WIST Quotations

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 15, Men at Arms (1993)

Dave — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 23:57:52 +0000

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 15, Men at Arms (1993)
(Source)

Hugo, Victor -- The Man Who Laughs [L’Homme qui rit; The Laughing Man; By Order of the King], Part 2, Book 2, ch. 11 (2.2.11) (1869) [Authorized trans. (1871)]

Dave — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 21:44:40 +0000

“Their vanity is full of phantoms which move as in a sublime night, armed with helm and cuirass, spurs on their heels and the sceptres in their hands, saying in a grave voice, ‘We are the ancestors!’ The canker-worms eat the roots, and panoplies eat the people. Why not? Are we to change the laws? The peerage is part of the order of society. Do you know that there is a duke in Scotland who can ride ninety miles without leaving his own estate? Do you know that the Archbishop of Canterbury has a revenue of £40,000 a year? Do you know that her Majesty has £700,000 sterling from the civil list, besides castles, forests, domains, fiefs, tenancies, freeholds, prebendaries, tithes, rent, confiscations, and fines, which bring in over a million sterling? Those who are not satisfied are hard to please.”
“Yes,” murmured Gwynplaine sadly, “the paradise of the rich is made out of the hell of the poor.”

— Leur vanité est pleine de fantômes qui s’y promènent comme dans une nuit sublime, armés, casqués, cuirassés, éperonnés, le bâton d’empire à la main, et disant d’une voix grave: Nous sommes les aïeux ! Les scarabées mangent les racines, et les panoplies mangent le peuple. Pourquoi pas? Allons-nous changer les lois? La seigneurie fait partie de l’ordre. Sais-tu qu’il y a un duc en Écosse qui galope trente lieues sans sortir de chez lui? Sais-tu que le lord archevêque de Canterbury a un million de Francs de revenu? Sais-tu que sa majesté a par an sept cent mille livres sterling de liste civile, sans compter les châteaux, forêts, domaines, fiefs, tenances, alleux, prébendes, dîmes et redevances, confiscations et amendes, qui dépassent un million sterling ? Ceux qui ne sont pas contents sont difficiles.
— Oui, murmura Gwynplaine pensif, c’est de l’enfer des pauvres qu’est fait le paradis des riches.

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
The Man Who Laughs [L’Homme qui rit; The Laughing Man; By Order of the King], Part 2, Book 2, ch. 11 (2.2.11) (1869) [Authorized trans. (1871)]
(Source)

Ursus and Gwynplaine, at the end of the former's 11-page rant about the rich and powerful.

(Source (French)). Other translations:

"Their vanity is full of phantoms which move as in a sublime night, armed with helm and cuirass, spurs on their heels and sceptres in their hands, saying in a grave voice, 'We are the ancestors!' Canker-worms eat the roots, and panoplies eat the people. Why not? Can we expect to change the laws? The peerage is part of the order of society. Do you know that there is a duke in Scotland who can ride ninety miles without leaving his own estate? Do you know that the Archbishop of Canterbury has a revenue of £40,000 a year? Do you know that her Majesty has £700,000 sterling from the civil list, besides castles, forests, domains, fiefs, tenancies, freeholds, prebendaries, tithes, rent, confiscations, and fines, which bring in over a million sterling? Those who are not satisfied are hard to please."
"Yes," murmured Gwynplaine, sadly; "the paradise of the rich is made out of the hell of the poor."
[tr. Unknown (1869)]

"Their vanity is full of phantoms, which stalk therein as in a sublime night, armed, helmed, cuirassed, spurred, the wand of empire in their hands, and saying in a grave voice: 'We are ancestors!' Beetles devour roots, and panoplies of armor devour peoples. Why not? Shall we change the laws? The lords form part of order. Do you know that there is a duke in Scotland who can gallop thirty leagues without leaving his own domains? Do you know that the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury has an income of a million francs of France? Do you know that her majesty has seven hundred thousand pounds sterling a year from the civil list, not reckoning castles, forests, domains, fiefs, tenancies, allodial tenures, prebendary ships, tithes, and quitrents, confiscations and fines, which exceed a million sterling. Those who are not content are hard to suit."
"Yes," muttered Gwynplaine, thoughtfully, "it is of the hell of the poor that the paradise of the rich is made."
[tr. Hapgood (1888)]

"Their vanity is full of phantoms which walk about in it, as in a sublime night, armed, helmeted, cuirassed, spurred, the staff of empire in their hands, and saying in a grave voice: 'We are the ancestors!' Beetles devour roots, and panoplies devour the people. Why not? Are we going to change the laws? The lords form a part of the order of things. Do you know that there is a duke in Scotland who can gallop thirty leagues without leaving his own land? Do you know that the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury has a revenue of a million French francs? Do you know that Her Majesty has seven hundred thousand pounds sterling of civil list a year, without counting castles, forests, domains, fiefs, tenancies, freeholds, prebendaries, tithes and dues, confiscations and fines which exceed a million sterling? Those who are not satisfied, are hard to please."
"Yes," murmured Gwymplaine, thoughtfully. "The paradise of the rich is made out of the hell of the poor."
[tr. Phillips (1894)]

"Their vanity is full of ghosts who walk there as in a sublime night, armed, helmeted, cuirassed, spurred, with the staff of empire in their hands, and sayin with a grave voice: 'We are the forefathers!' The beetles eat the roots, and the panoplies eat the people. Why not? Shall we change the laws? The lordship is part of the order. Do you know that there is a duke in Scotland who gallops thirty leagues without leaving his house? Do you know that the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury has an income of a million French? Do you know that his majesty has a yearly civil list of seven hundred thousand pounds sterling, not counting castles, forests, estates, fiefs, tenements, alleys, prebends, tithes and dues, confiscations and fines, which exceed one million sterling? Those who are not happy are difficult."
"Yes," murmured Gwynplaine thoughtfully, "from the hell of the poor is made the paradise of the rich.
[tr. Lavelle (2003)]

Gibson, William -- Count Zero, ch. 2 (1986)

Dave — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 21:18:53 +0000

And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were no longer even remotely human.

William Gibson (b. 1948) American-Canadian speculative fiction novelist and essayist
Count Zero, ch. 2 (1986)
(Source)

Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament -- James 5: 1-6 [NJB (1985)]

Dave — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 13:13:14 +0000

Well now, you rich! Lament, weep for the miseries that are coming to you. Your wealth is rotting, your clothes are all moth-eaten. All your gold and your silver are corroding away, and the same corrosion will be a witness against you and eat into your body. It is like a fire which you have stored up for the final days. Can you hear crying out against you the wages which you kept back from the labourers mowing your fields? The cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord Sabaoth.
On earth you have had a life of comfort and luxury; in the time of slaughter you went on eating to your heart’s content. It was you who condemned the upright and killed them; they offered you no resistance.

[Ἄγε νῦν οἱ πλούσιοι, κλαύσατε ὀλολύζοντες ἐπὶ ταῖς ταλαιπωρίαις ὑμῶν ταῖς ἐπερχομέναις. ὁ πλοῦτος ὑμῶν σέσηπεν καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια ὑμῶν σητόβρωτα γέγονεν, ὁ χρυσὸς ὑμῶν καὶ ὁ ἄργυρος κατίωται καὶ ὁ ἰὸς αὐτῶν εἰς μαρτύριον ὑμῖν ἔσται καὶ φάγεται τὰς σάρκας ὑμῶν ὡς πῦρ. ἐθησαυρίσατε ἐν ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις. ἰδοὺ ὁ μισθὸς τῶν ἐργατῶν τῶν ἀμησάντων τὰς χώρας ὑμῶν ὁ ἀπεστερημένος ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν κράζει, καὶ αἱ βοαὶ τῶν θερισάντων εἰς τὰ ὦτα κυρίου Σαβαὼθ εἰσεληλύθασιν.
ἐτρυφήσατε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐσπαταλήσατε, ἐθρέψατε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ σφαγῆς, κατεδικάσατε, ἐφονεύσατε τὸν δίκαιον· οὐκ ἀντιτάσσεται ὑμῖν.]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
James 5: 1-6 [NJB (1985)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
[KJV (1611)]

Now an answer for the rich. Start crying, weep for the miseries that are coming to you. Your wealth is all rotting, your clothes are all eaten up by moths. All your gold and your silver are corroding away, and the same corrosion will be your own sentence, and eat into your body. It was a burning fire that you stored up as your treasure for the last days. Labourers mowed your fields, and you cheated them -- listen to the wages that you kept back, calling out; realise that the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
On earth you have had a life of comfort and luxury; in the time of slaughter you went on eating to your heart's content. It was you who condemned the innocent and killed them; they offered you no resistance.
[JB (1966)]

And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches have rotted away, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches in these last days. You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty.
Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent people, and they do not resist you.
[GNT (1992 ed.)]

Pay attention, you wealthy people! Weep and moan over the miseries coming upon you. Your riches have rotted. Moths have destroyed your clothes. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you. It will eat your flesh like fire. Consider the treasure you have hoarded in the last days. Listen! Hear the cries of the wages of your field hands. These are the wages you stole from those who harvested your fields. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of heavenly forces.
You have lived a self-satisfying life on this earth, a life of luxury. You have stuffed your hearts in preparation for the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who doesn’t oppose you.
[CEB (2011)]

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure during the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris

Dave — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 22:29:02 +0000

That is why I decline to recognize the mere multimillionaire, the man of mere wealth, as an asset of value to any country, and especially as not an asset to my own country. If he has earned or uses his wealth in a way that makes him of real benefit, of real use — and such is often the case — why, then he does become an asset of worth. But it is the way in which it has been earned or used, and not the mere fact of wealth, that entitles him to the credit.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris
(Source)

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1888-03), “Beggars,” sec. 4, Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 3

Dave — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 17:57:01 +0000

Here, then, is the pitiful fix of the rich man; here is that needle’s eye in which he stuck already in the days of Christ, and still sticks to-day, firmer, if possible, than ever: that he has the money and lacks the love which should make his money acceptable. Here and now, just as of old in Palestine, he has the rich to dinner, it is with the rich that he takes his pleasure: and when his turn comes to be charitable, he looks in vain for a recipient. His friends are not poor, they do not want; the poor are not his friends, they will not take. To whom is he to give?

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1888-03), “Beggars,” sec. 4, Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 3
(Source)

Collected in Across the Plains, ch. 9 (1892).

Luther, Martin -- Table Talk [Colloquies; Tischreden] (1566) [tr. Bell (1652)]

Dave — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 18:19:53 +0000

Our Lord commonly giveth Riches to such gross asses to whom he affordeth nothing else that is good.

[Darumb gibt unser Herrgott gemeiniglich Reichtum den groben Eseln, denen er sonst nichts gönnt.]

Martin Luther (1483-1546) German priest, theologian, writer, religious reformer
Table Talk [Colloquies; Tischreden] (1566) [tr. Bell (1652)]

This is a common translation given in various places. A more complete one, Colloquia Mensalia [Divine Discourses], ch. 4 "Of the Nature of the World," "Wealth is the least gift of GOD" [tr. Bell (1659, 2d ed.)]:

Riches is the smallest thing on earth, and the least gift that God hath bestowed on mankinde. What is it in comparison of God's Word; yea, what is it to bee compared with corporal gifts, as beautie, health, &c. nay, what is it to the gifts of the minde, as understanding, Art, wisdom; &c. yet are men so eager upon it, that no labor, travail, nor danger is regarded in getting of Riches: there is in it neither Materialis, formalis, efficiens & finalis caussa, nor anie thing els that good is, therefore our Lord God commonly givet Riches to such gross Asses, to whom hee affordeth nothing els that is good.

This same passage is quoted and cited in The Apophthegmes of Erasmus (1471) [tr. Udall (1877 reprint of the 1564 ed.), in the Appendix to discuss the principle "Gold masters all things," related to Erasmus' work on Philippus, sec. 13. It is not Erasmus' work, as is sometimes suggested, but that of Robert Roberts, the editor.

The Latin bits refer to Aristotle's four causes or reasons for something to exist.

For similar sentiments, see also La Bruyere (1688), Steele (1710), Swift (1720).

The variations and abridgments of Luther's Table Talk are legion, even in variations of the same translator's text (Henry Bell, who was the first English translator of the work). The variants are usually either to simplify or update the language to contemporary standards, or to bowdlerize Luther's rough language (e.g., "groben Eseln" [coarse asses]).

(Source (German)). Alternate translations:

Riches is the smallest thing on earth, and the least gift that God hath bestowed on mankind. What is it in comparison of God's Word? yea, what is it to be compared with corporal gifts; as beauty, health, &c. ? nay, what is it to the gifts of the mind; as understanding, art, wisdom, &c.? Yet are men so eager after it, that no labour, travel, nor danger is regarded in getting of riches. There is in it neither Materialis, formalis, efficiens et finalis causa, nor anything else that is good; therefore our Lord God commonly giveth riches to such from whom he withholds all spiritual good.
[tr. Bell (1650), 1791 ed.]

Riches is the smallest thing on earth, and the least gift that God bestowed on mankind. What is it in comparison of God's Word? yea, what is it to be compared with corporal gifts; as beauty, health, &c? nay, what is it to the gifts of the mind; as understanding, art, wisdom, &c. Yet are men so eager after it, that no labour, travel, nor danger is regarded in getting of riches, there is in it neither matter, form, effect, or cause, or any thing else that is good; therefore our Lord God commonly giveth riches to such, from whom he withholds all spiritual good.
[tr. Bell (1650), ed. Kerby (1818)]

Wealth is the smallest thing on earth, the least gift that God has bestowed on mankind. What is it in comparison with God's Word -- what, in comparison with corporal gifts, as beauty, health, &c.? -- nay, what is it to the gifts of the mind, as understanding, wisdom, &c.? Yet are men so eager after it, that no labour, pains, or risk is regarded in the acquisition of riches. Wealth has in it neither material, formal, efficient nor final cause, nor anything else that is good; therefore our Lord God commonly gives riches to those from whom he withholds spiritual good.
[tr. Hazlitt (1847), "Of the nature of the world," # 167]

Wealth is the least important of all things upon the earth, the smallest gift that God has bestowed on man. What is it, compared to the Word of God? Yes, what is it, compared even to bodily gifts and beauty? What is it, compared to the gifts of the mind? Yet people strive so for it! By no category of logic can [wealth] be called good — for its substance, its quality, as a means or as an end. Therefore God gives it commonly to coarse fools, to whom he means no good.
[tr. Smith / Gallinger (1915), ch. 36 "Miscellaneous"]

Riches are the most insignificant things on earth, the smallest gift that God can give a man. What are they in comparison with the Word of God? In fact, what are they in comparison even with physical endowments and beauty? What are they in comparison with gifts of the mind? And yet we act as if this were not so! The matter, form, effect, and goal of riches are worthless. That's why our Lord God generally gives riches to crude asses to whom he doesn't give anything else.
[ed. French (2017?), winter of 1542-1543]

Steele, Richard -- Essay (1710-07-27), The Tatler, No. 203

Dave — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:28:16 +0000

It was very prettily said, that we may learn the little value of fortune by the persons on whom Heaven is pleased to bestow it.

Richard Steele (1672-1729) Irish writer and politician
Essay (1710-07-27), The Tatler, No. 203
(Source)

Lowell, James Russell -- Poem (1843-12), “The Heritage,” st. 2, The Knickerbocker, Vol. 22., No. 6

Dave — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 17:04:43 +0000

The rich man’s son inherits cares;
The bank may break, the factory burn,
A breath may burst his bubble shares,
And soft, white hands could hardly earn
A living that would serve his turn;
A heritage, it seems to me,
One would not care to hold in fee.

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) American diplomat, essayist, poet
Poem (1843-12), “The Heritage,” st. 2, The Knickerbocker, Vol. 22., No. 6
(Source)

In later collections, the last line reads, "One scarce would wish to hold in fee."

Shaw, George Bernard -- Letter (1899-09-25) to Edward Rose

Dave — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 23:47:25 +0000

The more I see of the moneyed classes, the more I understand the guillotine.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright and critic
Letter (1899-09-25) to Edward Rose
(Source)

Written while on a six-week Mediterranean cruise.

Stead, Christina -- House of All Nations, scene 26 “No Money in Working for a Living” [Jules] (1938)

Dave — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 18:59:02 +0000

No rich man is a patriot, no rich man is a friend. They have all only got one fatherland — the Ritz-Carlton; and one friend — the mistress they’re promising to divorce their wives for.

Christina Stead (1902-1983) Australian writer
House of All Nations, scene 26 “No Money in Working for a Living” [Jules] (1938)
(Source)

Herbert, George -- Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 865 (1640 ed.)

Dave — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 14:23:47 +0000

The Rich knowes not who is his friend.

George Herbert (1593-1633) Welsh priest, orator, poet.
Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 865 (1640 ed.)
(Source)

Augustine of Hippo -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 21:58:04 +0000

The rich are like beasts of burden, carrying treasure all day, and at the night of death unladen; they carry to their grave only the bruises and marks of their toil.

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Christian church father, philosopher, saint [b. Aurelius Augustinus]
(Attributed)

I could not find something similar to this in searches of Augustine's writings. The usual earliest citation for this wording is Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, ed., Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895). But it previously shows up in Edward Payson Tenney, Jubilee Essays: A Plea for the Unselfish Life, "The Retributions" (1862), though again with no original citation.

See, in contrast, Matthew 11:28-30.

Smith, Sydney -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 21:59:23 +0000

The observances of the Church concerning feasts and fasts are tolerably well kept upon the whole, since the rich keep the feasts and the poor the fasts.

Sydney Smith (1771-1845) English clergyman, essayist, wit
(Attributed)
(Source)

In Hesketh Pearson, The Smith of Smiths, ch. 10 (1934).

Basil of Caesarea -- “To the Rich [Ὁμιλία πρὸς τοὺς πλουτούντας],” sermon (c. 368) [tr. Schroeder (2009)]

Dave — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 20:47:20 +0000

Yet it is not on account of food or clothing that wealth is sought by most. Some device has been concocted by the devil, suggesting innumerable spending opportunities to the wealthy, so that they pursue unnecessary and worthless things as if they were indispensable, and no amount is sufficient for the expenditures they contrive.

[Ἀλλ’ οὐ γὰρ ἱματίων ἕνεκεν οὐδὲ τροφῶν ὁ πλοῦτός ἐστι τοῖς πολλοῖς περισπούδαστος, ἀλλά τις ἐπινενόηται μεθοδεία τῷ διαβόλῳ, μυρίας τοῖς πλουσίοις δαπάνης ἀφορμὰς ὑποβάλλουσα, ὥστε τὰ περιττὰ καὶ ἄχρηστα ὡς ἀναγκαῖα σπου δάζεσθαι, μηδὲν δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐξαρκεῖν πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀναλωμάτων ἐπίνοιαν.]

Basil of Caesarea (AD 330-378) Christian bishop, theologian, monasticist, Doctor of the Church [Saint Basil the Great, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας]
“To the Rich [Ὁμιλία πρὸς τοὺς πλουτούντας],” sermon (c. 368) [tr. Schroeder (2009)]
(Source)

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 1 (1963)

Dave — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 14:56:32 +0000

The poor have the same basic pleasures of the rich, and the rich will always resent it.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 1 (1963)
(Source)

Basil of Caesarea -- “To the Rich [Ὁμιλία πρὸς τοὺς πλουτούντας],” sermon (c. 368) [tr. Schroeder (2009)]

Dave — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 17:23:33 +0000

You seem to have great possessions! How else can this be, but that you have preferred your own enjoyment to the consolation of the many? For the more you abound in wealth, the more you lack in love.

[ἀλλὰ μὴν φαίνῃ ἔχων κτήματα πολλά. Πόθεν ταῦτα; ἢ δῆλον ὅτι τὴν οἰκείαν ἀπόλαυσιν προτι μοτέραν τῆς τῶν πολλῶν παραμυθίας ποιούμενος. Ὅσον οὖν πλεονάζεις τῷ πλούτῳ, τοσοῦτον ἐλλείπεις τῇ ἀγάπῃ.]

La Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 6 “Of Gifts of Fortune [Des Biens de Fortune],” § 48 (6.48) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970)]

Dave — Tue, 14 May 2024 15:04:22 +0000

We know that the poor are distressed by their many wants, and that nobody relieves them; but if the rich feel resentment, it is at lacking any single thing, or meeting with resistance from a single person.

[On sait que les pauvres sont chagrins de ce que tout leur manque, et que personne ne les soulage; mais s’il est vrai que les riches soient colères, c’est de ce que la moindre chose puisse leur manquer, ou que quelqu’un veuille leur résister.]

Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 6 “Of Gifts of Fortune [Des Biens de Fortune],” § 48 (6.48) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

The Poor are troubled that they want all things, and no body comforts them. The Rich are angry that they can want the least thing, or that any one would resist them.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]

The Poor are troubled that they want every thing, and no body comforts them. The Rich are angry that they should want the least thing, or that any one should oppose them.
[Curll ed. (1713)]

The Grief of the Poor is, that they want all Things, and no body comforts them. The Rich are angry if they want the least Thing, is any one contradict or oppose them.
[Browne ed. (1752)]

It is well known that the poor are sad because they want everything and nobody comforts them; but if it be true that the rich are irascible, it is because they may want the smallest thing, or that some one might oppose them.
[tr. Van Laun (1885)]

Horace -- Odes [Carmina], Book 1, # 4, l. 13ff (1.4.13-14) (23 BC) [tr. Alexander (1999), “To Lucius Sestius”]

Dave — Fri, 10 May 2024 16:44:41 +0000

With tread imperial, impartial pallid Death
knocks at the doors of cottages and palaces.

[Pallida mors æquo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas
Regumque turres.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Odes [Carmina], Book 1, # 4, l. 13ff (1.4.13-14) (23 BC) [tr. Alexander (1999), “To Lucius Sestius”]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Death knocks as boldly at the Rich mans dore
As at the Cottage of the Poore,
[tr. Fanshaw (1666), "To L. Sextius, a Consular Man"]

With equal foot, Rich friend, impartial Fate
Knocks at the Cottage, and the Palace Gate.
[tr. Creech (1684), "He adviseth his Friend to live merrily"]

Pale Death, impartial, walks his round: he knocks at cottage-gate
And palace-portal.
[tr. Conington (1872)]

Pale death knocks at the cottages of the poor, and the palaces of kings, with an impartial foot.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853), "To Sextius"]

Death comes alike to all, — to the monarch's lordly hall,
Or the hovel of the beggar, and his summons none shall stay.
[tr. Martin (1864), "To Sestius"]

But all the while, with equal step, pale Death strides on unpausing,
Knocks at thé lowly shed and regal tower.
[tr. Bulwer-Lytton (1870), "To Lucius Sestius"]

Pale death, with impartial step, knocks at the hut of the poor and the towers of kings.
[E.g. (1893)]

The kingly tower alike
And pauper's hut pale Death will strike.
[tr. Gladstone (1894), "To the Rich Sextius"]

Pale Death with foot impartial knocks at poor men's dwellings.
And tow'rs of monarchs.
[tr. Phelps (1897), "To Sestius"]

Pale death with foot impartial strikes at the huts of paupers and
Kings' towers.
[tr. Garnsey (1907), "To Sestius"]

With equal foot pale Pluto knocks at hovels of the poor,
And at the tyrant's towers
[tr. Marshall (1908), "Spring"]

Pale Death with foot impartial knocks at the poor man’s cottage and at princes’ palaces.
[tr. Bennett (Loeb) (1912), "Spring's Lesson"]

Marching with step impartial, Death's pale Presence raps its call
At doors of rich and poor alike.
[tr. Mills (1924)]

Hold! Pale Death, at the poor man's shack and the pasha's palace kicking
Impartially, announces his arrival.
[tr. Michie (1964)]

Death raps his bony knuckles, bleached,
Indifferent, on any man’s door, a palace or a hut.
[tr. Raffel (1983)]

Revenant white-faced Death is walking not knowing whether
He's going to knock at a rich man's door or a poor man's.
[tr. Ferry (1997)]

Pale death knocks with impartial foot, at the door of the poor man’s cottage,
and at the prince’s gate.
[tr. Kline (2015), "Spring"]

La Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 6 “Of Gifts of Fortune [Des Biens de Fortune],” § 24 (6.24) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970)]

Dave — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 18:19:17 +0000

Nothing more clearly shows how little God esteems his gift to men of wealth, money, position and other worldly goods, than the way he distributes these, and the sort of men who are most amply provided with them.

[Rien ne fait mieux comprendre le peu de chose que Dieu croit donner aux hommes, en leur abandonnant les richesses, l’argent, les grands établissements et les autres biens, que la dispensation qu’il en fait, et le genre d’hommes qui en sont le mieux pourvus.]

Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 6 “Of Gifts of Fortune [Des Biens de Fortune],” § 24 (6.24) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970)]
(Source)

See Alexander Pope.

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Nothing makes us better comprehend what little things God thinks he bestows on Mankind, when he suffers 'em to abound in Riches, Gold, Settlements, Stations, and other advantages, than the dispensations he makes of them, and the sort of men who are best provided.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]

Nothing makes us better comprehend what little things God thinks he bestows on Mankind, in suffering 'em to abound in Riches, Mony, great Preferments, and other Advantages, than the Distribution he makes of 'em, and the sort of Men who are best provided.
[Curll ed. (1713)]

Nothing makes us better understand what trifling things Providence thinks He bestows on men in granting them wealth, money, dignities, and other advantages, than the manner in which they are distributed and the kind of men who have the largest share.
[tr. Van Laun (1885)]

La Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 6 “Of Gifts of Fortune [Des Biens de Fortune],” § 49 (6.49) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]

Dave — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 18:39:56 +0000

A man is rich whose income is larger than his expenses, and he is poor if his expenses are greater than his income.

[Celui-là est riche, qui reçoit plus qu’il ne consume; celui-là est pauvre, dont la dépense excède la recette.]

Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 6 “Of Gifts of Fortune [Des Biens de Fortune],” § 49 (6.49) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

He is rich whose Receipt is more than his Expences, and he is poor whose Expences are more than his Receipt.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]

He is rich, whose Income is more than his Expences; and he is poor whose Expences are more than his Income.
[Curll ed. (1713)]

He is rich, whose Income is more than his Expences; and he is poor whose Expences exceed his Income.
[Browne ed. (1752)]

That man is rich, who gets more than he spends; that man is poor, whose expenses exceed his receipts.
[tr. Stewart (1970)]

Basil of Caesarea -- “I Will Tear Down My Barns [καθελῶ μου τὰς ἀποθήκας],” Sermon # 6 [tr. Schroeder (2009)]

Dave — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 17:18:48 +0000

“But whom do I treat unjustly,” you say, “by keeping what is my own?” Tell me, what is your own? What did you bring into this life? From where did you receive it? It is as if someone were to take the first seat in the theater, then bar everyone else from attending, so that one person alone enjoys what is offered for the benefit of all in common — this is what the rich do. They seize common goods before others have the opportunity, then claim them as their own by right of preemption. For if we all took only what was necessary to satisfy our own needs, giving the rest to those who lack, no one would be rich, no one would be poor, and no one would be in need.

[Καὶ ποῖον, λέγει, ἀδικῶ, μὲ τὸ νὰ κρατῶ γιὰ τoν ἐαυτόν μου αὐτὰ ποῦ μου ἀνήκουν; Ποία, εἰπέ μου, εἶναι αὐτὰ ποῦ σου ἀνήκουν; Ἀπὸ ποῦ τὰ ἔλαβες, καὶ τὰ ἔφερες στὴν ζωὴν αὐτήν; Ὅπως ἀκριβῶς κάποιος ποὺ εὑρίσκει στὸ θέατρο θέση μὲ καλὴν θέαν, ἐμποδίζει ἔπειτα τοὺς εἰσερχομένους, θεωρώντας ὡς ἰδικὸ τοῦ αὐτὸ ποὺ προορίζεται γιὰ χρῆσιν κοινήν, ἔτσι εἶναι καὶ οἱ πλούσιοι. Ἀφοῦ ἐκυρίευσαν ἐκ τῶν προτέρων τα κοινὰ ἀγαθά, τὰ ἰδιοποιοῦνται ἁπλῶς ἐπειδὴ τὰ ἐπρόλαβαν. Ἐὰν ὁ καθένας ἐκρατοῦσε ἐκεῖνο ποὺ ἀρκεῖ γιὰ τὴν ἱκανοποίηση τῶν ἀναγκῶν του, καὶ ἄφηνε τὸ περίσσευμα σ’ αὐτὸν ποὺ τὸ χρειάζεται, κανεὶς δὲν θὰ ἦταν πλούσιος, ἀλλὰ καὶ κανεὶς πτωχός.]

Basil of Caesarea (AD 330-378) Christian bishop, theologian, monasticist, Doctor of the Church [Saint Basil the Great, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας]
“I Will Tear Down My Barns [καθελῶ μου τὰς ἀποθήκας],” Sermon # 6 [tr. Schroeder (2009)]
(Source)

In C. Paul Schroeder, ed., Saint Basil on Social Justice (2009).

Bagehot, Walter -- “The Waverley Novels,” National Review (1858-04)

Dave — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 14:35:05 +0000

In truth, poverty is an anomaly to rich people. It is very difficult to make out why people who want dinner do not ring the bell.

Walter Bagehot (1826-1877) British businessman, essayist, journalist
“The Waverley Novels,” National Review (1858-04)
(Source)

A review of Sir Walter Scott's very popular and lengthy book series of that name, which includes his (today) most famous, Ivanhoe.

Ambrose of Milan -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 16:25:12 +0000

How far, O rich, do you extend your senseless avarice? Do you intend to be the sole inhabitants of the earth? Why do you drive out the fellow sharers of nature, and claim it all for yourselves? The earth was made for all, rich and poor, in common. Why do you rich claim it as your exclusive right? The soil was given to the rich and poor in common — wherefore, oh, ye rich, do you unjustly claim it for yourselves alone? Nature gave all things in common for the use of all; usurpation created private rights. Property hath no rights. The earth is the Lord’s, and we are his offspring. The pagans hold earth as property. They do blaspheme God.

Ambrose of Milan (339-397) Roman theologian, statesman, Christian prelate, saint, Doctor of the Church [Aurelius Ambrosius]
(Attributed)

Frequently quoted in the early 20th Century in various social justice writings, and in the years since then, but all citations I can find fall back to its inclusion in Upton Sinclair, The Cry for Justice, Book 8 "The Church" (1915) (though it can be found somewhat earlier than that).

Stead, Christina -- House of All Nations, sc. 12 “The Revolution” [Jules] (1938)

Dave — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 01:14:02 +0000

Why, if all the rich men in the world divided up their money amongst themselves, there wouldn’t be enough to go round!

Christina Stead (1902-1983) Australian writer
House of All Nations, sc. 12 “The Revolution” [Jules] (1938)
(Source)

Pooh-poohing the idea that confiscating wealth from the rich would provide enough money to the poor. The line is also included in the "Credo" at the beginning of the novel, attributed to the character, Jules Bertillon.

Chamfort, Nicolas -- Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 3, ¶ 266 (1795) [tr. Mathers (1926)]

Dave — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 23:40:43 +0000

Any man with few needs appears a menace to the rich for he is always in a position to escape from them, and the tyrants see that thus they lose a slave.

[Tout homme qui a peu de besoins semble menacer les riches d’être toujours prêt à leur échapper. Les tyrans voient par là qu’ils perdent un esclave.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 3, ¶ 266 (1795) [tr. Mathers (1926)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Any man whose needs are few seems to threaten the rich with the possibility of his escaping them. Tyrants are thereby faced with the prospect of losing a slave.
[tr. Merwin (1969)]

Any man who has few needs seems to threaten the rich with his readiness to escape from them. Thereby tyrants realize that they are losing a slave.
[tr. Pearson (1973)]

Every man who has few needs seems to menace the wealthy with the constant threat of escaping from them. Tyrants see in such a proposition the loss of a slave.
[tr. Siniscalchi (1994)]

Anyone whose needs are small seems threatening to the rich, because he's always ready to escape their control. This is how tyrants recognize that they're losing a slave.
[tr. Parmée (2003)]

Bryan, William Jennings -- Speech, Madison Square Garden, New York (1906-08-30)

Dave — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 17:49:11 +0000

And who can suffer injury by just taxation, impartial laws and the application of the Jeffersonian doctrine of equal rights to all and special privileges to none? Only those whose accumulations are stained with dishonesty and whose immoral methods have given them a distorted view of business, society and government. Accumulating by conscious frauds more money than they can use upon themselves, wisely distribute or safely leave to their children, these denounce as public enemies all who question their methods or throw a light upon their crimes.

William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) American lawyer, statesman, politician, orator
Speech, Madison Square Garden, New York (1906-08-30)
(Source)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1733)

Dave — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 17:33:56 +0000

The Poor have little, Beggars none,
The Rich too much, enough not one.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1733)
(Source)

Repeated in Poor Richard (1740).

Dyson, Freeman -- “Progress in Religion,” Templeton Prize acceptance speech, Washington National Cathedral (9 May 2000)

Dave — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 18:06:43 +0000

The great question for our time is, how to make sure that the continuing scientific revolution brings benefits to everybody rather than widening the gap between rich and poor. To lift up poor countries, and poor people in rich countries, from poverty, to give them a chance of a decent life, technology is not enough. Technology must be guided and driven by ethics if it is to do more than provide new toys for the rich.

Freeman Dyson (1923-2020) English-American theoretical physicist, mathematician, futurist
“Progress in Religion,” Templeton Prize acceptance speech, Washington National Cathedral (9 May 2000)
(Source)

Martial -- Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 12, epigram 13 (12.13) (AD 101) [tr. Michie (1972)]

Dave — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 19:35:33 +0000

The rich know anger helps the cost of living:
Hating’s more economical than giving.

[Genus, Aucte, lucri divites habent iram:
Odisse, quam donare, vilius constat.]

Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis]
Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 12, epigram 13 (12.13) (AD 101) [tr. Michie (1972)]
(Source)

"To Auctus." Closely parallel to 3.37, to the point where some translations are cross-applied in error. The general interpretation, from Ker, is that "picking quarrels with clients saves you giving them presents."

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Anger's a kind of gain that rich men know:
It costs them less to hate than to bestow.
[tr. Fletcher (1656)]

Rich men, my friend, by anger know to thrive.
'Tis cheaper much to quarrel, than to give.
[tr. Hay (1755)]

From ire can gainmongers elicit ore.
Fell hate is frugal: love might lavish more.
[tr. Elphinston (1782), 12.68]

Ask you, last night, why Gripus ill behaved?
A well-timed quarrel is a dinner saved.
[tr. Halhead (1793)]

The rich, Auctus, make a species of gain out of anger.
It is cheaper to get into a passion than to give.
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]

Rich men, Auctus, regard anger as a kind of profit;
to hate is cheaper than to give!
[tr. Ker (1919)]

The rich feign wrath -- a profitable plan;
'Tis cheaper far to hate than help a man.
[tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]

Rich men, Auctus, think of anger as a sort of moneymaking:
hating comes cheaper than giving.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]

The rich pick fights and cause unpleasance:
Hate is cheaper than giving presents.
[tr. Ericsson (1995)]

The rich believe it pays to get irate --
to give is costlier, Auctus, than to hate.
[tr. McLean (2014)]

Martial -- Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 3, epigram 37 (3.37) (AD 87-88) [tr. McLean (2014)]

Dave — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 23:42:48 +0000

Wealthy friends, you’re quick to take offene.
It’s not good manners, but it saves expense.

[Irasci tantum felices nostis amici.
Non belle facitis, sed iuvat hoc: facite.]

Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis]
Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 3, epigram 37 (3.37) (AD 87-88) [tr. McLean (2014)]
(Source)

The commentary by various authors indicates this is about wealthy patrons pretending to offense or other anger at their poorer clientele as an excuse for not being free with gifts. Closely parallel to 12.13.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Rich friends 'gainst poor to anger still are prone:
It is not well, but profitably done.
[tr. May (1629); also as Hay (1755)]

My rich friends, you know nothing save how to put yourselves into a passion. It is not a nice thing for you to do, but it suits your purpose. Do it.
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]

To be angry is all you know, you rich friends.
You do not act prettily, but it pays to do this.
[tr. Ker (1919)]

Rich friends, 'tis your fashion to get in a passion
With humble dependents, or feign it.
Though not very nice, 'tis a saving device,
Economy bids you retain it.
[tr. Pott & Wright (1921), "A Mean Trick"]

You well-off people are well versed only
in cursing out your inferiors:
Un For Giving bitching is quite enriching.
[tr. Bovie (1970)]

You weIl-off friends only know how to take umbrage. It's not a pretty way to behave, but it suits your book.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]

Not easy, having money, blood so blue,
Lotta gifts expected for all your crew.
Kinda tacky to get angry and just tell 'em all go screw.
But the rich gotta do
What the rich gotta do.
[tr. Ericsson (1995)]

The rich feign wrath – a profitable plan;
’Tis cheaper far to hate than help a man.
[tr. Pott]

How explain why the conspicuously rich
are so easy to offend? Ask their accountant.
He probably won’t tell you but he’ll know.
[tr. Halsey]

Voltaire -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 17:09:26 +0000

The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor.

Voltaire (1694-1778) French writer [pseud. of Francois-Marie Arouet]
(Attributed)

Wright, Frank Lloyd -- On Architecture: Selected Writings (1894-1940) (1941)

Dave — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 21:08:29 +0000

Remember that we can own only what we can assimilate and appreciate, no more. Many wealthy people are little more than janitors of their possessions.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) American architect, interior designer, writer, educator [b. Frank Lincoln Wright]
On Architecture: Selected Writings (1894-1940) (1941)
(Source)

Parsons, Lucy -- Speech, Founding Convention of the Industrial Workers of the World (27 Jun 1905)

Dave — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 20:10:58 +0000

Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.

Lucy Parsons (1851-1942) American labor organizer, anarchist, orator [a.k.a. Lucy Gonzalez]
Speech, Founding Convention of the Industrial Workers of the World (27 Jun 1905)
(Source)

Reprinted in Freedom, Equality and Solidarity: Writings & Speeches, 1878-1937.

Inge, William Ralph -- “Bishop Gore and the Church of England,” Edinburgh Review (Jan 1908)

Dave — Mon, 04 May 2020 17:19:49 +0000

Jesus Christ chose to be born of poor and humble parents, in a land remote from the centre of political or intellectual influence, and in the circle of labouring men. He chose to belong to the class of the respectable artisan, and most of the twelve Apostles came from the same social level. In His teaching He plainly associated blessedness with the lot of poverty, and extreme danger with the lot of wealth. All through the New Testament the assumption is that God is on the side of the poor against the rich. As Jowett once said, there is more in the New Testament against being rich, and in favour of being poor, than we like to recognise.

William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) English prelate [Dean Inge]
“Bishop Gore and the Church of England,” Edinburgh Review (Jan 1908)
(Source)

Reprinted in Outspoken Essays: First Series (1911).

Napoleon Bonaparte -- Statement (4 Mar 1806)

Dave — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 14:11:11 +0000

I do not see in religion the mystery of the incarnation, but the mystery of the social order; religion attaches to heaven an idea of equality that stops the rich from being massacred by the poor.

[Quant à moi, je ne vois pas dans la religion le mystère de l’incarnation, mais le mystère de l’ordre social; elle rattache au ciel une idée d’égalité qui empêche que le riche ne soit massacré par le pauvre.]

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) French emperor, military leader
Statement (4 Mar 1806)
(Source)

Quoted in Opinions de Napoléon sur divers sujets de politique et d'administration, recueillies par un membre de son conseil d'état (1833).

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1787-01-16) to Edward Carrington

Dave — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 18:32:04 +0000

Experience declares that man is the only animal which devours its own kind; for I can apply no milder term to the governments of Europe, and to the general prey of the rich upon the poor.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1787-01-16) to Edward Carrington
(Source)

FitzGerald, Edward -- “Chronomoros,” l. 57ff, Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal (5 Dec 1840)

Dave — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 22:20:32 +0000

The King in a carriage may ride,
And the Beggar may crawl at his side;
But in the general race,
They are traveling all the same pace.

Edward FitzGerald (1809-1883) English writer, poet, translator
“Chronomoros,” l. 57ff, Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal (5 Dec 1840)
(Source)

George, Henry -- Progress and Poverty, “How Modern Civilization May Decline” (1879)

Dave — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 16:00:20 +0000

What has destroyed every previous civilization has been the tendency to the unequal distribution of wealth and power. This same tendency, operating with increasing force, is observable in our civilization to-day, showing itself in every progressive community, and with greater intensity the more progressive the community. Wages and interest tend constantly to fall, rent to rise, the rich to become very much richer, the poor to become more helpless and hopeless, and the middle class to be swept away.

Henry George (1839-1897) American economist
Progress and Poverty, “How Modern Civilization May Decline” (1879)

Boetcker, William J. H. -- “The Industrial Decalogue” (1916)

Dave — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 22:25:50 +0000

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

William J. H. Boetcker (1873-1962) German-American religious leader, author, public speaker [William John Henry Boetcker]
“The Industrial Decalogue” (1916)

Often referred to as "The Ten Cannots," and also often misattributed to Abraham Lincoln.

Truth, Sojourner -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sat, 25 Feb 2017 00:23:54 +0000

The rich rob the poor, and the poor rob each other.

Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) American abolitionist, women's rights activist [b. Isabella Baumfree]
(Attributed)

Variations: "Truly, here the rich rob the poor and the poor rob each other," "Our rich rob the poor, and the poor rob each other."

Tawney, R. H. -- The Acquisitive Century, ch. 3 “The Acquisitive Society” (1920)

Dave — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 16:48:55 +0000

By fixing men’s minds, not upon the discharge of social obligations, which restricts their energy, because it defines the goal to which it should be directed, but upon the exercise of the right to pursue their own self-interest, it offers unlimited scope for the acquisition of riches, and therefore gives free play to one of the most powerful of human instincts. To the strong it promises unfettered freedom for the exercise of their strength; to the weak the hope that they too one day may be strong. Before the eyes of both it suspends a golden prize, which not all can attain, but for which each may strive, the enchanting vision of infinite expansion. It assures men that there are no ends other than their ends, no law other than their desires, no limit other than that which they think advisable. Thus it makes the individual the center of his own universe, and dissolves moral principles into a choice of expediences.

R. H. Tawney (1880-1962) English writer, economist, historian, social critic [Richard Henry Tawney]
The Acquisitive Century, ch. 3 “The Acquisitive Society” (1920)
(Source)

Shaw, George Bernard -- Fabian Essays in Socialism, “The Basis of Socialism: Economic” (1889)

Dave — Sat, 21 Jan 2017 00:09:41 +0000

The man of business goes on Sunday to the church with the regularity of the village blacksmith, there to renounce and abjure before his God the line of conduct which he intends to pursue with all his might during the following week.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright and critic
Fabian Essays in Socialism, “The Basis of Socialism: Economic” (1889)
(Source)

Twain, Mark -- (Spurious)

Dave — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 20:35:14 +0000

When the rich rob the poor it’s called business. When the poor fight back it’s called violence.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
(Spurious)

Frequently, but incorrectly attributed to Twain, no earlier than 2015. It appears to have been an anonymous phrase coined in the Occupy Movement in 2011. See here for more information.

Ruskin, John -- Unto This Last, ch. 3 (1800)

Dave — Sat, 31 Dec 2016 01:17:19 +0000

[The] “robbing of the poor because he is poor,” is especially the mercantile form of theft, consisting in taking advantage of a man’s necessities in order to obtain his labor or property at a reduced price. The ordinary highwayman’s opposite form of robbery — of the rich, because he is rich — does not appear to occur so often to the old merchant’s mind; probably because, being less profitable and more dangerous than the robbery of the poor, it is rarely practice by persons of discretion.

John Ruskin (1819-1900) English art critic, painter, writer, social thinker
Unto This Last, ch. 3 (1800)

Scalzi, John -- Lock In, ch. 6 (2014)

Dave — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 02:48:19 +0000

My father deals with millionaires and billionaires on a daily basis, the sort of people who have egos just this side (and sometimes way over the edge) of sociopathy. The sort of person who thinks he’s the apex predator wading through a universe of sheep.

John Scalzi (b. 1969) American writer
Lock In, ch. 6 (2014)
(Source)

Nader, Ralph -- “Public Citizen Number One,” by Debra Saunders, San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle (13 Oct 1996)

Dave — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 03:06:25 +0000

When people ask, “Why should the rich pay a larger percent of their income than middle-income people?” — my answer is not an answer most people get: It’s because their power developed from laws that enriched them.

Ralph Nader (b. 1934) American attorney, author, lecturer, political activist
“Public Citizen Number One,” by Debra Saunders, San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle (13 Oct 1996)

Scalzi, John -- Lock In, ch. 3 [Shane] (2014)

Dave — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 00:54:46 +0000

Rich people show their appreciation through favors. When everyone you know has more money than they know what to do with, money stops being a useful transactional tool. So instead you offer favors. Deals. Quid pro quos. Things that involve personal involvement rather than money. Because when you’re that rich, your personal time is your limiting factor.

John Scalzi (b. 1969) American writer
Lock In, ch. 3 [Shane] (2014)
(Source)

Beecher, Henry Ward -- “Plymouth Pulpit” (26 Jun 1869)

Dave — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 13:43:15 +0000

Do not give, as many rich men do, like a hen that lays her egg and then cackles.

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American clergyman and orator
“Plymouth Pulpit” (26 Jun 1869)

Maher, Bill -- Real Time with Bill Maher (12 Mar 2011)

Dave — Wed, 25 May 2016 17:23:09 +0000

We have this fantasy that our interests and the interests of the super-rich are the same, like somehow the rich will eventually get so full that they’ll explode, and the candy will rain down on the rest of us, like there’s some sort of piñata of benevolence. But here’s the thing about a piñata: it doesn’t open on its own. You have to beat it with a stick.

William "Bill" Maher (b. 1956) American comedian, political commentator, critic, television host.
Real Time with Bill Maher (12 Mar 2011)

Nouwen, Henri -- Encounters with Merton (2004)

Dave — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 18:42:07 +0000

One of the temptations of upper-middle class life is to create sharp edges of our moral sensitivities that allows comfortable confusions about sin and virtue. The difference between rich and poor is not that the rich sin more than the poor, it is that the rich find it easier to call sin a virtue. When the poor sin, they call it sin; when they see holiness, they identify it as such. This intuitive clarity is often absent from the wealthy, and that absence easily leads to the atrophy of the moral sense.

Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) Dutch Catholic priest and writer
Encounters with Merton (2004)

Ameringer, Oscar -- The American Guardian

Dave — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 17:26:41 +0000

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich by promising to protect each from the other.

Oscar Ameringer (1870-1943) German-American political activist, Socialist organizer, author, politican
The American Guardian

Carnegie, Andrew -- “The Gospel of Wealth,” Part 1, North American Review (1889-06)

Dave — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 16:21:49 +0000

Yet the day is not far distant when the man who dies leaving behind him millions of available wealth, which was his to administer during his life, will pass away “unwept, unhonoured and unsung,” no matter to what uses he leaves the dross which he cannot take with him. The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.

Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) American industrialist and philanthropist
“The Gospel of Wealth,” Part 1, North American Review (1889-06)
(Source)

Collected in The Gospel of Wealth and Other Timely Essays (1900).

Inge, William Ralph -- “Our Present Discontents,” Outspoken Essays: First Series (1919)

Dave — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 16:28:51 +0000

Senseless extravagance is the best friend of revolution.

William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) English prelate [Dean Inge]
“Our Present Discontents,” Outspoken Essays: First Series (1919)

Lehrer, Tom -- “National Brotherhood Week” (1965)

Dave — Thu, 05 Nov 2015 16:14:12 +0000

Oh, the poor folks hate the rich folks,
And the rich folks hate the poor folks,
All of my folks hate all of your folks,
It’s American as apple pie.

Tom Lehrer (b. 1928) American mathematician, satirist, songwriter
“National Brotherhood Week” (1965)

Kerr, Jean -- Poor Richard, Act 1 (1965)

Dave — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 12:32:18 +0000

SYDNEY: You don’t seem to realize that a poor person who is unhappy is in a better position than a rich person who is unhappy. Because the poor person has hope. He thinks money would help.

Jean Kerr (1922-2003) American author and playwright [b. Bridget Jean Collins]
Poor Richard, Act 1 (1965)

Galbraith, John Kenneth -- Speech (1963-12-13), “Wealth and Poverty,” National Policy Committee on Pockets of Poverty

Dave — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 12:37:32 +0000

Despite considerable propaganda to the contrary, the greatest need of the moment is not a decision to be tender to the well-to-do. Their situation is not so desperate as popularly represented. Also one makes an economy work not by rewarding the rich but by rewarding all who contribute to its success.

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author
Speech (1963-12-13), “Wealth and Poverty,” National Policy Committee on Pockets of Poverty
(Source)

Milligan, Spike -- Puckoon, ch. 6 [Mrs. Doonan] (1963)

Dave — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 12:45:24 +0000

Money couldn’t buy friends, but you got a better class of enemy.

Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (1918-2002) Anglo-Irish comedian, writer, actor
Puckoon, ch. 6 [Mrs. Doonan] (1963)
(Source)

The phrase, usually in the present tense, became a popular one of his, as in Norma Farnes, Memories of Milligan, "Spike on Spike" (2011): "Money can't buy you friends, but it does get you a better class of enemy," or the variant "Money can't buy you friends, but you get a better class of enemy."

Mailer, Norman -- Esquire (1996)

Dave — Fri, 15 May 2015 12:21:10 +0000

To blame the poor for subsisting on welfare has no justice unless we are also willing to judge every rich member of society by how productive he or she is. Taken individual by individual, it is likely that there’s more idleness and abuse of government favors among the economically privileged than among the ranks of the disadvantaged.

Norman Mailer (1923-2007) American novelist, journalist, playwright, activist
Esquire (1996)

Harris, Sydney J. -- Syndicated column, Chicago Daily News (Apr 1971)

Dave — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 13:10:02 +0000

One of the oldest Russian proverbs remains as inexorably true in modern America: “No one is hanged who has money in his pocket.” Or, one might say, capital punishment is only for those without capital.

Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) Anglo-American columnist, journalist, author
Syndicated column, Chicago Daily News (Apr 1971)

Camus, Albert -- Notebooks: 1942-1951, Notebook 4, Jan 1942 – Sep 1945 [tr. O’Brien/Thody (1963)

Dave — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 13:34:22 +0000

Poor and free rather than rich and enslaved. Of course, men want to be both rich and free, and this is what leads them at times to be poor and enslaved.

[Pauvre et libre plutôt que riche et asservi. Bien entendu les hommes veulent être et riches et libres et c’est ce qui les conduit quelquefois à être pauvres et esclaves.]

Albert Camus (1913-1960) Algerian-French novelist, essayist, playwright
Notebooks: 1942-1951, Notebook 4, Jan 1942 – Sep 1945 [tr. O’Brien/Thody (1963)
(Source)

Robinson, Edwin Arlington -- “Richard Corey” (1897)

Dave — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:06:09 +0000

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean-favored and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good Morning!” and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich, yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine — we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked and waited for the light,
And went without the meat and cursed the bread,
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet in his head.

Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869-1935) American poet
“Richard Corey” (1897)

Francis I (Pope) -- Evangelii Gaudium, sec. 57 (24 Nov 2013)

Dave — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 22:20:33 +0000

Behind this attitude lurks a rejection of ethics and a rejection of God. Ethics has come to be viewed with a certain scornful derision. It is seen as counterproductive, too human, because it makes money and power relative. It is felt to be a threat, since it condemns the manipulation and debasement of the person. In effect, ethics leads to a God who calls for a committed response which is outside the categories of the marketplace. When these latter are absolutized, God can only be seen as uncontrollable, unmanageable, even dangerous, since he calls human beings to their full realization and to freedom from all forms of enslavement. Ethics — a non-ideological ethics — would make it possible to bring about balance and a more humane social order. With this in mind, I encourage financial experts and political leaders to ponder the words of one of the sages of antiquity: “Not to share one’s wealth with the poor is to steal from them and to take away their livelihood. It is not our own goods which we hold, but theirs.”

Francis I (1936-2025) Argentinian Catholic Pope (2013–2025) [b. Jorge Mario Bergoglio]
Evangelii Gaudium, sec. 57 (24 Nov 2013)
(Source)

Quoting St. John Chrysostom, De Lazaro Concio, II, 6

Shenstone, William -- “Of Men and Manners,” sec. 86, Men and Manners (1804)

Dave — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 12:56:12 +0000

A miser grows rich by seeming poor; an extravagant man grows poor by seeming rich.

William Shenstone (1714-1763) English poet
“Of Men and Manners,” sec. 86, Men and Manners (1804)
(Source)

Francis I (Pope) -- In “Pope Francis: I’m Not a Marxist,” TIME (15 Dec 2013)

Dave — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 12:48:31 +0000

The promise was that when the glass was full, it would overflow, benefiting the poor. But what happens instead, is that when the glass is full, it magically gets bigger: nothing ever comes out for the poor.

Francis I (1936-2025) Argentinian Catholic Pope (2013–2025) [b. Jorge Mario Bergoglio]
In “Pope Francis: I’m Not a Marxist,” TIME (15 Dec 2013)
(Source)

On the "trickle-down" theory.

Fielding, Henry -- The Covent-Garden Journal, #44 (2 Jun 1752)

Dave — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 13:10:22 +0000

A rich man without charity is a rogue; and perhaps it would be no difficult matter to prove that he is also a fool.

Henry Fielding (1707-1754) English novelist, dramatist, satirist
The Covent-Garden Journal, #44 (2 Jun 1752)
(Source)

Shaw, George Bernard -- Plays Unpleasant, Preface (1898)

Dave — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 16:11:31 +0000

Rich men without convictions are more dangerous in modern society than poor women without chastity.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright and critic
Plays Unpleasant, Preface (1898)

Johnson, Samuel -- Comment (12 Jul 1763)

Dave — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 13:53:34 +0000

Sir, there is one Mrs. Macaulay in this town, a great republican. One day when I was at her house, I put on a very grave countenance, and said to her, “Madam, I am now become a convert to your way of thinking. I am convinced that all mankind are upon an equal footing; and to give you an unquestionable proof, Madam, that I am in earnest, here is a very sensible, civil, well-behaved fellow-citizen, your footman; I desire that he may be allowed to sit down and dine with us.” I thus, Sir, shewed her the absurdity of the levelling doctrine. She has never liked me since. Sir, your levellers wish to level down as far as themselves; but they cannot bear levelling up to themselves.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Comment (12 Jul 1763)

In James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)

Pope, Alexander -- “Thoughts on Various Subjects.” Miscellenies in Prose and Verse [pub. with Jonathan Swift], Vol. 2 (1727)

Dave — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 18:02:46 +0000

We may see the small value God has for riches by the people he gives them to.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English poet
“Thoughts on Various Subjects.” Miscellenies in Prose and Verse [pub. with Jonathan Swift], Vol. 2 (1727)
(Source)

May be quoting his friend, Dr. John Arbuthnot. The sentiment seems inspired by La Bruyere.

Stout, Rex -- The Red Box, ch. 11 [Wolfe] (1937)

Dave — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 17:59:27 +0000

Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth.

Rex Stout (1886-1975) American writer
The Red Box, ch. 11 [Wolfe] (1937)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Letter to S. Stanwood Menken (10 Jan 1917)

Dave — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 13:23:43 +0000

Everything is un-American that tends either to government by a plutocracy, or government by a mob. To divide along the lines of section or caste or creed is un-American. All privilege based on wealth, and all enmity to honest men merely because they are wealthy, are un-American — both of them equally so. Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity, and hardihood — the virtues that made America. The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Letter to S. Stanwood Menken (10 Jan 1917)

Smith, Logan Pearsall -- Afterthoughts, ch. 4 “In the World” (1931)

Dave — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 13:30:04 +0000

It is the wretchedness of being rich that you have to live with rich people.

Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946) American-English essayist, editor, anthologist
Afterthoughts, ch. 4 “In the World” (1931)
(Source)

Tocqueville, Alexis de -- Democracy in America, Vol. 1, pt. 1, ch. 3 (1835) [tr. Goldhammer]

Dave — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 20:56:27 +0000

Indeed, I know of no country where the love of money occupies as great a place in the hearts of men, or where people are more deeply contemptuous of the theory of permanent equality of wealth.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
Democracy in America, Vol. 1, pt. 1, ch. 3 (1835) [tr. Goldhammer]

Herbert, George -- Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 865 (1640 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 13:54:18 +0000

The Rich knowes not who is his friend.

George Herbert (1593-1633) Welsh priest, orator, poet.
Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 865 (1640 ed.)
(Source)

Fitzgerald, F. Scott -- “The Rich Boy,” Part 1, Red Book (1926-01/02)

Dave — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 13:07:23 +0000

Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) American writer [Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald]
“The Rich Boy,” Part 1, Red Book (1926-01/02)
(Source)

Reprinted in All the Sad Young Men (1926). Sometimes incorrectly cited to The Great Gatsby (1925).

Shakespeare, William -- King John, Act 2, sc. 1, l. 621ff (2.1.621-624) (1596)

Dave — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 13:27:45 +0000

THE BASTARD: Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail
And say there is no sin but to be rich;
And being rich, my virtue then shall be
To say there is no vice, but beggary.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
King John, Act 2, sc. 1, l. 621ff (2.1.621-624) (1596)
(Source)

Rogers, Will -- Column (1932-11-25), “Weekly Article: And Here’s How It All Happened” [No. 518]

Dave — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:00:45 +0000

The money was all appropriated for the top in the hopes that it would trickle down to the needy. Mr. Hoover was an engineer. He knew that water trickled down. Put it uphill and let it go and it will reach the dryest little spot. But he didn’t know that money trickled up. Give it to the people at the bottom and the people at the top will have it before night, anyhow. But it will at least have passed through the poor fellow’s hands.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1932-11-25), “Weekly Article: And Here’s How It All Happened” [No. 518]
(Source)

An abbreviated form, used in memes, omits sentences 2-4, but is often presented in text as the full quotation.

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Speech (1896-10-29), “The Chicago and New York Gold Speech,” McKinley League, Carnegie Hall, New York City

Dave — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:26:52 +0000

I know a great many rich men and I have read about a great many others, and I do not envy them. They are no happier than I am. You see, after all, few rich men own their property. The property owns them. It gets them up early in the morning. It will not let them sleep; it makes them suspect their friends. Sometimes they think their children would like to attend a first-class funeral. Why should we envy the rich?

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Speech (1896-10-29), “The Chicago and New York Gold Speech,” McKinley League, Carnegie Hall, New York City

Swift, Jonathan -- A Critical Essay upon the Faculties of the Mind (1707)

Dave — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:16:15 +0000

Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) English writer and churchman
A Critical Essay upon the Faculties of the Mind (1707)
(Source)

See Franklin.

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 2, ch. 4, § 23 (1951)

Dave — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:03:54 +0000

Our frustration is greater when we have much and want more than when we have nothing and want some. We are less dissatisfied when we lack many things than when we seem to lack but one thing.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 2, ch. 4, § 23 (1951)
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Speech (1886-11-14), “A Lay Sermon,” American Secular Union annual congress, Chickering Hall, New York City

Dave — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:37:05 +0000

Wealth is not a crime; poverty is not a virtue — although the virtuous have generally been poor. There is only one good, and that is human happiness; and he only is a wise man who makes himself and others happy.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Speech (1886-11-14), “A Lay Sermon,” American Secular Union annual congress, Chickering Hall, New York City
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Speech (1886-11-14), “A Lay Sermon,” American Secular Union annual congress, Chickering Hall, New York City

Dave — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:28:48 +0000

Most people imagine that the rich are in heaven, but, as a rule, it is only a gilded hell. There is not a man in the city of New York with genius enough, with brains enough, to own five millions of dollars. Why? The money will own him. He becomes the key to a safe. That money will get him up at daylight; that money will separate him from his friends; that money will fill his heart with fear; that money will rob his days of sunshine and his nights of pleasant dreams. He cannot own it. He becomes the property of that money. And he goes right on making more. What for? He does not know. It becomes a kind of insanity.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Speech (1886-11-14), “A Lay Sermon,” American Secular Union annual congress, Chickering Hall, New York City
(Source)

Galbraith, John Kenneth -- Speech (1963-12-13), “Wealth and Poverty,” National Policy Committee on Pockets of Poverty

Dave — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:10:20 +0000

The modern conservative is not even especially modern. He is engaged, on the contrary, in one of man’s oldest, best financed, most applauded, and, on the whole, least successful exercises in moral philosophy. That is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. It is an exercise which always involves a certain number of internal contradictions and even a few absurdities. The conspicuously wealthy turn up urging the character-building value of privation for the poor. The man who has struck it rich in minerals, oil, or other bounties of nature is found explaining the debilitating effect of unearned income from the state. The corporate executive who is a superlative success as an organization man weighs in on the evils of bureaucracy. Federal aid to education is feared by those who live in suburbs that could easily forgo this danger, and by people whose children are in public schools. Socialized medicine is condemned by men emerging from Walter Reed Hospital. Social Security is viewed with alarm by those who have the comfortable cushion of an inherited income. Those who are immediately threatened by public efforts to meet their needs — whether widows, small farmers, hospitalized veterans, or the unemployed — are almost always oblivious to the danger.

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author
Speech (1963-12-13), “Wealth and Poverty,” National Policy Committee on Pockets of Poverty
(Source)

Galbraith used variations on this quote over the years.

The above quotation was from a speech given, that was then entered into the Congressional Record, Vol. 109, Senate (1963-12-18).
This material was reworked into an article "Let us begin: An invitation to action on poverty," in Harper's (1964-03), which was in turn again entered into the Congressional Record, Vol. 110 (1964).
One of the last is most often cited: "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy, that is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. It is an exercise which always involves a certain number of internal contradictions and even a few absurdities. The conspicuously wealthy turn up urging the character-building value of privation for the poor." ["Stop the Madness," Interview with Rupert Cornwell, Toronto Globe and Mail (2002-07-06)]

Smith, Logan Pearsall -- Afterthoughts, ch. 4 “In the World” (1931)

Dave — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:39:44 +0000

To suppose, as we all suppose, that we could be rich and not behave as the rich behave, is like supposing that we could drink all day and keep absolutely sober.

Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946) American-English essayist, editor, anthologist
Afterthoughts, ch. 4 “In the World” (1931)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1936-06-27), Acceptance, Renomination for President, Democratic National Convention, Philadelphia

Dave — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:06:36 +0000

These economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power. Our allegiance to American institutions requires the overthrow of this kind of power. In vain they seek to hide behind the flag and the Constitution. In their blindness they forget what the flag and the Constitution stand for. Now, as always, they stand for democracy, not tyranny; for freedom, not subjection; and against a dictatorship by mob rule and the over-privileged alike.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1936-06-27), Acceptance, Renomination for President, Democratic National Convention, Philadelphia
(Source)

(Source (Audio)). The above is the official version of the speech. At the podium, the last section, starting with "Now, as always," was said by Roosevelt as:

Now, as always, for over a century and a half, the flag and the Constitution stand against a dictatorship by mob rule and the over-privileged alike, and the flag and the Constitution stand for democracy, not tyranny; for freedom, not subjection.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris, France

Dave — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 13:19:44 +0000

My position as regards the monied interests can be put in a few words. In every civilized society property rights must be carefully safeguarded; ordinarily and in the great majority of cases, human rights and property rights are fundamentally and in the long run, identical; but when it clearly appears that there is a real conflict between them, human rights must have the upper hand; for property belongs to man and not man to property.

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1937-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.

Dave — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 19:25:08 +0000

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1937-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
(Source)

(Source (Audio))

~Other -- Jeremy C. Epworth

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Money is what people without talent use to keep score.

(Other Authors and Sources)
Jeremy C. Epworth

Baring, Maurice -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

If you would know what the Lord God thinks of money, you have only to look at those to whom He gives it.

Maurice Baring (1874-1945) English man of letters, writer, essayist, translator
(Attributed)
(Source)

Quoted by Dorothy Parker in "The Art of Fiction," interview by Marion Capron, The Paris Review #13 (Summer 1956) (reprinted in The Portable Dorothy Parker (1944)). Not found in Baring's writings. The quotation is often attributed to Parker, especially in simpler forms, e.g., "If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to."

Twain, Mark -- (Misattributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

The conviction of the rich that the poor are happier is no more foolish than the conviction of the poor that the rich are.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
(Misattributed)

I cannot find any reference to this phrase prior to 1921, and no association with Twain until the mid-1970s.

The quotation apparently first appears in various newspaper "filler" columns (e.g., 1921-12-07); in no cases is there an attribution to Twain or to anyone else, except some references of it having been originally seen in the Boston Post (e.g., 1921-12-17, 1921-12-16, 1921-12-07).

One place where a name is associated with the quote is where it appears in the "Facts and Fancies" syndicated column of quips by Robert Quillen (1921-12-07). Quillen (1887-1948) was an American journalist and humorist, whose work was syndicated in hundreds of newspapers. He was know for, among other things, his one-liners. It's unclear whether he adopted material from others, or originated everything in "Facts and Fancies." If the latter, and if the column also appeared in the Boston Post, that would indicate Quillen actually is the source of this quotation.

One place for some doubt is that the one Quillen column shows a date of December 7, but so do some other papers which ran the quote. It is possible, as the actual publication dates of syndicated material can vary between papers or be delayed, that Quillen's column in the paper above ran after its original appearance (in the Boston Globe?), which other papers then stole from as filler material without crediting Quillen.

Twain, who died in 1910, does not seem associated with the quote until the mid-1970s, and it does not show up in more authoritative collections of Twain material. The association to Twain seems to come from Laurence J Peter, Peter's Quotations (1977). Peter included the phrase as a parenthetical comment to a Mark Twain quotation. The proximity may have led to Twain being associated with it (as here, which duplicates the entry from Peter, but with the attribution following the combined two quotes).

In sum, the quotation first appeared in December 1921, a decade after Twain's death, and was possibly created by Robert Quillen. It's association to Mark Twain came from its use by Lawrence Peter as an editorial comment to a different Twain quotation.

France, Anatole -- The Red Lily, ch. 7 (1884)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.

Anatole France (1844-1924) French poet, journalist, novelist, Nobel Laureate [pseud. of Jaques-Anatole-François Thibault]
The Red Lily, ch. 7 (1884)

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Distance,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 18:00:00 +0000

DISTANCE, n. The only thing that the rich are willing for the poor to call theirs, and keep.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Distance,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
(Source)

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911). Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1882-04-02).