Covetous Man

A Tantalus (q.v.).

“In the full flood stands Tanʹtalus, his skin

Washed oʹer in vain, for ever dry within.

He catches at the stream with greedy lips—

From his parched mouth the wanton torrent slips…

Change but the name, this fable is thy story:

Thou in a flood of useless wealth dost glory,

Which thou canst only touch, but never taste.”

Cowley: Horace, satire i.

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.