--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She certainly didn’t have the ability to…" description: "\"“She certainly didn’t have the ability to share her ability with the envious ones—she could only share the products of her ability. They gladly took th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/orson-scott-card-134_envious_she-certainly-didn-t-have-the-ability-to_2697811.jpg" --- # She certainly didn’t have the ability to share her ability… ![“She certainly didn’t have the ability to share her ability with the envious ones—she could only share the products of her ability. They gladly took those, and then resented her for being able to produce them. Most human beings, she concluded long ago, love to worship from afar people with…” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/orson-scott-card-134_envious_she-certainly-didn-t-have-the-ability-to_2697811.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/orson-scott-card-134_envious_she-certainly-didn-t-have-the-ability-to_2697811.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/orson-scott-card-134_envious_she-certainly-didn-t-have-the-ability-to_2697811.jpg) > ““She certainly didn’t have the ability to share her ability with the envious ones—she could only share the products of her ability. They gladly took those, and then resented her for being able to produce them. Most human beings, she concluded long ago, love to worship from afar people with extraordinary ability, but prefer to have their friends be genial incompetents. And, of course, most of them get their preference.”” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Extraordinary talent often incites envy; people prefer mediocrity in friends to avoid feeling inferior. **In simple terms:** People envy talent but like friends who are less capable. Key Takeaway Value humility over envy. Themes envy talent social dynamics Mood reflective insightful Type psychological social When to use this quote - workplace - friendships - creative collaborations - leadership Key Concepts comparison insecurity achievement Questions to Reflect On - Why do we fear being outshone? - How can we celebrate others’ abilities? A Different Perspective Talent can breed resentment, not just admiration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability Envious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability-envious-2710149/) [Ability Share](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability-share-2710152/) [Envious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envious/) [Envious Ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envious-ones-2710150/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Ones Share](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ones-share-2710151/) ## Related quotes > [I am beginning to have more powerful enemies and more envious ones, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goya/i-am-beginning-to-have-more-powerful-enemies-and-more-envious-ones-too/) [Francisco Goya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goya/) > [Sisters-the ones we share last names with and the ones we choose-are the lining of every woman's soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-radish/sisters-the-ones-we-share-last-names-with-and-the-ones-we-choose-are/) [Kris Radish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-radish/) > [barfly n. You have the ability to talk to anyone which is an ability I do not share.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/barfly-n-you-have-the-ability-to-talk-to-anyone-which-is-an-ability-i/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Your richness is on your ability to share and not in how much you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/your-richness-is-on-your-ability-to-share-and-not-in-how-much-you-have/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Orson Scott Card > [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“I don't know of a soul who doesn't maintain two separate lists of doctrines - the ones they believe they believe; and the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-don-t-know-of-a-soul-who-doesn-t-maintain-two-separate-lists-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Good people do not let others suffer needlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/good-people-do-not-let-others-suffer-needlessly/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-ideas-are-real-and-reality-is-shadow/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Ender, for the past few months you have been the battle commander of our fleets. This was the Third Invasion. There were no games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ender-for-the-past-few-months-you-have-been-the-battle-commander-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Knowledge is just opinion that you trust enough to act upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/knowledge-is-just-opinion-that-you-trust-enough-to-act-upon/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Of course they accused Marcão of having done it without provocation—that’s the way of torturers of every age, to put the blame on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/of-course-they-accused-marc-o-of-having-done-it-without-provocation/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## 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": "“She certainly didn’t have the ability to share her ability with the envious ones—she could only share the products of her ability. They gladly took those, and then resented her for being able to produce them. Most human beings, she concluded long ago, love to worship from afar people with extraordinary ability, but prefer to have their friends be genial incompetents. 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