--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As iron is eaten away by rust, so the…" description: "\"As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion.\" — Antisthenes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/antisthenes-24350_envious_as-iron-is-eaten-away-by-rust-so-the-env_1149372.png" --- # As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed… ![“As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion.” quote by Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/antisthenes-24350_envious_as-iron-is-eaten-away-by-rust-so-the-env_1149372.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/antisthenes-24350_envious_as-iron-is-eaten-away-by-rust-so-the-env_1149372.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/antisthenes-24350_envious_as-iron-is-eaten-away-by-rust-so-the-env_1149372.png) > “As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion.” [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Envy erodes the envious just as rust corrodes iron, destroying them from within. **In simple terms:** Envy destroys the envious. Key Takeaway Beware and envy. Themes ethics human nature destruction Mood cautionary reflective Type moral philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - political leadership - team dynamics Key Concepts Stoicism self‑destruction Questions to Reflect On - How does envy affect your decisions? - Can envy ever be constructive? A Different Perspective Envy can sometimes motivate self‑improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consumed Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumed-passion-3240875/) [Envious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envious/) [Envious Consumed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envious-consumed-3240873/) [Iron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iron/) [Iron Eaten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iron-eaten-3240874/) [Jealousy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealousy/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Rust Envious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rust-envious-3240872/) ## Related quotes > [Let your love drive you mad, mad about life, mad about the smell of Jasmine. Mad about the painting that reminds you of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-minagar/let-your-love-drive-you-mad-mad-about-life-mad-about-the-smell-of/) [Melody Minagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-minagar/) > [The Greeks understood perfectly that if there were divine beings they are capricious, unkind, malicious mostly, temperamental, envious and mostly deeply unpleasant because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-greeks-understood-perfectly-that-if-there-were-divine-beings-they/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [The gigantic intellect, the envious temper, the ravenous ambition and the rotten heart of Daniel Webster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/the-gigantic-intellect-the-envious-temper-the-ravenous-ambition-and/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [I was in love with everything- I wanted to look with love at the angry people so that their eyes would be forced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/egon-schiele/i-was-in-love-with-everything-i-wanted-to-look-with-love-at-the-angry/) [Egon Schiele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/egon-schiele/) > [Because I am a horrible flincher, contact lenses are not an option. I'm always envious of contact-wearers. There are endless reasons to take off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/because-i-am-a-horrible-flincher-contact-lenses-are-not-an-option-i-m/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [I was a kid when the Tamagotchi craze hit, and I was always envious of my friends and cousins who got to hand-rear their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jeong/i-was-a-kid-when-the-tamagotchi-craze-hit-and-i-was-always-envious-of/) [Sarah Jeong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jeong/) > [England is a fairly envious little country and it's embodied in the press. They don't like anyone being more distinguished than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/england-is-a-fairly-envious-little-country-and-it-s-embodied-in-the/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [Reputation being essentially contemporaneous, is always at the mercy of the Envious and the Ignorant. But Fame, whose very birth is posthumous, and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/reputation-being-essentially-contemporaneous-is-always-at-the-mercy/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [I made a decision to stop feeling envious of other people, to crack on with my life and stop comparing myself with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-phillips/i-made-a-decision-to-stop-feeling-envious-of-other-people-to-crack-on/) [Jess Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-phillips/) > [Normally, what you’re envious of is a book, not a writer: standards, ideas, levels … almost nonexistent things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/normally-what-you-re-envious-of-is-a-book-not-a-writer-standards/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [“There, display and extravagance, in dress, in furniture, in costly entertainments, are startling. They seem to push you back into a corner, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/there-display-and-extravagance-in-dress-in-furniture-in-costly/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Don't envy what people have, emulate what they did to have it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-fargo/don-t-envy-what-people-have-emulate-what-they-did-to-have-it/) [Tim Fargo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-fargo/) > [Books are never out of humour; never envious or jealous, they answer all questions with readiness; ... they teach us how to live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holbrook-jackson/books-are-never-out-of-humour-never-envious-or-jealous-they-answer/) [Holbrook Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holbrook-jackson/) > [Do the kind of things that come from the heart, When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, you won't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-the-kind-of-things-that-come-from-the-heart-when-you-do-you-won-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The problem was money and the indignities of life without it. Every stroller, cell phone, Yankees cap, and SUV he saw was a torment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/the-problem-was-money-and-the-indignities-of-life-without-it-every/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) ## More by Antisthenes > [Wealth and poverty do not lie in a man's estate, but in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/wealth-and-poverty-do-not-lie-in-a-man-s-estate-but-in-men-s-souls/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [I'd rather be mad than feel pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/i-d-rather-be-mad-than-feel-pleasure/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [There are only two people who can tell you the truth about yourself - an enemy who has lost his temper and a friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/there-are-only-two-people-who-can-tell-you-the-truth-about-yourself/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [The investigation of the meaning of words is the beginning of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/the-investigation-of-the-meaning-of-words-is-the-beginning-of/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [“Virtue . . . is the same for men and for women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/virtue-is-the-same-for-men-and-for-women/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [The advantages of philosophy? That I am able to hold converse with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/the-advantages-of-philosophy-that-i-am-able-to-hold-converse-with/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [It is better to fall in with crows than with flatterers; for in the one case you are devoured when dead, in the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/it-is-better-to-fall-in-with-crows-than-with-flatterers-for-in-the/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [I am sadly afraid that I must have done some wicked thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/i-am-sadly-afraid-that-i-must-have-done-some-wicked-thing/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [As rust corrupts iron, so envy corrupts man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/as-rust-corrupts-iron-so-envy-corrupts-man/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [States are doomed when they are unable to distinguish good men from bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/states-are-doomed-when-they-are-unable-to-distinguish-good-men-from/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [Royalty does good and is badly spoken of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/royalty-does-good-and-is-badly-spoken-of/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [Observe your enemies, for they first find out your faults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/observe-your-enemies-for-they-first-find-out-your-faults/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [We weed out the darnel from the corn and the unfit in war, but do not excuse evil men from the service of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/we-weed-out-the-darnel-from-the-corn-and-the-unfit-in-war-but-do-not/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [The most useful piece of learning for the uses of life is to unlearn what is untrue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/the-most-useful-piece-of-learning-for-the-uses-of-life-is-to-unlearn/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [The most necessary learning is that which unlearns evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/the-most-necessary-learning-is-that-which-unlearns-evil/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) [Explore all 23 Antisthenes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) ## More Envious quotes > [Let your love drive you mad, mad about life, mad about the smell of Jasmine. Mad about the painting that reminds you of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-minagar/let-your-love-drive-you-mad-mad-about-life-mad-about-the-smell-of/) [Melody Minagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-minagar/) > [Do the kind of things that come from the heart, When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, you won't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-the-kind-of-things-that-come-from-the-heart-when-you-do-you-won-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Books are never out of humour; never envious or jealous, they answer all questions with readiness; ... they teach us how to live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holbrook-jackson/books-are-never-out-of-humour-never-envious-or-jealous-they-answer/) [Holbrook Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holbrook-jackson/) > [“Don't envy what people have, emulate what they did to have it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-fargo/don-t-envy-what-people-have-emulate-what-they-did-to-have-it/) [Tim Fargo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-fargo/) > [“There, display and extravagance, in dress, in furniture, in costly entertainments, are startling. They seem to push you back into a corner, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/there-display-and-extravagance-in-dress-in-furniture-in-costly/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Normally, what you’re envious of is a book, not a writer: standards, ideas, levels … almost nonexistent things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/normally-what-you-re-envious-of-is-a-book-not-a-writer-standards/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [I made a decision to stop feeling envious of other people, to crack on with my life and stop comparing myself with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-phillips/i-made-a-decision-to-stop-feeling-envious-of-other-people-to-crack-on/) [Jess Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-phillips/) > [Reputation being essentially contemporaneous, is always at the mercy of the Envious and the Ignorant. But Fame, whose very birth is posthumous, and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/reputation-being-essentially-contemporaneous-is-always-at-the-mercy/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [England is a fairly envious little country and it's embodied in the press. They don't like anyone being more distinguished than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/england-is-a-fairly-envious-little-country-and-it-s-embodied-in-the/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [I was a kid when the Tamagotchi craze hit, and I was always envious of my friends and cousins who got to hand-rear their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jeong/i-was-a-kid-when-the-tamagotchi-craze-hit-and-i-was-always-envious-of/) [Sarah Jeong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jeong/) > [Because I am a horrible flincher, contact lenses are not an option. I'm always envious of contact-wearers. There are endless reasons to take off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/because-i-am-a-horrible-flincher-contact-lenses-are-not-an-option-i-m/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [I was in love with everything- I wanted to look with love at the angry people so that their eyes would be forced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/egon-schiele/i-was-in-love-with-everything-i-wanted-to-look-with-love-at-the-angry/) [Egon Schiele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/egon-schiele/) > [The gigantic intellect, the envious temper, the ravenous ambition and the rotten heart of Daniel Webster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/the-gigantic-intellect-the-envious-temper-the-ravenous-ambition-and/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Greeks understood perfectly that if there were divine beings they are capricious, unkind, malicious mostly, temperamental, envious and mostly deeply unpleasant because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-greeks-understood-perfectly-that-if-there-were-divine-beings-they/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [The problem was money and the indignities of life without it. Every stroller, cell phone, Yankees cap, and SUV he saw was a torment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/the-problem-was-money-and-the-indignities-of-life-without-it-every/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) [Browse all 330 Envious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Antisthenes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/as-iron-is-eaten-away-by-rust-so-the-envious-are-consumed-by-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Envious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/as-iron-is-eaten-away-by-rust-so-the-envious-are-consumed-by-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/antisthenes-24350_envious_as-iron-is-eaten-away-by-rust-so-the-env_1149372.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/antisthenes-24350_envious_as-iron-is-eaten-away-by-rust-so-the-env_1149372.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/antisthenes-24350_envious_as-iron-is-eaten-away-by-rust-so-the-env_1149372.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion.” — Antisthenes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Antisthenes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As iron is eaten away by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/as-iron-is-eaten-away-by-rust-so-the-envious-are-consumed-by-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/as-iron-is-eaten-away-by-rust-so-the-envious-are-consumed-by-their/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```