--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Envy is the tax which all distinction…" description: "\"Envy is the tax which all distinction must pay.\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e0/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_distinction_envy-is-the-tax-which-all-distinction-mu_2652527.png" --- # Envy is the tax which all distinction must pay. ![“Envy is the tax which all distinction must pay.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e0/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_distinction_envy-is-the-tax-which-all-distinction-mu_2652527.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e0/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_distinction_envy-is-the-tax-which-all-distinction-mu_2652527.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e0/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_distinction_envy-is-the-tax-which-all-distinction-mu_2652527.png) > “Envy is the tax which all distinction must pay.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## 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 burden that all distinguished people must bear. **In simple terms:** Envy is a burden. Key Takeaway Overcome envy. Themes self‑esteem social comparison ethics Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - personal development - leadership training Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What triggers envy in you? - How can you turn envy into growth? A Different Perspective Envy can motivate self‑improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [Envy is ever joined with the comparing of a man's self; and where there is no comparison, no envy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/envy-is-ever-joined-with-the-comparing-of-a-man-s-self-and-where/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Envy ought to have no place allowed it in the hearts of people; for the goods of this present world are so vile and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/envy-ought-to-have-no-place-allowed-it-in-the-hearts-of-people-for/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Envy assails the noblest: the winds howl around the highest peaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/envy-assails-the-noblest-the-winds-howl-around-the-highest-peaks/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [He will be loved when dead, who was envied when he was living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/he-will-be-loved-when-dead-who-was-envied-when-he-was-living/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Each of them berated you, because they feared and envied you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/each-of-them-berated-you-because-they-feared-and-envied-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What I must do, is all that concerns me, not what the people think. 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When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Distinction quotes > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. 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If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [“In your goals to go the extra mile, prepare to pay an extra cost. 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"They must be able to sense a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/where-did-you-find-that-one-i-have-no-idea-i-m-a-magnet-for-crazies-i/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/no-people-is-wholly-civilized-where-a-distinction-is-drawn-between/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [I realized early on that the academy and the literary world alike - and I don't think there really is a distinction between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-realized-early-on-that-the-academy-and-the-literary-world-alike-and/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Alfred Nobel stipulated that no distinction of race or colour will determine who received of his generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdus-salam/alfred-nobel-stipulated-that-no-distinction-of-race-or-colour-will/) [Abdus Salam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdus-salam/) > [I think it is important for all those young out there - who someday hope to play real football, where you throw it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kemp/i-think-it-is-important-for-all-those-young-out-there-who-someday/) [Jack Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kemp/) > [I've always longed for the theatre and acting to be popular. 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