quotations about envy
Every other sin hath some pleasure annexed to it, or will admit of some excuse; but envy wants both; we should strive against it, for if indulged in, it will be to us as a foretaste of hell upon earth.
ROBERT BURTON
The Anatomy of Melancholy
The envious will die, but envy never.
MOLIERE
attributed, Day's Collacon
Envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own.
HAROLD COFFIN
attributed, Quotable Quotes
For envy, like lightning, generally strikes at the top
Or any point which sticks out from the ordinary level.
LUCRETIUS
De Rerum Natura
An envious heart makes a treacherous ear.
ZORA NEALE HURSTON
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Wherever I find envy I take a pleasure in provoking it: I always praise before an envious man those who make him grow pale.
MONTESQUIEU
attributed, Day's Collacon
The only thing more certain than the hatred of enemies is the envy of friends.
EVAN ESAR
20,000 Quips & Quotes
The only cure for envy is to look upon the prosperity of the envied person as belonging to one's self.
DIONYSIUS
attributed, Day's Collacon
If envy is rankling in your bosom, declare war against it at once; a war of extermination; no truce, no treaty, no compromise. Like the pirate on the high seas, it is an outlaw, an enemy to all mankind, and should be hung up at the yard arm until it is dead.
LEVI CARROLL JUDSON
The Moral Probe
I am Envy. I cannot read and therefore wish all books burned.
CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE
Doctor Faustus
Fools may our scorn, not envy raise,
For envy is a kind of praise.
JOHN GAY
Fables
Envy and jealousy, twin sisters, come with the cunning of the fox to steal away our peace and happiness.
NICIAS BALLARD COOKSEY
Helps to Happiness
Hatred is active displeasure, envy passive. We need not wonder that envy turns to soon to hatred.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
The Maxims and Reflections of Goethe
This ritual of envy is like looking at old photos after a breakup: I know it's probably unhealthy, but indulging that negativity feels good somehow.
KRISTIN WONG
"How to Get Better at Being Jealous", The Cut, January 29, 2018
Envy crawls toward the wealthy.
SOPHOCLES
attributed, Day's Collacon
The eradiction of envy: gratitude.
GIANNINA BRASCHI
United States of Banana
A weak mind is ambitious of envy, a strong one of respect.
E. WIGGLESWORTH
attributed, Day's Collacon
This only grant me, that my means may lie
Too low for envy, for contempt too high.
ABRAHAM COWLEY
Of Myself
The player envies only the player, the poet envies only the poet.
WILLIAM HAZLITT
"On Envy", The Plain Speaker, 1826
He who envies me, makes my virtue his vice, and my happiness his torment.
H. HOOKER
attributed, Day's Collacon