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JEALOUS, adj. Unduly concerned about the preservation of that which can be lost only if not worth keeping.

— Ambrose Bierce The Cynic's Dictionary (1906)

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Jealousy

More quotes by Ambrose Bierce

When lost in a forest go always down hill. When lost in a philosophy or doctrine go upward.

An army's bravest men are its cowards. The death which they would not meet at the hands of the enemy they will meet at the hands of their officers, with never a flinching.

What I Saw At Shiloh (1881)

The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavor upon the business known as gambling.

O proud philanthropist, your hope is vain
To get by giving what you lost by gain.

When prosperous the fool trembles for the evil that is to come; in adversity the philosopher smiles for the good that he has had.

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If a poor person envies a rich person, he is no better than the rich person.

Leo Tolstoy

In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy.

Ivan Illich Tools for Conviviality (1973)

The laws would not prevent each man from living according to his inclination, unless individuals harmed each other; for envy creates the beginning of strife.

Democritus Freeman (1948)

It is in the character of very few men to honor without envy a friend who has prospered.

Aeschylus Oresteia (-458)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Ambrose Bierce (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.