We envy only those whom we feel ourselves to be like; we envy only members of our reference group. There are few successes more unendurable than those of our close friends.

The poet and the painter are only truly great by the mutual influences of their studies, and the jealousy of glory has only produced an idle contest.

The poet is individual — he is complete in himself: the others are as good as he; only he sees it, and they do not.

The only people I truly envy are those who can play a musical instrument and those who can eat anything they want without gaining weight.

Each painter really loves only one painting, the one he would like to make.

The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch.

The poet is the only true human being, and the best philosopher is only a caricature in comparison.

Only fool! Only poet!
Merely speaking colorfully,
From fools' masks shouting colorfully,
Climbing about on deceptive word-bridges,
On misleading rainbows,
Between false heavens
Rambling, lurking —
Only fool! Only poet!

The poets are only the interpreters of the Gods.

A creator needs only one enthusiast to justify him.

In the end one experiences only oneself.

You can only be jealous of someone who has something you think you ought to have yourself.

Envy consists in seeing things never in themselves, but only in their relations. If you desire glory, you may envy Napoleon, but Napoleon envied Caesar, Caesar envied Alexander, and Alexander, I daresay, envied Hercules, who never existed.

Man only honors what he conquers or defends.