Explain what Emerson means by "envy is ignorance."

"Envy is ignorance" because it prevents the development of
an individual.  To wish to be like someone else is to deny one's own
potential--"suicide"--and, thus, to remain in the darkness of ignorance.  Known for his
repeated phrase of "trust thyself," Emerson repudiated the idea of a man's wishing to
conform in his envy. 

Emerson's essay,
Self-Reliance, begins with what he felt was
genius:

To
believe your own thought, to believe what is true for you in your private heart is true
for all men--that is
genius.

Trusting oneself, and
being an individual are genius, the antithesis of envy.  Emerson contends that God has
made each person unique with his/her own individual work to do.  Therefore, to trust
one's own thoughts and actions is very much like listening to God and acting upon His
wishes. 

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"Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the
manhood of every one of its
members."

For Emerson, the
importance of the individual is paramount.  "Self-reliance is its [conformity's]
aversion."  The integrity of one's mind is what matters, not imitation, not
envy.