Envy is an unpleasant feeling that arises when we notice that another person possesses a quality, a good or an undeservedly good treatment that we would want for ourselves. It is a fully human feeling, and yet it makes us feel uneasy and distrustful of others.

To understand what envy is, we only have to look around us . A person who has managed to develop personally or professionally is looked upon with distrust and suspicion by other individuals. Envious people cannot bear to think that there are other subjects who have been luckier or have reached higher levels of success than them.

Famous phrases on envy

Through this selection of envy phrases we can recognize this behavior and counteract it. These are famous quotes that tell us about this negative feeling. It is up to us to prevent it from taking root in our way of seeing things.

1. Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those we envy. (François de La Rochefoucauld)

We tend to conceive of the success of others as much more relevant than it really is.

2. He who is not envied is not worthy of being envied. (Aeschylus of Eleusis)

A tautology that allows us to reflect.

3. O envy, the root of infinite evils and the decay of the virtues! (Miguel de Cervantes)

About the negativity that generates envy.

4. Mindfulness turns off envy and jealousy, because by focusing on the here and now, anxiety about ‘must be’ disappears. (Jonathan García-Allen)

The ability of Mindfulness to restore our emotional intelligence is proven by different studies.

5. Do not envy the wealth of others. (Homer)

Money comes and goes, no human being should be envied because of his or her economic capacity.

6. In other people’s fields, the harvest is always more abundant. (Ovid)

We usually long for other people’s wealth, but when we see it in the first person it does not seem to be a really justified reason for envy.

7. The envious may die, but the envious never. (Molière)

Famous phrase of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin.

8. The subject of envy is very Spanish. Spaniards are always thinking about envy. To say that something is good they say: “It is enviable”. (Jorge Luis Borges)

A way of being that is very consolidated in the Spanish culture.

9. All the tyrants of Sicily have never invented a greater torment than envy. (Horatio)

The Latin poet was clear that envy is one of the greatest evils a person can feel.

10. Envy goes so thin and yellow because it bites and doesn’t eat. (Francisco de Quevedo)

It does not allow us to advance our purposes: that is how vile envy is.

11. As soon as man abandons envy, he begins to prepare himself to enter the path of happiness. (Wallace Stevens)

Getting rid of jealousy is how we can chart a happy lifestyle.

12. Healthy envy does not exist: unfortunately, all envy causes discomfort and is a detriment to achieving our purposes. (Jonathan García-Allen)

A reflection of the Spanish psychologist and coach.

13. Moral indignation is, in most cases, two percent moral, forty-eight percent indignation, and fifty percent envy. (Vittorio de Sica)

Percentages to describe the main sources of resentment

14. If envy were ringworm, you wouldn’t have a single hair left. (Anonymous)

A sentence to be dedicated to those who envy you.

15. Envy is the homage that mediocrity pays to talent. (Jackson Brown)

When you don’t possess talents you envy the achievements of others.

16. There are big smiles that hide big traitors. (Anonymous)

Not everything that appears to be positive is well-intentioned.

17. The envy of a friend is worse than the hatred of an enemy. (Anonymous)

When you see that a friend thinks you are too successful, you start to worry seriously.

18. Envy is the art of counting the blessings of the other instead of one’s own. (Harold Coffin)

When we’re more concerned about other people’s lives than our own… bad sign.

19. When men are full of envy they despise everything, whether it is good or bad. (Plubius Cornelius Tacitus)

A feeling that blinds us completely.

20. Don’t overestimate what you receive, and don’t envy others. He who envies others will not get peace of mind. (Buddha)

Here are some other famous phrases of Buddha.

21. There is only one step from envy to hate. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

That’s why it’s important not to get stuck in the antechamber of resentment.

22. When you point a finger, remember that the other three fingers are pointing at you. (English proverb)

An Anglo-Saxon saying that reveals a great truth.

23. If you envy me, it is because you do not know what I had to suffer to become who I am. (Anonymous)

Success does not come overnight, so envy is rarely justified.

24. Take care of what you can improve in yourself and don’t worry about what others do or seem to be doing. (Enrique Barrios)

Another phrase of envy that emphasizes not looking at others.

25. Envy is a declaration of inferiority. (Napoleon I)

When you envy someone you assume your failure as a human being.

26. The silence of the envious is full of noises. (Khalil Gibra)

A stormy mind generates negative feelings like this.

27. If envy is a disease, then get well. (Anonymous)

To dedicate to someone who thinks you don’t deserve what you have.

28. If there were only one immortal man, he would be killed by the envious. (Chumy Chúmez)

A global pandemic, according to the Spanish comedian and film director.

29. Envy, neither to have it nor to fear it. (Anonymous)

A saying that perfectly defines what our attitude to this feeling should be.

30. Envy, the meanest of vices, creeps along the ground like a snake. (Ovid)

Another phrase from Latin literature to define this vulgar feeling.

31.Envy is like debt: the first time it appears, it justifies more times. (Adrian Triglia)

A parallelism that this Barcelona psychologist and writer explains to us.

32. Do not be a slave to envy, understand that life is unjust and fight for your desires. (Bono)

The singer of U2 leaves us this positive message.