The attention of readers is offered to small works of moral and ascetic content by the great holy fathers: the Western Church of the 3rd century, Hieromartyr Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (210-258), “The Book of Jealousy and Envy” and the Eastern Church of the 4th century, Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia (330-379), “Conversation about envy.” Defining envy as grief for the well-being of a neighbor, Saints Cyprian and Basil, as experienced doctors of human souls, reveal the destructiveness of this mental illness, its complete incompatibility with the goodness of God, point out the connection of this passion with the devil, its grave consequences both for those who are envied and and above all for its carriers, and what is even more important – they show how to fight this passion in oneself, win and overcome replacing it with kindness, compassion and non-envy.