Envy will merit, as its shade, pursue,
But, like a shadow, proves the substance true.
Pope.—On Criticism, Line 466.
In beauty faults conspicuous grow;
The smallest speck is seen on snow.
Gay.—Fable XI. Line 1.
To all apparent beauties blind,
Each blemish strikes an envious mind.
Gay.—Ibid. Line 37.
Envy, eldest born of hell, embru’d
Her hands in blood, and taught the sons of men
To make a death which
Nature never made,
And God abhorr’d.
Dr. Porteus.—Poem on Death.
There is not a passion so strongly rooted in the human heart as envy!
Sheridan.—The Critic, Act I. Scene 1.