William Shakespeare on Envy
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“No metal can, No, not the hangman's axe, bear half the keenness Of thy sharp envy.”
“O! beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey'd monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on.”
“Such men as he be never at heart's ease Whiles they behold a greater than themselves: And therefore are they very dangerous.”
“In seeking tales and informations Against this man, whose honesty the devil And his disciples only envy at, Ye blew the fire that burns ye.”
“We make ourselves fools, to disport ourselves; And spend our flatteries, to drink those men Upon whose age we void it up again, With poisonous spite and envy.”
“Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious.”
“The general's disdain'd By him one step below; he by the next; That next by him beneath; so every step, Exampled by the first pace that is sick Of his superior, grows to an envious fever Of pale and bloodless emulation.”