy what is good. Scripture says, “By the envy of the Devil, death entered the world” (Wis 2:24). Seeing the excellence that Adam and Eve (made in the image of God) had, and possibly knowing of plans for the incarnation, the Devil envied Adam and Eve. Their glory lessened his—or so he thought—and so he set out to destroy the goodness in them. Envy is ugly and it is diabolical.