---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An envious fever of pale and bloodless…"
description: "\"An envious fever of pale and bloodless emulation.\" — William Shakespeare"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/william-shakespeare-4_emulation_an-envious-fever-of-pale-and-bloodless-e_348995.jpg"
---

#  An envious fever of pale and bloodless emulation.

![“An envious fever of pale and bloodless emulation.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/william-shakespeare-4_emulation_an-envious-fever-of-pale-and-bloodless-e_348995.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/william-shakespeare-4_emulation_an-envious-fever-of-pale-and-bloodless-e_348995.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/william-shakespeare-4_emulation_an-envious-fever-of-pale-and-bloodless-e_348995.jpg)

> “An envious fever of pale and bloodless emulation.”

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Envy drives a feverish, colorless imitation of others, lacking vitality.

**In simple terms:** Jealousy leads to hollow copying.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate authentic expression instead of imitation.

Themes

envy creativity authenticity identity

Mood

reflective melancholic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- creative work
- personal branding
- team dynamics
- cultural criticism

Key Concepts

imitation psychological drive artistic integrity

Questions to Reflect On

- What drives your desire to emulate others?
- How can you channel envy into original creation?

A Different Perspective

The quote may romanticize envy without addressing its root causes.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bloodless Emulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bloodless-emulation-3227788/) [Emulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emulation/) [Envious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envious/) [Envious Fever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envious-fever-3227790/) [Fever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fever/) [Fever Pale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fever-pale-3227791/) [Pale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pale/) [Pale Bloodless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pale-bloodless-3227789/)

## Related quotes

> [Knowledge that does not generate achievement is a pale and bloodless thing, unworthy of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/knowledge-that-does-not-generate-achievement-is-a-pale-and-bloodless/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [My heart laments that virtue cannot live Out of the teeth of emulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-heart-laments-that-virtue-cannot-live-out-of-the-teeth-of-emulation/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [With these shreds They vented their complainings, which being answered And a petition granted them, a strange one, To break the heart of generosity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/with-these-shreds-they-vented-their-complainings-which-being-answered/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [I have neither the scholar's melancholy, which is emulation; nor the musician's, which is fantastical; nor the courtier's, which is proud; not the soldier's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-have-neither-the-scholar-s-melancholy-which-is-emulation-nor-the/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“O, let not virtue seek Remuneration for the thing it was; For beauty, wit, High birth, vigour of bone, desert in service, Love, friendship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-let-not-virtue-seek-remuneration-for-the-thing-it-was-for-beauty/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-soft-what-light-through-yonder-window-breaks-it-is-the-east-and-2/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Beauty, wit, High birth, vigour of bone, desert in service, Love, friendship, charity, are subjects all To envious and calumniating time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/beauty-wit-high-birth-vigour-of-bone-desert-in-service-love/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile, Hath not old custom made this life more sweet Than that of painted pomp? Are not these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/now-my-co-mates-and-brothers-in-exile-hath-not-old-custom-made-this-2/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [England, bound in with the triumphant sea, Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege Of watery Neptune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/england-bound-in-with-the-triumphant-sea-whose-rocky-shore-beats-back/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Look, what envious streaks do lace the severing clouds in yonder east! Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tip-toe on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/look-what-envious-streaks-do-lace-the-severing-clouds-in-yonder-east/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [For now I stand as one upon a rock environed with a wilderness of sea, who marks the waxing tide grow wave by wave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/for-now-i-stand-as-one-upon-a-rock-environed-with-a-wilderness-of-sea/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief That thou, her maid, art far more fair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/arise-fair-sun-and-kill-the-envious-moon-who-is-already-sick-and-pale/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [There is a willow grows aslant a brook, That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream; There with fantastic garlands did she come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/there-is-a-willow-grows-aslant-a-brook-that-shows-his-hoar-leaves-in/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Corruption wins not more than honesty. Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace, To silence envious tongues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/corruption-wins-not-more-than-honesty-still-in-thy-right-hand-carry/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Terror has its inspiration, as well as competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/terror-has-its-inspiration-as-well-as-competition/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

## More by William Shakespeare

> [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. Julius Caesar (2.1.248-251)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Omittance is no quittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/omittance-is-no-quittance/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

[Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

## More Emulation quotes

> [Terror has its inspiration, as well as competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/terror-has-its-inspiration-as-well-as-competition/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [I am far from any intention to limit curiosity, or confine the labours of learning to arts of immediate and necessary use. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-am-far-from-any-intention-to-limit-curiosity-or-confine-the-labours/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [In particular, it is absurd to hope to banish envy of other people's possessions or fortunes, if only because the spirit of envy can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-particular-it-is-absurd-to-hope-to-banish-envy-of-other-people-s/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [No pedagogy which is truly liberating can remain distant from the oppressed by treating them as unfortunates and by presenting for their emulation models…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/no-pedagogy-which-is-truly-liberating-can-remain-distant-from-the/)

[Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/)

> [Emulation is grief arising from seeing one's self, exceeded or excelled by his concurrent, together with hope to equal or exceed him in time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/emulation-is-grief-arising-from-seeing-one-s-self-exceeded-or/)

[Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/)

> [Emulation, even in brutes, is sensitively "nervous." See the tremor of the thoroughbred racer before he starts. The dray-horse does not tremble, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/emulation-even-in-brutes-is-sensitively-nervous-see-the-tremor-of-the/)

[Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/)

> [Unsuccessful emulation is too apt to sink into envy, which of all sins has not even the excuse to offer of temporary gratification.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-thompson-dobell/unsuccessful-emulation-is-too-apt-to-sink-into-envy-which-of-all-sins/)

[Sydney Thompson Dobell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-thompson-dobell/)

> [Emulation admires and strives to imitate great actions; envy is only moved to malice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/emulation-admires-and-strives-to-imitate-great-actions-envy-is-only/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [With the exception of the instinct of self-preservation, the propensity for emulation is probably the strongest and most alert and persistent of the economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thorstein-veblen/with-the-exception-of-the-instinct-of-self-preservation-the/)

[Thorstein Veblen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thorstein-veblen/)

> [Praise begets emulation,--a goodly seed to sow among youthful students.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/praise-begets-emulation-a-goodly-seed-to-sow-among-youthful-students/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [As an advocate of birth control I wish to point out that the unbalance between the birth rate of the 'unfit' and the 'fit,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/as-an-advocate-of-birth-control-i-wish-to-point-out-that-the/)

[Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/)

> [Where there is emulation, there will be vanity; where there is vanity, there will be folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/where-there-is-emulation-there-will-be-vanity-where-there-is-vanity/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [“Their regard may be mutually useful, since much is to be expected from emulation where nothing is to be feared from envy. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-burney/their-regard-may-be-mutually-useful-since-much-is-to-be-expected-from/)

[Fanny Burney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-burney/)

> [Give me the boy who rouses when he is praised, who profits when he is encouraged and who cries when he is defeated. Such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/give-me-the-boy-who-rouses-when-he-is-praised-who-profits-when-he-is/)

[Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/)

> [My heart laments that virtue cannot live Out of the teeth of emulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-heart-laments-that-virtue-cannot-live-out-of-the-teeth-of-emulation/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

[Browse all 78 Emulation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emulation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "An envious fever of pale and bloodless emulation.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Shakespeare"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/an-envious-fever-of-pale-and-bloodless-emulation/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Emulation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/an-envious-fever-of-pale-and-bloodless-emulation/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/william-shakespeare-4_emulation_an-envious-fever-of-pale-and-bloodless-e_348995.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/william-shakespeare-4_emulation_an-envious-fever-of-pale-and-bloodless-e_348995.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/william-shakespeare-4_emulation_an-envious-fever-of-pale-and-bloodless-e_348995.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“An envious fever of pale and bloodless emulation.” — William Shakespeare",
                "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 Shakespeare",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "An envious fever of pale and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/an-envious-fever-of-pale-and-bloodless-emulation/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/an-envious-fever-of-pale-and-bloodless-emulation/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
