Recognizing that important moods and feelings are often denied or covered up, Ranulf looks for clues by examining traits which were imputed to the Gods by the Athenians. He finds that the Gods are depicted as jealous beings who frequently impose deprivations upon men who have done nothing to damage them. The act of punishment, awful as it might be, is disinterested in origin. The inference is that the Athenians of the time were particularly envious of the rich and powerful, and that the moral indignation of the lesser middle classes was rooted in envy, which found partial expression in comprehensive and stringent codes. Ranulf recognizes that envy presupposes a perspective in which the ego perceives that it might enjoy a higher degree of participation in social values (wealth, power, respect, and the like) [and that such participation is desirable].

Harold D. Lasswell in his preface to Ranulf's Moral Indignation and Middle Class Psychology