--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Envy is littleness of soul." description: "\"Envy is littleness of soul.\" — William Hazlitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/william-hazlitt-326_envy_envy-is-littleness-of-soul-599974_599974.png" --- # Envy is littleness of soul. ![“Envy is littleness of soul.” quote by William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/william-hazlitt-326_envy_envy-is-littleness-of-soul-599974_599974.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/william-hazlitt-326_envy_envy-is-littleness-of-soul-599974_599974.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/william-hazlitt-326_envy_envy-is-littleness-of-soul-599974_599974.png) > “Envy is littleness of soul.” [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Envy reflects a small, insecure mindset that measures worth by others' success. **In simple terms:** Envy shows a petty soul. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑esteem instead of comparison. Themes self‑esteem insecurity comparison Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - workplace dynamics - social media use - friendships Key Concepts psychology emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - How does envy affect your decisions? - What can you do to shift focus from others to self? A Different Perspective Envy can motivate positive change if redirected constructively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Littleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littleness/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [Envy is a littleness of soul, which cannot see beyond a certain point, and if it does not occupy the whole space feels itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/envy-is-a-littleness-of-soul-which-cannot-see-beyond-a-certain-point/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [...greatness sympathises with greatness, and littleness shrinks into itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/greatness-sympathises-with-greatness-and-littleness-shrinks-into/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Big rocks are envy of little sands because little sands can travel with the winds. Every littleness has its own big advantages!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/big-rocks-are-envy-of-little-sands-because-little-sands-can-travel/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Lo, what huge heaps of littleness around!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/lo-what-huge-heaps-of-littleness-around/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [“The theology of littleness is a basic category of Christianity. After all, the tenor of our faith is that God's distinctive greatness is revealed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-cardinal-ratzinger-pope-benedict/the-theology-of-littleness-is-a-basic-category-of-christianity-after/) Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict > [When a man realizes his littleness, his greatness can appear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/when-a-man-realizes-his-littleness-his-greatness-can-appear/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [We can easily forgive want of means; but littleness, with means, is disgusting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-therese-de-marguenat-de-courcelles/we-can-easily-forgive-want-of-means-but-littleness-with-means-is/) [Anne-Therese de Marguenat de Courcelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-therese-de-marguenat-de-courcelles/) > [It is but the littleness of man that seeth no greatness in trifles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/it-is-but-the-littleness-of-man-that-seeth-no-greatness-in-trifles/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Dont let the littleness in others bring out the littleness in you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jreyes/dont-let-the-littleness-in-others-bring-out-the-littleness-in-you/) JREYES > [All finery is a sign of littleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/all-finery-is-a-sign-of-littleness/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [He who stays not in his littleness, loses his greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-francis-de-sales/he-who-stays-not-in-his-littleness-loses-his-greatness/) [Saint Francis de Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-francis-de-sales/) > [“However...who said that thing about "the littleness of life that art exaggerates"?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barnes-flaubert/however-who-said-that-thing-about-the-littleness-of-life-that-art/) Barnes Flaubert > [Those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/okakura-kakuzo/those-who-cannot-feel-the-littleness-of-great-things-in-themselves/) [Okakura Kakuzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/okakura-kakuzo/) > [What I absorbed from autobiographies was not how to be great so much as the littleness of the great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-franklin/what-i-absorbed-from-autobiographies-was-not-how-to-be-great-so-much/) [Miles Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-franklin/) > [Greatness is one of the sensations of littleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/greatness-is-one-of-the-sensations-of-littleness/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by William Hazlitt > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are thankful for good-will rather than for services, for the motive than the quantum of favor received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-thankful-for-good-will-rather-than-for-services-for-the-motive/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The discussing the characters and foibles of common friends is a great sweetness and cement of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-discussing-the-characters-and-foibles-of-common-friends-is-a/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Repose is as necessary in conversation as in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/repose-is-as-necessary-in-conversation-as-in-a-picture/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [No act terminating in itself constitutes greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/no-act-terminating-in-itself-constitutes-greatness/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We never do anything well till we cease to think about the manner doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-never-do-anything-well-till-we-cease-to-think-about-the-manner/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/man-is-the-only-animal-that-laughs-and-weeps-for-he-is-the-only/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Those who have had none of the cares of this life to harass and disturb them, have been obliged to have recourse to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/those-who-have-had-none-of-the-cares-of-this-life-to-harass-and/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/poverty-when-it-is-voluntary-is-never-despicable-but-takes-an/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are not satisfied to be right, unless we can prove others to be quite wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-not-satisfied-to-be-right-unless-we-can-prove-others-to-be/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The world judge of men by their ability in their profession, and we judge of ourselves by the same test: for it is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-world-judge-of-men-by-their-ability-in-their-profession-and-we/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The best part of our lives we pass in counting on what is to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-best-part-of-our-lives-we-pass-in-counting-on-what-is-to-come/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) [Explore all 671 William Hazlitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## 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": "Envy is littleness of soul.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Hazlitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/envy-is-littleness-of-soul/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Envy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/envy-is-littleness-of-soul/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/william-hazlitt-326_envy_envy-is-littleness-of-soul-599974_599974.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/william-hazlitt-326_envy_envy-is-littleness-of-soul-599974_599974.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/william-hazlitt-326_envy_envy-is-littleness-of-soul-599974_599974.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Envy is littleness of soul.” — William Hazlitt", "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": "William Hazlitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Envy is littleness of soul.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/envy-is-littleness-of-soul/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/envy-is-littleness-of-soul/#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 } } ] } ```