--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The envious man grows lean at the success…" description: "\"The envious man grows lean at the success of his neighbor.\" — Horace" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/horace-172_envious_the-envious-man-grows-lean-at-the-succes_2367461.jpg" --- # The envious man grows lean at the success of his neighbor. ![“The envious man grows lean at the success of his neighbor.” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/horace-172_envious_the-envious-man-grows-lean-at-the-succes_2367461.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/horace-172_envious_the-envious-man-grows-lean-at-the-succes_2367461.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/horace-172_envious_the-envious-man-grows-lean-at-the-succes_2367461.jpg) > “The envious man grows lean at the success of his neighbor.” [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Envy causes self‑deprivation when witnessing another’s success. **In simple terms:** Envy makes you feel lacking. Key Takeaway Avoid envy, celebrate others. Themes emotions social comparison self esteem Mood thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - academic achievement - sports competition Key Concepts ethics philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What successes inspire you positively? - How can you transform envy into motivation? A Different Perspective Envy may motivate personal growth if channeled positively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [An envious man grows lean at another's fatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/an-envious-man-grows-lean-at-another-s-fatness/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [The proud man hath no God; the envious man hath no neighbor; the angry man hath not himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hall/the-proud-man-hath-no-god-the-envious-man-hath-no-neighbor-the-angry/) [Joseph Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hall/) > [An envious man waxeth lean with the fatness of his neighbors. Envy is the daughter of pride, the author of murder and revenge, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/an-envious-man-waxeth-lean-with-the-fatness-of-his-neighbors-envy-is/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The benevolent have the advantage of the envious, even in this present life; for the envious man is tormented not only by all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/the-benevolent-have-the-advantage-of-the-envious-even-in-this-present/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [The more kindness shown to an envious man, the worse he becomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-schoeck/the-more-kindness-shown-to-an-envious-man-the-worse-he-becomes/) [Helmut Schoeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-schoeck/) > [The envious man thinks that if his neighbor breaks a leg, he will be able to walk better himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-schoeck/the-envious-man-thinks-that-if-his-neighbor-breaks-a-leg-he-will-be/) [Helmut Schoeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-schoeck/) > [Wherever I find envy I take a pleasure in provoking it: I always praise before an envious man those who make him grow pale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/wherever-i-find-envy-i-take-a-pleasure-in-provoking-it-i-always/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [“It is the habit of the envious man to absolve himself of public wrongs with his own personal grievances.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-is-the-habit-of-the-envious-man-to-absolve-himself-of-public/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“This day I shalt have to do with an idle curious man, with an unthankful man, a railer, a crafty, false, or an envious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/this-day-i-shalt-have-to-do-with-an-idle-curious-man-with-an/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“O genius," I said, "you see that this Sultan was not content with merely forgiving the envious man for the attempt on his life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-francis-burton/o-genius-i-said-you-see-that-this-sultan-was-not-content-with-merely/) [Richard Francis Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-francis-burton/) > [While we're talking, envious time is fleeing: pluck the day, put no trust in the future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/while-we-re-talking-envious-time-is-fleeing-pluck-the-day-put-no/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [The envious pine at others' success; no greater punishment than envy was devised by Sicilian tyrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-envious-pine-at-others-success-no-greater-punishment-than-envy/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Abridge your hopes in proportion to the shortness of the span of human life; for while we converse, the hours, as if envious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/abridge-your-hopes-in-proportion-to-the-shortness-of-the-span-of/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [As a man grows older it is harder and harder to frighten him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/as-a-man-grows-older-it-is-harder-and-harder-to-frighten-him/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [When a man grows old his joy Grows more deep day after day, His empty heart is full at length But he has need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/when-a-man-grows-old-his-joy-grows-more-deep-day-after-day-his-empty/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## More by Horace > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [No verse can give pleasure for long, nor last, that is written by drinkers of water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/no-verse-can-give-pleasure-for-long-nor-last-that-is-written-by/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [A word, once sent abroad, flies irrevocably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/a-word-once-sent-abroad-flies-irrevocably/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Natales grate numeras? (Do you count your birthdays with gratitude?)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/natales-grate-numeras-do-you-count-your-birthdays-with-gratitude/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ In a moment comes either death or joyful victory. \[Lat., Horae Momento cita mors venit aut victoria laeta.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/in-a-moment-comes-either-death-or-joyful-victory-lat-horae-momento/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - It is a sweet and becoming thing to die for ones country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/dulce-et-decorum-est-pro-patria-mori-it-is-a-sweet-and-becoming-thing/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ Neither men, nor gods, nor booksellers' shelves permit ordinary poets to exist. \[Lat., Mediocribus esse poetis Non homines, non di, non concessere columnae.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/neither-men-nor-gods-nor-booksellers-shelves-permit-ordinary-poets-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/don-t-yield-to-that-alluring-witch-laziness-or-else-be-prepared-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Avoid inquisitive persons, for they are sure to be gossips, their ears are open to hear, but they will not keep what is entrusted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/avoid-inquisitive-persons-for-they-are-sure-to-be-gossips-their-ears/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she still will hurry back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/you-may-drive-out-nature-with-a-pitchfork-yet-she-still-will-hurry/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [There is a proper measure in all things, certain limits beyond which and short of which right is not to be found. Who so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/there-is-a-proper-measure-in-all-things-certain-limits-beyond-which/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Never despair while under the guidance and auspices of Teucer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/never-despair-while-under-the-guidance-and-auspices-of-teucer/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by, nor will piety give any stay to wrinkles and pressing old age and untamable death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/alas-postumus-the-fleeting-years-slip-by-nor-will-piety-give-any-stay/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) [Explore all 1,000 Horace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## 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 ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The envious man grows lean at the success of his neighbor.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-envious-man-grows-lean-at-the-success-of-his-neighbor/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Envious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-envious-man-grows-lean-at-the-success-of-his-neighbor/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/horace-172_envious_the-envious-man-grows-lean-at-the-succes_2367461.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/horace-172_envious_the-envious-man-grows-lean-at-the-succes_2367461.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/horace-172_envious_the-envious-man-grows-lean-at-the-succes_2367461.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The envious man grows lean at the success of his neighbor.” — Horace", "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": "Horace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The envious man grows lean at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-envious-man-grows-lean-at-the-success-of-his-neighbor/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-envious-man-grows-lean-at-the-success-of-his-neighbor/#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 } } ] } ```