--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Sicilian tyrants never devised a…" description: "\"The Sicilian tyrants never devised a greater punishment than envy.\" — Juvenal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19a/juvenal-918_envy_the-sicilian-tyrants-never-devised-a-gre_1425455.png" --- # The Sicilian tyrants never devised a greater punishment… ![“The Sicilian tyrants never devised a greater punishment than envy.” quote by Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19a/juvenal-918_envy_the-sicilian-tyrants-never-devised-a-gre_1425455.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19a/juvenal-918_envy_the-sicilian-tyrants-never-devised-a-gre_1425455.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19a/juvenal-918_envy_the-sicilian-tyrants-never-devised-a-gre_1425455.png) > “The Sicilian tyrants never devised a greater punishment than envy.” [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) ## 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 portrayed as the ultimate punishment, surpassing all other torments. **In simple terms:** Envy is the worst punishment. Key Takeaway Beware envy’s power. Themes envy punishment human nature Mood cautious reflective Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - political power - social media - workplace competition Key Concepts moral philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does envy affect your decisions? - Can envy ever be constructive? A Different Perspective Envy can also motivate positive change if channeled. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punishment/) [Sicilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sicilian/) [Tyrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrants/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [Few tyrants go down to the infernal regions by a natural death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/few-tyrants-go-down-to-the-infernal-regions-by-a-natural-death/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [“Muse usually gestured like an amphetamine-fueled Sicilian who's nearly gotten clipped by a speeding car.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/muse-usually-gestured-like-an-amphetamine-fueled-sicilian-who-s/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Montalbano felt moved. This was real friendship, Sicilian friendship, the kind based on intuition, on what was left unsaid. With a true friend, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-camilleri/montalbano-felt-moved-this-was-real-friendship-sicilian-friendship/) [Andrea Camilleri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-camilleri/) > [Having spent alarmingly large chunks of my life studying the white side of the Open Sicilian, I find myself asking, why did I bother?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-king/having-spent-alarmingly-large-chunks-of-my-life-studying-the-white/) Daniel J. King > [“All Sicilian expression, even the most violent, is really wish fulfillment: our sensuality is a hankering for oblivion, our shooting and knifing a hankering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-tomasi-di-lampedusa/all-sicilian-expression-even-the-most-violent-is-really-wish/) [Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-tomasi-di-lampedusa/) > [My mom was Sicilian, my dad was Sicilian. Mom was a great cook, but all the women were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chazz-palminteri/my-mom-was-sicilian-my-dad-was-sicilian-mom-was-a-great-cook-but-all/) [Chazz Palminteri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chazz-palminteri/) > [The Sicilian Defence was our attempt at quickly fulfilling our contractual obligation after I Robot, Pyramid and Eve had been delivered. The album was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-parsons/the-sicilian-defence-was-our-attempt-at-quickly-fulfilling-our/) [Alan Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-parsons/) > [Sometimes they'll make little Play-Doh animals, and when they go to sleep, I'll break the heads off the animals and put them at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/sometimes-they-ll-make-little-play-doh-animals-and-when-they-go-to/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [I want a baby from an Italian - possibly Sicilian - donor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/i-want-a-baby-from-an-italian-possibly-sicilian-donor/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Organised brigandage has ceased to exist, but murder and highway robbery are still far too common in the less frequented districts. Travellers rarely suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-tweedie/organised-brigandage-has-ceased-to-exist-but-murder-and-highway/) [Alec-Tweedie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-tweedie/) > [The Sicilian Defense album was never released and never will be if I have anything to do with it. I have not heard it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-parsons/the-sicilian-defense-album-was-never-released-and-never-will-be-if-i/) [Alan Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-parsons/) > [You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never to get involved in a land war in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-princess-bride/you-fool-you-fell-victim-to-one-of-the-classic-blunders-the-most/) [The Princess Bride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-princess-bride/) > [Most everybody who's Italian is half Italian. Except me. I'm all Italian. I'm mostly Sicilian, and I have a little bit of Neapolitan in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/most-everybody-who-s-italian-is-half-italian-except-me-i-m-all/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [I come from a line of great Sicilian women, and their mentality is to endure and push through to the other side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyndi-lauper/i-come-from-a-line-of-great-sicilian-women-and-their-mentality-is-to/) [Cyndi Lauper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyndi-lauper/) ## More by Juvenal > [Where have you ever found that man who stopped short after the perpetration of a single crime?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/where-have-you-ever-found-that-man-who-stopped-short-after-the/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Everything in Rome has its price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/everything-in-rome-has-its-price/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Astrology reveals the will of the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/astrology-reveals-the-will-of-the-gods/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [ Indignation leads to the making of poetry. \[Lat., Facit indignatio versum.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/indignation-leads-to-the-making-of-poetry-lat-facit-indignatio-versum/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [The short bloom of our brief and narrow life flies fast away. While we are calling for flowers and wine and women, old age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/the-short-bloom-of-our-brief-and-narrow-life-flies-fast-away-while-we/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Some men make money not for the sake of living, but ache In the blindness of greed and live just for their fortune's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/some-men-make-money-not-for-the-sake-of-living-but-ache-in-the/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? - Who will watch the watchers?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/quis-custodiet-ipsos-custodes-who-will-watch-the-watchers/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [All things may be bought in Rome with money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/all-things-may-be-bought-in-rome-with-money/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Who is to guard the guards themselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/who-is-to-guard-the-guards-themselves/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Dedicate one's life to truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/dedicate-one-s-life-to-truth/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [A sound mind in a sound body is a thing to be prayed for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/a-sound-mind-in-a-sound-body-is-a-thing-to-be-prayed-for/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Only death reveals what a nothing the body of man is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/only-death-reveals-what-a-nothing-the-body-of-man-is/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [“show me the apartment 235 that lets you sleep! In this city sleep costs millions, and that’s the root of the trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/show-me-the-apartment-235-that-lets-you-sleep-in-this-city-sleep/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [ When a man's life is at stake no delay is too long. \[Lat., Nulla unquam de morte cunctatio longa est.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/when-a-man-s-life-is-at-stake-no-delay-is-too-long-lat-nulla-unquam/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [What man have you ever seen who was contented with one crime only?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/what-man-have-you-ever-seen-who-was-contented-with-one-crime-only/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) [Explore all 328 Juvenal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) ## 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 > [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": "The Sicilian tyrants never devised a greater punishment than envy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Juvenal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/the-sicilian-tyrants-never-devised-a-greater-punishment-than-envy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Envy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/the-sicilian-tyrants-never-devised-a-greater-punishment-than-envy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19a/juvenal-918_envy_the-sicilian-tyrants-never-devised-a-gre_1425455.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19a/juvenal-918_envy_the-sicilian-tyrants-never-devised-a-gre_1425455.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19a/juvenal-918_envy_the-sicilian-tyrants-never-devised-a-gre_1425455.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Sicilian tyrants never devised a greater punishment than envy.” — Juvenal", "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": "Juvenal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Sicilian tyrants never devised a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/the-sicilian-tyrants-never-devised-a-greater-punishment-than-envy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/the-sicilian-tyrants-never-devised-a-greater-punishment-than-envy/#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 } } ] } ```