Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

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Envy is the pain caused by the good fortune of others. —Aristotle (c. 384 B.C. to 322 B.C.), “Rhetoric.”

Envy and jealousy are the private parts of the human soul. —Friedich Nietzsche (1844-
1900).

Invidia festos dies non agit. (Envy keeps no holidays.) —Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), “Of Envy” (1625).

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English speakers often use envy and jealousy interchangeably. Jealousy is a compound emotion, usually comprising other primary and derivative emotions such as anger, disgust, fear, envy or insecurity when compared to another person. 

Jealousy requires some level of cognitive involvement. It implicates both thoughts and feelings involving others in making a comparison, especially rivals. 

But jealousy is technically distinct from envy. One view is that envy involves wanting what we don’t have and others do, while jealousy involves keeping what we have from losing it to another who want it.