--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have a spasm of envy for the person…" description: "\"I have a spasm of envy for the person that was killed by a falling bookcase, as long as it doesn't happen prematurely.\" — Tom Stoppard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/tom-stoppard-437_envy_i-have-a-spasm-of-envy-for-the-person-th_1481895.png" --- # I have a spasm of envy for the person that was killed by a… ![“I have a spasm of envy for the person that was killed by a falling bookcase, as long as it doesn't happen prematurely.” quote by Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/tom-stoppard-437_envy_i-have-a-spasm-of-envy-for-the-person-th_1481895.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/tom-stoppard-437_envy_i-have-a-spasm-of-envy-for-the-person-th_1481895.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/tom-stoppard-437_envy_i-have-a-spasm-of-envy-for-the-person-th_1481895.png) > “I have a spasm of envy for the person that was killed by a falling bookcase, as long as it doesn't happen prematurely.” [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He envies the victim of a tragic accident, but only if it happens at the right time. **In simple terms:** Envy for a death, but only if not premature. Key Takeaway Reflect on the morality of wishing harm. Themes envy mortality timing Mood dark ironic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - theatrical writing - dark humor - psychological study Key Concepts ethics human nature Questions to Reflect On - Why does timing matter? - What does this reveal about human desire? A Different Perspective Moral discomfort in desiring death. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Jealousy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealousy/) [Prematurely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prematurely/) ## Related quotes > [My grandfather killed himself falling off the dike in Ostend while photographing my two cousins. This can happen so easily when looking through a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-franck/my-grandfather-killed-himself-falling-off-the-dike-in-ostend-while/) [Martine Franck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-franck/) > [I do occasionally envy the person who is religious naturally, without being brainwashed into it or suckered into it by all the organized hustles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-do-occasionally-envy-the-person-who-is-religious-naturally-without/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [You can tell a jealouse envy person they always got something negative to say about others and you behind your back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenchqueen/you-can-tell-a-jealouse-envy-person-they-always-got-something/) Frenchqueen > [Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another.\[or you will create disappointment and envy, as every other person has something, small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-de-caritat-marquis-de-condorcet/enjoy-your-own-life-without-comparing-it-with-that-of-another-or-you/) [Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-de-caritat-marquis-de-condorcet/) > [I envy every person who doesn't have to work during finals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-envy-every-person-who-doesn-t-have-to-work-during-finals/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A person who envy another person is a person without intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler/a-person-who-envy-another-person-is-a-person-without-intellect/) [Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler/) > [I think my demise has been prematurely reported. That's what I think. I think I'm going take this and make medical history, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-sager/i-think-my-demise-has-been-prematurely-reported-that-s-what-i-think-i/) [Craig Sager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-sager/) > [I feel prematurely old. I'm actually having this major belated quarter-life crisis. I'm turning 30 in a couple of weeks. I've been thinking a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/i-feel-prematurely-old-i-m-actually-having-this-major-belated-quarter/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [The Chinese have figured out that they have a giant environmental problem. Folks in Beijing, some days, literally can't breathe. Over a million Chinese…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/the-chinese-have-figured-out-that-they-have-a-giant-environmental/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“The most interesting conversations always end prematurely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhuwan-thapaliya/the-most-interesting-conversations-always-end-prematurely/) [Bhuwan Thapaliya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhuwan-thapaliya/) > [That which prematurely arrives at perfection soon perishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/that-which-prematurely-arrives-at-perfection-soon-perishes/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Whoever prematurely begins a work that is above his strength receives nothing, but only brings harm upon himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-of-nineveh/whoever-prematurely-begins-a-work-that-is-above-his-strength-receives/) [Isaac of Nineveh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-of-nineveh/) > [After a romantic date, she prematurely refers to HIM as](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roge/after-a-romantic-date-she-prematurely-refers-to-him-as/) Roge > [An autobiography is only 'a sort of life' - it may contain less errors of fact than a biography, but it is of necessity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/an-autobiography-is-only-a-sort-of-life-it-may-contain-less-errors-of/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [When I was born, I was born very prematurely so I was very tiny and small. And so, my mom just nicknamed me Pixie,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pixie-lott/when-i-was-born-i-was-born-very-prematurely-so-i-was-very-tiny-and/) [Pixie Lott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pixie-lott/) ## More by Tom Stoppard > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/after-all-these-years-i-definitely-associate-having-a-pen-in-my-hand/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The universe is deterministic all right, just like Newton said, I mean it's trying to be, but the only thing going wrong is people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-universe-is-deterministic-all-right-just-like-newton-said-i-mean/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eight-year-old child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-me-human-rights-simply-endorse-a-view-of-life-and-a-set-of-moral/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“What is an artist? For every thousand people there's nine hundred doing the work, ninety doing well, nine doing good, and one lucky bastard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/what-is-an-artist-for-every-thousand-people-there-s-nine-hundred/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over... Death is not anything... death is not... It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/dying-is-not-romantic-and-death-is-not-a-game-which-will-soon-be-over/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I'm not interested in clothes; I just like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-m-not-interested-in-clothes-i-just-like-them/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For 10 years of my life, 3 times a day, I thanked the Lord for what I was about to receive and thanked him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-10-years-of-my-life-3-times-a-day-i-thanked-the-lord-for-what-i/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [You should not translate for more than two hours at a time. After that, you lose your edge, the language becomes clumsy, rigid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/you-should-not-translate-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time-after-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [No matter how imperfect things are, if you've got a free press everything is correctable, and without it everything is concealable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/no-matter-how-imperfect-things-are-if-you-ve-got-a-free-press/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-must-be-born-with-an-intuition-of-mortality-before-we-know-the/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/eternity-s-a-terrible-thought-i-mean-where-s-it-all-going-to-end/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There is truth and falsehood in a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/there-is-truth-and-falsehood-in-a-comma/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) [Explore all 559 Tom Stoppard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## 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": "I have a spasm of envy for the person that was killed by a falling bookcase, as long as it doesn't happen prematurely.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Stoppard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-have-a-spasm-of-envy-for-the-person-that-was-killed-by-a-falling/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Envy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-have-a-spasm-of-envy-for-the-person-that-was-killed-by-a-falling/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/tom-stoppard-437_envy_i-have-a-spasm-of-envy-for-the-person-th_1481895.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/tom-stoppard-437_envy_i-have-a-spasm-of-envy-for-the-person-th_1481895.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/tom-stoppard-437_envy_i-have-a-spasm-of-envy-for-the-person-th_1481895.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have a spasm of envy for the person that was killed by a falling bookcase, as long as it doesn't happen…” — Tom Stoppard", "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": "Tom Stoppard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have a spasm of envy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-have-a-spasm-of-envy-for-the-person-that-was-killed-by-a-falling/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-have-a-spasm-of-envy-for-the-person-that-was-killed-by-a-falling/#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 } } ] } ```