According to Pliny the Elder, already in ancient times jealousy and disbelief towards other people were visible if they achieved great success. A great example is Gaius Furius Cresimus – a farmer from Italy.
Gaius Furius Cresimus, thanks to his hard and well-organized work as well as well-groomed animals and servants, was able to achieve really large crops, which the neighbours were jealous of. The case was so suspicious for them that they began to accuse him of witchcraft, with which he was supposed to lure other people’s crops.
The case of his mysterious success was reported to the Roman magistracy. On a given day, Cresimus came to the city before the curule aedile and the inhabitants with his tools preserved in excellent condition and well-groomed and well-fed animals and servants. He was then to say:
Here, Roman citizens, are my implements of magic; but it is impossible for me to exhibit to your view, or to bring into this Forum, those midnight toils of mine, those early watchings those sweats, and those fatigues.
– Pliny the Elder, Natural History, XVIII.8
