--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Covetousness like jealousy, when it has…" description: "\"Covetousness like jealousy, when it has taken root, never leaves a person, but with their life. Cowardice is the dread of what will happen.\" — Epictetus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/epictetus-413_covetousness_covetousness-like-jealousy-when-it-has-t_2492111.jpg" --- # Covetousness like jealousy, when it has taken root, never… ![“Covetousness like jealousy, when it has taken root, never leaves a person, but with their life. Cowardice is the dread of what will happen.” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/epictetus-413_covetousness_covetousness-like-jealousy-when-it-has-t_2492111.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/epictetus-413_covetousness_covetousness-like-jealousy-when-it-has-t_2492111.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/epictetus-413_covetousness_covetousness-like-jealousy-when-it-has-t_2492111.jpg) > “Covetousness like jealousy, when it has taken root, never leaves a person, but with their life. Cowardice is the dread of what will happen.” [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He warns that envy and cowardice, once rooted, dominate a person’s life and future. **In simple terms:** Jealousy and fear become lifelong burdens. Key Takeaway Guard against envy and fear. Themes philosophy ethics psychology self‑control emotions Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - career decisions - public speaking - leadership Key Concepts Stoicism inner freedom Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your jealousy? - How can you confront fear proactively? A Different Perspective Overcoming these traits requires constant vigilance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Covetousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/covetousness/) [Cowardice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Jealousy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealousy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) ## Related quotes > [Cowardice, the dread of what will happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/cowardice-the-dread-of-what-will-happen/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Covetousness, like a candle ill made, smothers the splendor of a happy fortune in its own grease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-osborne/covetousness-like-a-candle-ill-made-smothers-the-splendor-of-a-happy/) [Frances Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-osborne/) > [“vow: I refuse to give in to fear. The truth is that I am more afraid of living a life of cowardice, of allowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-parker/vow-i-refuse-to-give-in-to-fear-the-truth-is-that-i-am-more-afraid-of/) [Willie Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-parker/) > [“It is for your own good to love a dare-devil rather than a holy coward. A dare-devil is a unique devil, battling your fears,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/it-is-for-your-own-good-to-love-a-dare-devil-rather-than-a-holy/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Why, do you not know, then, that the origin of all human evils, and of baseness, and cowardice, is not death, but rather the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/why-do-you-not-know-then-that-the-origin-of-all-human-evils-and-of/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [When your thoughts, words, and deeds form a seamless fabric, you streamline your efforts and thus eliminate worry and dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-your-thoughts-words-and-deeds-form-a-seamless-fabric-you/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [We all dread a bodily paralysis, and would make use of every contrivance to avoid it; but none of us is troubled about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-all-dread-a-bodily-paralysis-and-would-make-use-of-every/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [The evils of the body are murder, theft, and adultery; of the tongue, lying, slander, abuse and idle talk; of the mind, covetousness, hatred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-evils-of-the-body-are-murder-theft-and-adultery-of-the-tongue/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [It was with good reason that God commanded through Moses that the vineyard and harvest were not to be gleaned to the last grape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-was-with-good-reason-that-god-commanded-through-moses-that-the/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [I have heard thousands of confessions, but never one of covetousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-xavier/i-have-heard-thousands-of-confessions-but-never-one-of-covetousness/) [Francis Xavier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-xavier/) > [There are four Powers: memory and intellect, desire and covetousness. The two first are mental and the others sensual. The three senses: sight, hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/there-are-four-powers-memory-and-intellect-desire-and-covetousness/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [If we are to say no to covetousness, we must learn to say yes to contentment. This involves learning to be content with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-begg/if-we-are-to-say-no-to-covetousness-we-must-learn-to-say-yes-to/) [Alistair Begg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-begg/) > [Perfect love is to feeling what perfect white is to color. Many think that white is the absence of color. It is not. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/perfect-love-is-to-feeling-what-perfect-white-is-to-color-many-think/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let us avoid debt as we would avoid a plague...Let every head of every household see to it that he has on hand enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-reuben-clark/let-us-avoid-debt-as-we-would-avoid-a-plague-let-every-head-of-every/) [J. Reuben Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-reuben-clark/) > [There are three things against which the wise man guards: lust when young, quarrels when strong, and covetousness when old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/there-are-three-things-against-which-the-wise-man-guards-lust-when/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) ## More by Epictetus > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/practice-yourself-for-heaven-s-sake-in-little-things-and-then-proceed/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/do-not-laugh-much-or-often-or-unrestrainedly/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-not-disturbed-by-what-happens-to-us-but-by-our-thoughts-about/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-be-prideful-with-any-excellence-that-is-not-your-own/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/you-know-yourself-what-you-are-worth-in-your-own-eyes-and-at-what/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [As a man, casting off worn out garments taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, entereth into ones that are new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/as-a-man-casting-off-worn-out-garments-taketh-new-ones-so-the-dweller/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [If you would improve, submit to be considered wihout sense and foolish with respect to externals. Wish to be considered to know nothing; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-would-improve-submit-to-be-considered-wihout-sense-and-foolish/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“For it is not death or pain that is to be feared, but the fear of pain or death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/for-it-is-not-death-or-pain-that-is-to-be-feared-but-the-fear-of-pain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [What else can I do, a lame old man, but sing hymns to God? If I were a nightingale, I would do the nightingale's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/what-else-can-i-do-a-lame-old-man-but-sing-hymns-to-god-if-i-were-a/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [People are disturbed not by things, but by the view they take of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/small-minded-people-blame-others-average-people-blame-themselves-the/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/all-philosophy-lies-in-two-words-sustain-and-abstain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) [Explore all 577 Epictetus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More Covetousness quotes > [There are three things against which the wise man guards: lust when young, quarrels when strong, and covetousness when old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/there-are-three-things-against-which-the-wise-man-guards-lust-when/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Let us avoid debt as we would avoid a plague...Let every head of every household see to it that he has on hand enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-reuben-clark/let-us-avoid-debt-as-we-would-avoid-a-plague-let-every-head-of-every/) [J. Reuben Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-reuben-clark/) > [Perfect love is to feeling what perfect white is to color. Many think that white is the absence of color. It is not. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/perfect-love-is-to-feeling-what-perfect-white-is-to-color-many-think/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we are to say no to covetousness, we must learn to say yes to contentment. This involves learning to be content with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-begg/if-we-are-to-say-no-to-covetousness-we-must-learn-to-say-yes-to/) [Alistair Begg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-begg/) > [There are four Powers: memory and intellect, desire and covetousness. The two first are mental and the others sensual. The three senses: sight, hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/there-are-four-powers-memory-and-intellect-desire-and-covetousness/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [I have heard thousands of confessions, but never one of covetousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-xavier/i-have-heard-thousands-of-confessions-but-never-one-of-covetousness/) [Francis Xavier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-xavier/) > [It was with good reason that God commanded through Moses that the vineyard and harvest were not to be gleaned to the last grape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-was-with-good-reason-that-god-commanded-through-moses-that-the/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [The evils of the body are murder, theft, and adultery; of the tongue, lying, slander, abuse and idle talk; of the mind, covetousness, hatred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-evils-of-the-body-are-murder-theft-and-adultery-of-the-tongue/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Covetousness, anger and foolishness are things to sort out well. When bad things happen in the world, if you look at them comparatively, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/covetousness-anger-and-foolishness-are-things-to-sort-out-well-when/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [The Word says, ‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world’ (1 John 2:15). Jesus warned, ‘Beware of covetousness: for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilkerson/the-word-says-love-not-the-world-neither-the-things-that-are-in-the/) [David Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilkerson/) > [While it is undeniable that many have been driven to immorality and crime by the need to survive, it is equally evident that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/while-it-is-undeniable-that-many-have-been-driven-to-immorality-and/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) > [Bare-faced covetousness was the moving spirit of civilization from its first dawn to the present day; wealth, and again wealth, and for the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/bare-faced-covetousness-was-the-moving-spirit-of-civilization-from/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [By Jove, I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; It yearns me not if me my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/by-jove-i-am-not-covetous-for-gold-nor-care-i-who-doth-feed-upon-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Look at them. There are your true philosophers. I think that Mack and the boys know everything that has ever happened in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/look-at-them-there-are-your-true-philosophers-i-think-that-mack-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Other passions have objects to flatter them, and seem to content and satisfy them for a while; there is power in ambition, pleasure in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/other-passions-have-objects-to-flatter-them-and-seem-to-content-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) [Browse all 126 Covetousness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/covetousness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Covetousness like jealousy, when it has taken root, never leaves a person, but with their life. 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