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I am Envy...I cannot read and therefore wish all books burned.
Christopher Marlowe
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote personifies envy as a destructive force that cannot appreciate knowledge and seeks to eliminate it.

In this quote, Christopher Marlowe gives voice to Envy, suggesting that it is a consuming emotion that hates knowledge and understanding. It implies that those who feel envy may not be able to embrace what they cannot comprehend, resulting in a desire to destroy the source of their frustration, which in this case, is represented through books and knowledge.

Themes

EnvyKnowledgeDestructionIgnoranceLiterature

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a philosophical discussion about emotions and their consequences.

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What are kings, when regiment is gone, but perfect shadows in a sunshine day?
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Our swords shall play the orators for us.
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Jigging veins of rhyming mother wits.
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