--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How can we explain the perpetuity of…" description: "\"How can we explain the perpetuity of envy--a vice which yields no return?\" — Honore de Balzac" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/honor-de-balzac-197_envy_how-can-we-explain-the-perpetuity-of-env_900231.png" --- # How can we explain the perpetuity of envy--a vice which… ![“How can we explain the perpetuity of envy--a vice which yields no return?” quote by Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/honor-de-balzac-197_envy_how-can-we-explain-the-perpetuity-of-env_900231.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/honor-de-balzac-197_envy_how-can-we-explain-the-perpetuity-of-env_900231.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/honor-de-balzac-197_envy_how-can-we-explain-the-perpetuity-of-env_900231.png) > “How can we explain the perpetuity of envy--a vice which yields no return?” [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Envy is a self‑destructive habit that offers no benefit, only continual dissatisfaction. **In simple terms:** Envy gives nothing back. Key Takeaway Avoid envy, seek contentment. Themes envy selfishness contentment Mood frustrated reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - career competition - social media - financial decisions Key Concepts psychology human nature Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your envy? - How can you turn envy into motivation? A Different Perspective Envy can sometimes motivate self‑improvement if redirected. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Envy Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy-vice-1234396/) [Explain Perpetuity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain-perpetuity-1234397/) [Jealousy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealousy/) [Perpetuity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perpetuity-1234398/) [Perpetuity Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perpetuity-envy-1234395/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Vice Yields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-yields-1234399/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Yield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yield/) ## Related quotes > [perpetuity in a home is a blanket for the cold years that come with age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-wheeler/perpetuity-in-a-home-is-a-blanket-for-the-cold-years-that-come-with/) [Candace Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-wheeler/) > [“We ourselves will never know much of perpetuity. But we can get a faint inkling of what it’s like.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-ourselves-will-never-know-much-of-perpetuity-but-we-can-get-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Providence is the perpetuity and continuance of creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-sibbes/providence-is-the-perpetuity-and-continuance-of-creation/) [Richard Sibbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-sibbes/) > [I always thought that I would just be working in obscurity in perpetuity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-k-brown/i-always-thought-that-i-would-just-be-working-in-obscurity-in/) [Sterling K. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-k-brown/) > [When you record for a label, they own that material in perpetuity, meaning that they can release, chose not to release , or repackage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-winter/when-you-record-for-a-label-they-own-that-material-in-perpetuity/) [Edgar Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-winter/) > [Perpetuity is stamped upon the Constitution by the blood of our fathers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/perpetuity-is-stamped-upon-the-constitution-by-the-blood-of-our/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [Gradualism in theory is perpetuity in practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/gradualism-in-theory-is-perpetuity-in-practice/) [William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/) > [There is but one mode by which man can possess in perpetuity all the happiness which his nature is capable of enjoying, — that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-owen/there-is-but-one-mode-by-which-man-can-possess-in-perpetuity-all-the/) [Robert Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-owen/) > [We cannot sustain illegal immigration in perpetuity. It will not work for our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-trump/we-cannot-sustain-illegal-immigration-in-perpetuity-it-will-not-work/) [Lara Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-trump/) > [“The government is ethics rape in perpetuity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/the-government-is-ethics-rape-in-perpetuity/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [Man did not make the earth, and though he had a natural right to occupy it, he had no right to locate as his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/man-did-not-make-the-earth-and-though-he-had-a-natural-right-to/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [No woman dares to refuse love without a motive, for nothing is more natural than to yield to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/no-woman-dares-to-refuse-love-without-a-motive-for-nothing-is-more/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I yield to your wishes. It is the privilege of the women whom we love more than they love us to make the men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/i-yield-to-your-wishes-it-is-the-privilege-of-the-women-whom-we-love/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) ## More by Honore de Balzac > [“Oh, my friend, when you love, love a woman whom you are sure that you can love always. Never forsake a woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/oh-my-friend-when-you-love-love-a-woman-whom-you-are-sure-that-you/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“You have broken the ice, though you have not even scratched its glossy surface: you have placed your hand upon the croup of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/you-have-broken-the-ice-though-you-have-not-even-scratched-its-glossy/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [In a world of hunchbacks, a fine figure becomes a monstrosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/in-a-world-of-hunchbacks-a-fine-figure-becomes-a-monstrosity/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [It is quite right what they say: the three most beautiful sights in the world are a ship in full sail, a galloping horse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/it-is-quite-right-what-they-say-the-three-most-beautiful-sights-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [My writing table has seen all my wretchedness, knows all my plans, has overheard all my thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/my-writing-table-has-seen-all-my-wretchedness-knows-all-my-plans-has/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Foppery, being the chronic condition of women, is not so much noticed as it is when it breaks out on the person of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/foppery-being-the-chronic-condition-of-women-is-not-so-much-noticed/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [A married woman is a slave you must know how to seat upon a throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/a-married-woman-is-a-slave-you-must-know-how-to-seat-upon-a-throne/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Rich men are resolved to be astonished at nothing. When they see a masterpiece, they must needs at one glance recognize some flaw to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/rich-men-are-resolved-to-be-astonished-at-nothing-when-they-see-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I am a galley slave to pen and ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/i-am-a-galley-slave-to-pen-and-ink/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/one-can-imagine-the-look-the-two-lovers-exchanged-it-was-like-a-flame/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [White and shining virgin of all human virtues, ark of the covenant between earth and heaven, tender and strong companion partaking of the lion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/white-and-shining-virgin-of-all-human-virtues-ark-of-the-covenant/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All men can bear a familiar, definite misfortune better than the cruel alternations of a fate which, from one moment to another, brings excessive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-men-can-bear-a-familiar-definite-misfortune-better-than-the-cruel/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [The mind, too, has its regimen. It needs gymnastics, just like the body does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/the-mind-too-has-its-regimen-it-needs-gymnastics-just-like-the-body/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Hatred like love feeds on the merest trifles. Everything adds to it. Just as the being we love can do no wrong, so the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/hatred-like-love-feeds-on-the-merest-trifles-everything-adds-to-it/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All human power is a compound of time and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-human-power-is-a-compound-of-time-and-patience/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) [Explore all 793 Honore de Balzac quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## More Envy quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“He often remembered his dad's admonition that envy was mental theft. If you coveted another man's possessions, Dad said, then you should be willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/he-often-remembered-his-dad-s-admonition-that-envy-was-mental-theft/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“I don't envy "busy." Busy means having a schedule, not living life. What I really covet is leisure and peace of mind. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/i-don-t-envy-busy-busy-means-having-a-schedule-not-living-life-what-i/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/there-is-no-sweeter-sound-than-the-crumbling-of-one-s-fellow-man/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Is it not strange that the more someone has, the less he feels he has? Envy can never be sated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-wheeler/is-it-not-strange-that-the-more-someone-has-the-less-he-feels-he-has/) [Jeff Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-wheeler/) > [I avoid envy at all costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-winkleman/i-avoid-envy-at-all-costs/) [Claudia Winkleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-winkleman/) > [Sometimes I envy painters, it is wonderful to remain in front of a bouquet of flowers a whole morning, or even longer. A photographer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-boubat/sometimes-i-envy-painters-it-is-wonderful-to-remain-in-front-of-a/) [Edouard Boubat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-boubat/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“You don’t see someone flying and you begin to bite yourself for not being able to do that. You do what you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-don-t-see-someone-flying-and-you-begin-to-bite-yourself-for-not/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Knowledge forbidden? Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envy them that? Can it be sin to know, Can it be death? And do they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/knowledge-forbidden-suspicious-reasonless-why-should-their-lord-envy/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“Who would have thought you had so many supporters?" she whispered. "Not mine, my love. Yours. I had not a one till you started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-sinclair/who-would-have-thought-you-had-so-many-supporters-she-whispered-not/) [Michele Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-sinclair/) > [“Treachery is always a hairy caterpillar bred of a small butterfly called envy, no matter how lofty the principles involved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fazil-iskander/treachery-is-always-a-hairy-caterpillar-bred-of-a-small-butterfly/) [Fazil Iskander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fazil-iskander/) > [Yes, Clay Matthews has a long, golden, Fabio-esque flowing mane that most women would chick-slap someone for. And yes, the shiny, beautiful, dark locks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-foudy/yes-clay-matthews-has-a-long-golden-fabio-esque-flowing-mane-that/) [Julie Foudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-foudy/) > [“I have known many true connoisseurs, with excellent tastes that range across the humanities and the culinary arts--and they never fail to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-have-known-many-true-connoisseurs-with-excellent-tastes-that-range/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) [Browse all 2,111 Envy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How can we explain the perpetuity of envy--a vice which yields no return?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Honore de Balzac" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/how-can-we-explain-the-perpetuity-of-envy-a-vice-which-yields-no/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Envy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/how-can-we-explain-the-perpetuity-of-envy-a-vice-which-yields-no/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/honor-de-balzac-197_envy_how-can-we-explain-the-perpetuity-of-env_900231.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/honor-de-balzac-197_envy_how-can-we-explain-the-perpetuity-of-env_900231.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/honor-de-balzac-197_envy_how-can-we-explain-the-perpetuity-of-env_900231.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How can we explain the perpetuity of envy--a vice which yields no return?” — Honore de Balzac", "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": "Honore de Balzac", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How can we explain the perpetuity...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/how-can-we-explain-the-perpetuity-of-envy-a-vice-which-yields-no/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/how-can-we-explain-the-perpetuity-of-envy-a-vice-which-yields-no/#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 } } ] } ```