Signs of envy - Saint Cyprian

"It is a worm of the soul, a disease of the mind, a rust of the heart to envy someone else because of his virtues and happiness, that is, to hate his own merits or divine gifts, to transform the good of another into one's own evil, to be tormented by the prosperity of the more fortunate, to make trouble for oneself from the glory of others, to feel one's heart torn as by the executioner's hooks, to make one's own thoughts and feelings a kind of instrument of torture, to tear one's heart, to torment one in all one's entrails. The one whose soul is sick with envy finds no pleasure in either food or drink, always sighs, groans, and suffers, torments himself day and night, and finds no solace. The other evils have an end and end with their consummation. In adultery, the wickedness ends with the commission of the deed, the thief reaches homicide and stops there, the rapacity of the predator is appeased by taking the prey, the forger has as a measure the accomplishment of the forgery, only envy has no limit, it is a permanent evil, an endless sin, and the greater someone's success, the more the envious person burns in the flames of his own envy. The envious person has a threatening appearance, a slanting gaze, a pale face; his lips tremble, his teeth gnash, his words are furious, his insults are unbridled, his hand, even without a dagger, is ready for violence and assassination, being armed with hatred that drives one out of their mind. That is why the Holy Spirit says in the Psalms: Do not envy him who walks uprightly in his way (Psalm 36:7) and again: The sinner pursues the righteous and gnashes his teeth against him (Psalm 36:12).”

"The harm is much less, and the danger is much less when the body is wounded by the sword, the care is easy when the wound is visible, and with the help of doctors, it heals more easily. The wounds of envy are deep and hidden and cannot be healed with medicine, for their pain is internal in the soul. Oh, you envious and evil one, realize how evil, hostile, and dangerous you are to those you hate. The one you pursue with your envy will be able to flee and avoid you, but you cannot flee from yourself. Wherever you are, your adversary is with you, for you carry the enemy in your heart, you have the scourge within you, you are bound in unbreakable shackles, you are a slave to envy, and no consolation will ease your pain. To persecute the one helped by the Grace of God is perseverance in evil; to hate the happy one is It is an incurable disease. Therefore, most blessed brothers, the Lord, thinking of this danger, lest out of envy someone should spread the snare of death to his brother, when the disciples asked Him which of them was the greatest, He answered: He who will be the least among you all will be the greatest (Luke 9:48). By His answer He cut off all rivalry, He uprooted and threw away every cause or occasion in which envy could show its fangs. The disciple of Christ is not allowed to be envious and evil. With us, the struggle to get ahead of others is not allowed. Humility exalts us, for we know whom to please. Therefore, the Apostle Paul, teaching us and advising us that after we have escaped from the darkness in which we found ourselves with the help of the light of Christ, we should walk in the deeds and work of the light.”

Saint Cyprian