HKB
57 passages · search this phrase →
Often appears with: justice as a virtue · honor, shame, and reputation · marriage and betrothal · pleasure, pain, and the good life · ambition and the love of glory · rhetoric and persuasion · fate, destiny, and necessity · education and the training of the young · counsel and advisers to rulers · the passions and the emotions · temperance and self-mastery · perception and the senses
Usually: detachment (19) · argument (18) · indignation (17) · narrative (15) · censure (13) · rivalry (12) · reflection (11) · temptation (10) · exhortation (10) · curiosity (8)
“Ye love-smitten host, know that to Dulcinea only I am dough and sugar-paste, flint to all others; for her I am honey, for you aloes.” Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote · insight
“Oh, this is the hostility of light to the shining one: unpityingly doth it pursue its course.” Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None · observation
“This privy thought allays my heaviness. And what I think, or where, to be, no man In all this Earth can tell, y-wis, but I: And eke there is no swallow swift, nor swan So wight of wing, nor half so yern can fly; For I can be, and that right suddenly, In Heav’n, in Hell, in Paradise, and here, And with my lady, when I will desire.” Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems · vivid
“Johnson had a very philosophical mind, and such a rational respect for testimony, as to make him submit his understanding to what was authentically proved, though he could not comprehend why it was so.” James Boswell, Life of Johnson, Volume 1 · insight
“Wherefore, since envy is sorrow for our neighbor's good, it follows that our neighbor's good becomes hateful to us, so that "out of envy cometh hatred.” Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) · insight
“Now just as we do many things on account of pleasure, both in order to obtain it, and through being moved to do something under the impulse of pleasure, so again we do many things on account of sorrow, either that we may avoid it, or through being exasperated into doing something under pressure thereof.” Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) · insight
“Where good fortune enters, envy lays siege to her and attacks her, and when she departs sorrow and regret remain behind.” Leonardo da Vinci, Thoughts on Art and Life · insight
“Fire destroys falsehood,--that is to say, sophistry,--and rehabilitates truth, scattering the darkness.” Leonardo da Vinci, Thoughts on Art and Life · insight
“The poem is of particular interest because of the catalogue of the poets of the earlier part of the reign of Tiberius.” Ovid, The Last Poems of Ovid · observation
“A man that hath no virtue in himself, ever envieth virtue in others.” Francis Bacon, The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral · insight
“The Italian says, Sospetto licentia fede; as if suspicion, did give a passport to faith; but it ought, rather, to kindle it to discharge itself.” Francis Bacon, The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral · wit
“For there is no virtue, the honor and credit for which procures a man more odium than that of justice; and this, because more than any other, it acquires a man power and authority among the common people.” Plutarch, Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans · insight
Tyndale’s text warns that the tongue corrupts the whole person and causes blessing and cursing from the same source, then exhorts believers to reject bitter envy, seek “wisdom from above,” and live in peace.
the tongue set among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth a fire all that we have of nature, and is itself set afire, even of hell. All the natures of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and things of the sea, are meeked and tamed of the nature of man. But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God the father, and therewith curse we men whic…
Cato’s justice draws envy yet also reputation: candidates agree to deposit money and forfeit if bribery is found, but Cato enforces the penalty through detection; Plutarch reflects on why justice creates more hatred than other virtues.
quelled the sedition. Afterwards, on the senate commending him for this, "But I," said he, "do not commend you for abandoning your praetor in danger, and bringing him no assistance." In the meantime, the candidates were in great perplexity; for every one dreaded to give money himself, and yet feared lest his competitors should. At length they agreed to lay down one hundred and twenty-five thousand drachmas apiece, …
Sancho begins a tale of Lope Ruiz and Torralva in Estremadura that turns jealousy into hatred, leading them across the plains toward Portugal and the river Guadiana with a small boat for many goats.
“Tell it as thou wilt,” replied Don Quixote; “and as fate will have it that I cannot help listening to thee, go on.” “And so, lord of my soul,” continued Sancho, as I have said, this shepherd was in love with Torralva the shepherdess, who was a wild buxom lass with something of the look of a man about her, for she had little moustaches; I fancy I see her now.” “Then you knew her?” said Don Quixote. “I did not know…
After Fernando and Duke Ricardo’s household developments bring Cardenio back to his city, Cardenio tells Luscinda story to Fernando, shows her to him through a window, and Fernando becomes obsessed, reading letters and driving jealousy.
and if at first he feigned a wish to absent himself in order to cure his love, he was now in reality anxious to go to avoid keeping his promise. “The duke gave him permission, and ordered me to accompany him; we arrived at my city, and my father gave him the reception due to his rank; I saw Luscinda without delay, and, though it had not been dead or deadened, my love gathered fresh life. To my sorrow I told the stor…
Altisidora continues her ballad by claiming she is only fourteen and “Altisidora,” while Don Quixote shifts into jealous devotion to Dulcinea, declares only she is beautiful, then shuts the window and storms to bed.
O for to be the happy fair Thy mighty arms enfold, Or even sit beside thy bed And scratch thy dusty poll! I rave,—to favours such as these Unworthy to aspire; Thy feet to tickle were enough For one so mean as I. What caps, what slippers silver-laced, Would I on thee bestow! What damask breeches make for thee; What fine long holland cloaks! And I would give thee pearls that should As big as oak-…
The author criticizes Valentinian’s relentless desire for wealth and envy, compares him unfavorably to Themistocles and notes Romans’ restraint under Marius and Cinna, then describes him being calmed into mercy by false rumors of barbarians.
to the safety of one other person was an honour to many; but that to have had no share in injuring others had never been thought discreditable to any one." 8. A desire of increasing his riches without any regard to right and wrong, and of hunting out every kind of source of gain, even at the cost of other people's lives, raged in this emperor to a most excessive degree, and never flagged. Some, indeed, attempted to …
Zarathustra narrates how Zarathustra encounters a youth avoiding him near a tree on the hills of “The Pied Cow,” using the image of roots struggling downward to explain the youth’s envy and fear of solitude.
I learned to walk; since then have I let myself run. I learned to fly; since then I do not need pushing in order to move from a spot. Now am I light, now do I fly; now do I see myself under myself. Now there danceth a God in me.— Thus spake Zarathustra. VIII. THE TREE ON THE HILL. Zarathustra’s eye had perceived that a certain youth avoided him. And as he walked alone one evening over the hills surrounding the to…
Zarathustra’s night-song links his loneliness and need for expression to giving, envy, and the “hostility of light” toward shining ones, ending with longing for speech.
Oh, this is the hostility of light to the shining one: unpityingly doth it pursue its course. Unfair to the shining one in its innermost heart, cold to the suns:—thus travelleth every sun. Like a storm do the suns pursue their courses: that is their travelling. Their inexorable will do they follow: that is their coldness. Oh, ye only is it, ye dark, nightly ones, that extract warmth from the shining ones! Oh, ye o…
Nietzsche argues that the average scholarly man behaves “unphilosophically” and that scientific mediocrity, driven by envy and a Jesuit-like instinct, works to relax or destroy exceptional people’s talents.
my friends?--lives "unphilosophically" and "unwisely," above all, IMPRUDENTLY, and feels the obligation and burden of a hundred attempts and temptations of life--he risks HIMSELF constantly, he plays THIS bad game. 206. In relation to the genius, that is to say, a being who either ENGENDERS or PRODUCES--both words understood in their fullest sense--the man of learning, the scientific average man, has always somethin…
He advises choosing the best good—truth, justice, and the deity within—above praise, power, and pleasure, and warns against anything that breaks promises or self-respect.
of any man’s testimony. Be cheerful also, and seek not external help nor the tranquillity which others give. A man then must stand erect, not be kept erect by others. 6. If thou findest in human life anything better than justice, truth, temperance, fortitude, and, in a word, anything better than thy own mind’s self-satisfaction in the things which it enables thee to do according to right reason, and in the condition…
Continuing the moral warning, Johnson lists motives driving deceit and injury—money-love, envy of others’ success, and incompatible temper—and concludes that prudent distrust is necessary.
justice, is to launch on the wide ocean without the instruments of steerage, and to hope that every wind will be prosperous, and that every coast will afford a harbour. To enumerate the various motives to deceit and injury, would be to count all the desires that prevail among the sons of men; since there is no ambition however petty, no wish however absurd, that by indulgence will not be enabled to overpower the inf…
Johnson argues that rivalry arises because many desire what only few can have: competition breeds injury from both interest and envy, but envy is especially pervasive, constant, and destructive through calumny.
cannot be kindled by an accidental power of destroying that which gives happiness to another. It must be more natural to rob for gain, than to ravage only for mischief. Yet I am inclined to believe, that the great law of mutual benevolence is oftener violated by envy than by interest, and that most of the misery which the defamation of blameless actions, or the obstruction of honest endeavours, brings upon the world…
Johnson argues that envy is a uniquely destructive social vice: it sacrifices truth and kindness, gains little satisfaction, ruins the undeserving, and should be eradicated from the human heart.
to abhor those artifices at which he only laughed before, and discovers how much the happiness of life would be advanced by the eradication of envy from the human heart. Envy is, indeed, a stubborn weed of the mind, and seldom yields to the culture of philosophy. There are, however, considerations, which, if carefully implanted and diligently propagated, might in time overpower and repress it, since no one can nurs…
The Rambler explains how ambition and vanity bargain for praise, often by hiring panegyrists or flattering oneself, and praises the stoic-style independence from external envy and withholding.
parsimoniously distributed to their own claims, they will not gratuitously squander upon others, and some expedient must be tried, by which praise may be gained before it can be enjoyed. Among the innumerable bidders for praise, some are willing to purchase at the highest rate, and offer ease and health, fortune and life. Yet even of these only a small part have gained what they so earnestly desired; the student wa…
The merchant narrates his costly improvements—gardens, palisades, avenues, greenhouse plants, canal works—whose fame brings visitors, yet ultimately yields envy, diminishing pleasure, and “gloomy inactivity.”
the garden, and enclosed it with palisades, planted long avenues of trees, filled a green-house with exotick plants, dug a new canal, and threw the earth into the old moat. The fame of these expensive improvements brought in all the country to see the show. I entertained my visitors with great liberality, led them round my gardens, showed them my apartments, laid before them plans for new decorations, and was grati…
Boswell defends Johnson against accusations of envy for criticizing Gray, insisting Johnson privately and publicly held the same opinions, then Boswell frankly sketches his life to Johnson in eager intellectual hope.
[Page 406: The Cock-lane Ghost. A.D. 1763.] Here it is proper, once for all, to give a true and fair statement of Johnson's way of thinking upon the question, whether departed spirits are ever permitted to appear in this world, or in any way to operate upon human life. He has been ignorantly misrepresented as weakly credulous upon that subject; and, therefore, though I feel an inclination to disdain and treat with s…
Adam sees Cain and Abel: one brother offers first fruits sincerely and his sacrifice is accepted, while the other is rejected and driven by envy to murder, revealing death and the consequences of sin.
New reaped; the other part sheep-walks and folds; I’ the midst an altar as the land-mark stood, Rustick, of grassy sord; thither anon A sweaty reaper from his tillage brought First fruits, the green ear, and the yellow sheaf, Unculled, as came to hand; a shepherd next, More meek, came with the firstlings of his flock, Choicest and best; then, sacrificing, laid The inwards and their fat, with incense strowed, On the c…
He extends malice to self-directed envy-like impulses: people may seek affliction from the sting of comparison, and he distinguishes envy (desire to be superior) from malice (desire to cause others’ evil).
when we enjoy nothing at present equal to them. The comparison being the same, as when we reflect on the sentiments of others, must be attended with the same effects. Nay a person may extend this malice against himself, even to his present fortune, and carry it so far as designedly to seek affliction, and encrease his pains and sorrows. This may happen upon two occasions. First, Upon the distress and misfortune of a…
Hume argues that proximity and resemblance govern envy more than sheer disparity, and he links diminished relation to weakened comparison, so distance or dissimilarity prevents the passions from transferring.
as they have no bond or connecting quality to join them in the imagination; it is impossible they can remain long united, or have any considerable influence on each other. I have observed in considering the nature of ambition, that the great feel a double pleasure in authority from the comparison of their own condition with that of their slaves; and that this comparison has a double influence, because it is natural,…
Envy and Privy Thought are warned against as Philogenet’s allies describe love’s privacy and mental access to the beloved, followed by a poetic shift where Rosial urges him toward lustiness and they prepare for May’s feast.
he to love must subject be: Then held he all his scornes vanity, And said that lovers held a blissful life, Young men and old, and widow, maid, and wife. “Bereave me, Goddess!” quoth he, “of thy might, My scornes all and scoffes, that I have No power for to mocken any wight That in thy service dwell: for I did rave; This know I well right now, so God me save, And I shall be the chief post* of thy faith, …
Porzia’s major-domo delivers money to Benvenuto’s shop; Benvenuto and Lucagnolo compete in front of witnesses, and Benvenuto wins by pouring out twice as much gold, causing Lucagnolo’s envy and angry vows.
XXI ON the day following, Madonna Porzia sent a major-domo of hers to my shop, who called me out, and putting into my hands a paper packet full of money from his lady, told me that she did not choose the devil should have his whole laugh out: by which she hinted that the money sent me was not the entire payment merited by my industry, and other messages were added worthy of so courteous a lady. Lucagnolo, who was bu…
Giulio Romano arranges the banquet and compliments Cellini’s role while Diego sings and improvisatory poet Aurelio Ascolano praises the women; courtly conversation turns into jealousy and the women expose the disguise.
the custom to kiss the feet of the Pope and the cheeks of angels; and having done the latter to Diego, the boy blushed deeply, which immensely enhanced his beauty. When this reception was over, we found the whole room full of sonnets, which every man of us had made and sent to Michel Agnolo, My lad began to read them, and read them all aloud so gracefully, that his infinite charms were heightened beyond the powers o…
As the seven years end, the Evil One forces Bearskin to clean himself, restoring his human looks; he reunites with the youngest bride via a joined half-ring, while jealous sisters rage.
again, then we will celebrate our wedding; but if I do not, you are free, for I shall be dead. But pray to God that he will preserve my life." When he was gone the poor bride clothed herself in black, and whenever she thought of her bridegroom burst into tears. From her sisters she received nothing but scorn and mocking. "Pay great attention when he shakes your hand," said the eldest, "and you will see his beautiful…
Two-Eyes tricks One-Eye and later Three-Eyes into being asleep while she uses the table, then the mother kills the goat out of envy, cutting off the sisters’ supernatural advantage.
"Are you awake or asleep, One-Eye? Are you awake or asleep?" sang Two-Eyes, until her sister really went to sleep. As soon as she was quite sound, the maiden had her table out, and ate and drank all she needed; and by the time One-Eye woke again the table had disappeared, and the maiden said to her sister, "Come, we will go home now; while you have been sleeping the goat might have run about all over the world." So …
After the magic tree returns, Two-Eyes enjoys happiness again until her two beggared sisters, One-Eye and Three-Eyes, arrive at the palace and are welcomed and cared for until they repent.
the tree disappeared, and with it all their hopes; but when Two-Eyes that same day looked out of her chamber window, behold, the tree stood before it, and there remained! For a long time after this occurrence Two-Eyes lived in the enjoyment of the greatest happiness; and one morning two poor women came to the palace and begged an alms. Two-Eyes, after looking narrowly at their faces, recognized her two sisters, One-…
The story introduces Gizur the White and Geir the Priest, allied chiefs at Mossfell and Lithe, and Mord Valgard’s son at Hof, described as crafty, spiteful, and envious of Gunnar.
and less work. Otkell often said outright to Hallbjorn, that he thought the thrall did little work; and he told Otkell that there was worse in him yet to come. At that time came a great scarcity, so that men fell short both of meat and hay, and that spread over all parts of Iceland. Gunnar shared his hay and meat with many men; and all got them who came thither, so long as his stores lasted. At last it came about t…
He adds that democracy makes immorality more damaging because citizens watch a peer rise into riches and power, then suspect dishonor behind success, blending contempt for vice with acceptance of power.
language. But to pillage the public purse, and to vend the favors of the state, are arts which the meanest villain may comprehend, and hope to practise in his turn. In reality it is far less prejudicial to be a witness to the immorality of the great, than to that immorality which leads to greatness. In a democracy, private citizens see a man of their own rank in life, who rises from that obscure position, and who be…
It lays out Thomas’s argument that envy gives rise to hatred, since envy is sorrow over another’s good, making that good seem evil and thus hateful.
the aspect of evil. Wherefore, since envy is sorrow for our neighbor's good, it follows that our neighbor's good becomes hateful to us, so that "out of envy cometh hatred." Reply Obj. 1: Since the appetitive power, like the apprehensive power, reflects on its own acts, it follows that there is a kind of circular movement in the actions of the appetitive power. And so according to the first forward course of the appe…
The passage begins the discussion of envy, defining it as sorrow for another’s good name, and it distinguishes envy from other sorrowful reactions like fear over another’s prosperity.
vice; "sluggishness" about the commandments seems to be the same as sloth, while "faint-heartedness" and "despair" may arise from any sin. Therefore sloth is not rightly accounted a capital sin. Obj. 3: Further, Isidore distinguishes the vice of sloth from the vice of sorrow, saying (De Summo Bono ii, 37) that in so far as a man shirks his duty because it is distasteful and burdensome, it is sorrow, and in so far as…
In Q. 158, Art. 4, Aquinas contends anger is not the most grievous sin: its object makes it less grave than envy or hatred, though its violent impetuousness can intensify harm.
yet it may happen to be a mortal sin, for instance if through the fierceness of his anger a man fall away from the love of God and his neighbor. Reply Obj. 1: It does not follow from the passage quoted that all anger is a mortal sin, but that the foolish are killed spiritually by anger, because, through not checking the movement of anger by their reason, they fall into mortal sins, for instance by blaspheming God or…
He begins the narrative of Pudentilla’s letters and marriage history, claiming Aemilianus’s motives are envy and listing accusations against him and Pudentilla, then starts recounting Pudentilla’s prior marriage and widowhood.
for many reasons brought me the reverse of prosperity and, but for the fact that my wife's virtues are compensation for any number of disadvantages, might be described as disastrous. Disappointment and envy are the sole causes that have involved me in this trial, and even before that gathered many mortal perils about my path. What motives for resentment has Aemilianus against me, even assuming him to be correctly in…
Nathan explains that he did not consent from malice but because he himself was generous, that he knew Mitridanes wanted reputation through killing, and offers to let Mitridanes take his own place and name.
greatest kings have extended their dominions, and by consequence their fame. Wherefore, if thou, to increase thy fame, wouldst fain have slain me, 'twas nothing marvellous or strange, but wonted." Whereto Mitridanes made answer, not to excuse his wicked design, but to commend the seemly excuse found for it by Nathan, whom at length he told how beyond measure he marvelled that Nathan had not only been consenting to t…
Vasari’s Life of Antonio Viniziano explains how envy drives artists to seek better patronage, narrates Antonio’s move from Florence to Venice and back to Florence, and describes his major fresco and panel works in churches.
PAINTER Many who would fain stay in the country where they are born, being torn by the tooth of envy and oppressed by the tyranny of their fellow-citizens, take themselves off, and choosing for country those places where they find that their talent is recognized and rewarded, they make their works therein; and striving to become very excellent in order to put to shame, in some sort, those by whom they have been outr…
The biography turns to Lorenzo di Bartoluccio Ghiberti, praising how talent draws honor yet suffers envy; Ghiberti is said to surpass rivals in bronze casting recognized by Donato and Filippo Brunelleschi.
PAINTER OF FLORENCE There is no doubt that in every city those who, by reason of any talent, come into some fame among men, are a most blessed light and example to many who are either born after them or live in the same age, not to mention the infinite praise and the extraordinary rewards that they themselves gain thereby while living. Nor is there anything that does more to arouse the minds of men, and to render th…
Abélard describes envy among rivals as his followers live like hermits above the Arduzon, and he explains his move from manual labor to teaching because of poverty, with students funding buildings.
Old Testament, built for themselves huts by the waters of the Jordan, and forsaking the throngs and the cities, lived on pottage and the herbs of the field" (Epist. iv). Even so did my followers build their huts above the waters of the Arduzon, so that they seemed hermits rather than scholars. And as their number grew ever greater, the hardships which they gladly endured for the sake of my teaching seemed to my riva…
Themistocles is honoured by Sparta with olive wreaths and a chariot for his skill, while Timodemos attacks him out of envy; Artabazos meanwhile subdues revolts at Potidaea and Olynthos.
the "horsemen," 90 as far as the boundaries of Tegea: and he is the only man of all we know to whom the Spartans ever gave escort on his way. 125. When however he had come to Athens from Lacedemon, Timodemos of Aphidnai, one of the opponents of Themistocles, but in other respects not among the men of distinction, maddened by envy attacked him, bringing forward against him his going to Lacedemon, and saying that it w…
Pascal mocks the way admiration trains children to envy and approval-seeking, noting that the Port-Royal children, lacking that stimulus, become careless instead.
172 We do not rest satisfied with the present. We anticipate the future as too slow in coming, as if in order to hasten its course; or we recall the past, to stop its too rapid flight. So imprudent are we that we wander in the times which are not ours, and do not think of the only one which belongs to us; and so idle are we that we dream of those times which are no more, and thoughtlessly overlook that which alone e…
In a letter to Augustus, Horace argues that other peoples’ ingratitude and envy will outlast a ruler’s achievements, then criticizes Roman debates over which Greek and Roman poets are truly classic.
are Rome's classics; these to see and hear She throngs the bursting playhouse year by year: 'Tis these she musters, counts, reviews, displays, From Livius' time to our degenerate days. Sometimes the public sees like any lynx; Sometimes, if 'tis not blind, at least it blinks. If it extols the ancient sous of song As though they were unrivalled, it goes wrong: If it allows there's much that's obsolete, Much hasty work…
Psyches’ sisters arrive and are comforted; Zephyrus brings them down, and Psyches feeds them treasure and false answers, sparking their envy and talk of different fates.
grant her request, calling him her spowse, her sweetheart, her Joy and her Solace. Wherby she enforced him to agree to her mind, and when morning came he departed away. After long search made, the sisters of Psyches came unto the hill where she was set on the rocke, and cried with a loud voyce in such sort that the stones answered againe. And when they called their sister by her name, that their lamentable cries cam…
The two jealous older sisters plan evil against Psyches, conceal the treasure, pretend to cry for family, then return with resentful “warnings” about a deadly serpent husband.
wretch have first married an husband elder than my father, more bald than a Coot, more weake than a childe, and that locketh me up all day in the house. Then said the other sister, And in faith I am married to a husband that hath the gout, twyfold, crooked, nor couragious in paying my debt, I am faine to rub and mollifie his stony fingers with divers sorts of oyles, and to wrap them in playsters and salves, so that …
On the English theatre, Voltaire criticizes Samuel Johnson’s assessment of Shakespeare and defends Shakespeare’s genius, then contrasts it with Addison’s more dignified but colder tragedy, and turns to an entry on envy.
in his verse and in his prose. A friend of propriety and orderliness, he wanted tragedy to be written with dignity, and it is thus that his "Cato" is composed. From the very first act the verses are worthy of Virgil, and the sentiments worthy of Cato. There is no theatre in Europe where the scene of Juba and Syphax was not applauded as a masterpiece of skill, of well-developed characters, of fine contrasts, and of p…
Voltaire argues that “envious” people—not the envious man’s eye—are the ones who are bewitched, using examples and proverbs to criticize superstition and envy.
One asks why the ancients thought that the eye of the envious man bewitched those who looked at it. It is the envious, rather, who are bewitched. Descartes says: "That envy impels the yellow bile which comes from the lower part of the liver, and the black bile which comes from the spleen, which is diffused from the heart through the arteries, etc." But as no kind of bile is formed in the spleen, Descartes, by speaki…
A sequence of proverbs treats envy and fortune, the relation of beauty to goodness, discipline and risk, and the ethics of art and truth—emphasizing persistence, self-rule, and the limits of empty fame.
Where good fortune enters, envy lays siege to her and attacks her, and when she departs sorrow and regret remain behind. When beauty exists side by side with ugliness, the one seems more powerful, owing to the presence of the other. He who walks straight rarely falls. O miserable race of man! of how many things you make yourself the slave for the sake of money! The worst evil which can befall the artist is that h…
Seneca argues that jealousy and comparisons breed ingratitude, and he urges readers to interpret benefits kindly by their “right side” rather than focusing on faults and missed opportunities.
none so paltry that it cannot be made more of by friendly interpretation. We shall never want a subject for complaint if we look at benefits on their wrong side. XXIX. See how unjustly the gifts of heaven are valued even by some who profess themselves philosophers, who complain that we are not as big as elephants, as swift as stags, as light as birds, as strong as bulls; that the skins of seals are stronger, of hind…
Anthony examines offices and authority, noting that their main appeal is ruling rather than being ruled, yet praising and reverence bring costs, conflicts among rulers, envy, and dangers like war.
it doth them good, uncle, that men must make courtesy to them and salute them with reverence and stand bareheaded before them, or unto some of them peradventure kneel, too. ANTHONY: Well, cousin, in some part they do but play at gleek--they receive reverence, and to their cost they pay honour again therefor. For except, as I said, a king alone, the greatest in authority under him receiveth not so much reverence fro…
Bacon explains envy as a powerful, near-witchcraft passion, identifies who is most prone to envy and who is most envied, and distinguishes private envy from public discontent.
Of Envy THERE be none of the affections, which have been noted to fascinate or bewitch, but love and envy. They both have vehement wishes; they frame themselves readily into imaginations and suggestions; and they come easily into the eye, especially upon the present of the objects; which are the points that conduce to fascination, if any such thing there be. We see likewise, the Scripture calleth envy an evil eye; a…
Continuing on envy, Bacon argues that eminent virtue can reduce envy, that certain conditions and pride increase it, and that public envy functions like an ostracism that restrains great officers.
vile and malignant, towards his brother Abel, because when his sacrifice was better accepted, there was no body to look on. Thus much for those, that are apt to envy. Concerning those that are more or less subject to envy: First, persons of eminent virtue, when they are advanced, are less envied. For their fortune seemeth, but due unto them; and no man envieth the payment of a debt, but rewards and liberality rather…
In “Of Suspicion,” Bacon compares suspicion to bats, saying it clouds minds and fosters tyranny or jealousy; he recommends learning more, and communicating suspicions frankly to prevent “stings.”
Of Suspicion SUSPICIONS amongst thoughts, are like bats amongst birds, they ever fly by twilight. Certainly they are to be repressed, or at least well guarded: for they cloud the mind; they leese friends; and they check with business, whereby business cannot go on currently and constantly. They dispose kings to tyranny, husbands to jealousy, wise men to irresolution and melancholy. They are defects, not in the heart…
After Criseyde misses her promised return for days, Troilus collapses into jealousy, neglects food and company, dreams of a boar-kissing scene, and concludes Criseyde has betrayed him.
cause of al his peyne? But al for nought; he nolde his cause pleyne, 1230 But seyde, he felte a grevous maladye A-boute his herte, and fayn he wolde dye. So on a day he leyde him doun to slepe, And so bifel that in his sleep him thoughte, That in a forest faste he welk to wepe 1235 For love of hir that him these peynes wroughte; And up and dou…
More repeated commentary and supporting examples elaborate the meanings of “black” versus “sincere,” and of biting imagery for malice, jealousy, and envy, citing Horace, Cicero, Ovid, and other classical sources.
sis albus an *ater* homo' and similar passages at Cic *Phil* II 41 and Apuleius *Apol* 16 are examples of an unrelated idiom meaning 'I know absolutely nothing about you'. =46. MORDENDA.= For biting as an image of malice, Watson at Hor *Epod* VI 15 'atro dente' cites Cic *Balb* 57 'in conuiuiis rodunt, in circulis uellicant; non illo inimico, sed hoc malo dente carpunt', and Val Max IV 7 ext 2 'malignitatis dentes';…
This passage reiterates the poem’s argument about envy, describes how the work’s poet-catalogue is historically valuable for Tiberius’s early reign, and identifies links to other Ovid poems and themes.
he had a reputation. Envy should therefore cease to torment him; he has lost everything but life, which is left only so that he can continue to experience pain (45-50). The poem is of particular interest because of the catalogue of the poets of the earlier part of the reign of Tiberius. It is a reminder of how much Latin verse has been lost, for of the poets listed only Grattius survives. Similar catalogues of poet…
In Act I, Philotis and Syra discuss that Pamphilus was once vowed to Bacchis but has now married, so they advise predatory revenge on lovers and debate whether any man is exempt from exploitation.
*Enter PARMENO from the house of LACHES.* PAR. (*at the door, speaking to SCIRTUS within.*) If the old man should be asking for me, do you say that I have just gone to the harbor to inquire about the arrival of Pamphilus. Do you hear what I say, Scirtus? If he asks for me, then you are to say {so}; if he does not, {why}, say nothing at all; so that at another time I may be able to employ that excuse as a new one. (_…
In Athens, Thraso boasts to Gnatho about his closeness to a king and his favors, while Gnatho advises using jealous counter-gifting—naming Pamphila instead of Phaedria—to keep Thais dependent and anxious.
*Enter THRASO and GNATHO.* THRASO. And Thais then returns me many thanks? GNAT. Ten thousand. THRA. Say, is she delighted with it? GNAT. Not so much with the gift itself, as that By you 'twas given: but therein she triumphs. *Enter PARMENO behind.* PAR. I'm come to look about me, and observe A proper opportunity to bring My presents. But behold the Captain! THRA. 'Tis Something, I know not how, peculiar to me,…
Nekayah socializes widely to investigate private life, especially jealousy, superficial amusements, and fleeting attachments, and then reports to Rasselas by the Nile that both rich and poor homes are troubled by hidden miseries.
THE PRINCESS PURSUES HER INQUIRY WITH MORE DILIGENCE THAN SUCCESS. THE Princess in the meantime insinuated herself into many families; for there are few doors through which liberality, joined with good humour, cannot find its way. The daughters of many houses were airy and cheerful; but Nekayah had been too long accustomed to the conversation of Imlac and her brother to be much pleased with childish levity and prat…
Daphnis and Damoetas stage their own pastoral exchange, describing rival love troubles with jealousy, teasing, and imagined scenes, then end with mutual courtship songs.
My teeth gleamed whiter than the Parian marl. Thrice for good luck I spat upon my robe: That learned I of the hag Cottytaris--her Who fluted lately with Hippocoön's mowers." Damoetas then kissed Daphnis lovingly: One gave a pipe and one a goodly flute. Straight to the shepherd's flute and herdsman's pipe The younglings bounded in the soft green grass: And neither was o'ermatched, but matchless both. …
Idyll XXIX (“Loves”) presents a lover’s counsel to be sincere, while admitting he did not win the beloved’s heart fairly and predicting jealousy, age, and eventual resolution through love.
Loves. Ah for this the most accursed, unendurable of ills! Nigh two months a fevered fancy for a maid my bosom fills. Fair she is, as other damsels: but for what the simplest swain Claims from the demurest maiden, I must sue and sue in vain. Yet doth now this thing of evil my longsuffering heart beguile, Though the utmost she vouchsafes me is the shadow of a smile: And I soon shall know no re…
Glaucus explains how he avoids envy by living with mediocrity, not meddling in others’ affairs, softening misunderstandings, and practicing calm reasoning after bereavement and temptation to remarry.
Things in the World, when with very good Reason there is this old Saying: _He that has no Enemies has no Friends*; and *Envy is always an Attendant on Felicity_. *Gl.* Envy always is a Concomitant of a pompous Felicity, but a Mediocrity is safe; this was always my Study, not to make any Advantage to myself from the Disadvantages of other People. I embraced as much as I could, that which the *Greeks* call Freedom fro…