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Preoccupation with money is the great test of small natures, but only a small test of great ones
[L’intérêt d’argent est la grande épreuve des petits caractères, mais ce n’est encore que la plus petite pour les caractères distingués.]
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. 2, ¶ 164 (1795) [tr. Mathers (1926)]
(Source)
Money is the greatest concern for small characters, but is nothing but the smallest for great characters.
[E.g. (1923)]
Concern for money is the great test of small natures; but is scarcely a test at all for those who rise above the ordinary.
[tr. Merwin (1969)]
Pecuniary gain is the great test for those of weak character, but for those wit out-of-the-ordinary characters it is of the slightest importance.
[tr. Pearson (1973)]
The desire for money can go very far in proving that a person has a petty character, but it has little to say about a persons sincerity.
[tr. Siniscalchi (1994)]
Weak characters think money all-important; for any well-bred person, it's a very minor concern.
[tr. Parmée (2003), ¶ 129]
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)
But to go mad with watching, nights and days, To stand in dread of thieves, fires, runaways
Who filch and fly, — in these if wealth consist, Let me rank lowest on the paupers’ list.
[An vigilare metu exanimem, noctesque diesque
formidare malos fures, incendia, servos,
ne te conpilent fugientes, hoc iuvat? Horum
semper ego optarim pauperrimus esse bonorum.]
Horace (65-8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus] Satires [Saturae, Sermones], Book 1, # 1, “Qui fit, Mæcenas,” l. 76ff (1.1.76-79) (35 BC) [tr. Conington (1874)]
(Source)
To wake all nyghte with shiveryng corpse, both nighte and day to quake, To sit in dreade, and stande in awe of theeves, leste they should breake
Perforce thy dores, and robb thy chests, and carve thy weasaunte pype: Leste flickeryng fyer should stroye thy denne, and sease with wastefull grype
Uppon thyne house, leste runagats should pilfer ought from thee, Be these thy gaines, by rytches repte? then this beheste to me
O Iove betake, that I may be devoyde of all those gooddes That brews such baneful broyles, or brings of feare suche gastfull fluddes.
[tr. Drant (1567)]
To sit up and to watch whole dayes and nights, To be out of thy wits with constant frights,
To fear that thieves will steal, or fire destroy, Or servants take thy wealth, and run away.
Is this delightful to thee? then I will Desire to live without those Riches still.
[tr. A. B.; ed. Brome (1666)]
But now to watch all day, and wake all night,
Fear Thieves and Fire, and be in constant fright, If These are Goods, if these are a delight:
I am content, Heavens grant me sleep and ease, If These are Goods, I would be poor of These.
[tr. Creech (1684)]
But, with continual watching almost dead, House-breaking thieves, and midnight fires to dread,
Or the suspected slave's untimely flight With the dear pelf; if this be thy delight,
Be it my fate, so heaven in bounty please, Still to be poor of blessings such as these!
[tr. Francis (1747)]
But what are your indulgencies? All day, All night, to watch and shudder with dismay,
Lest ruffians fire your house, or slaves by stealth Rifle your coffers, and abstract your wealth?
If this be affluence -- this her boasted fruit, Of all such joys may I live destitute!
[tr. Howes (1845)]
What, to watch half dead with terror, night and day, to dread profligate thieves, fire, and your slaves, lest they should run away and plunder you; is this delightful? I should always wish to be very poor in possessions held upon these terms.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]
Or, pray, is this your joy? To dread thieves' villainy, the firing of your house, or lest your slaves should steal your stores and run away? I'd ever pray to be extremely poor in blessings such as these.
[tr. Millington (1870)]
What, to lie awake half-dead with fear, to be in terror night and day of wicked thieves, of fire, of slaves, who may rob you and run away -- is this so pleasant? In such blessings I could wish ever to be poorest of the poor.
[tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]
Would you rather stand guard, half-dead with fright, and tremble
Day and night over sneak thieves, fire, or slaves
Running off with your loot? If this craven type seems to lead
The more abundant life, I prefer to be poor.
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]
Staying awake half-dead with terror, living night and day
in fear of ogreish theives, of fires, of slaves who might
rob you as they run away -- you like this life? Of such
advantages I hope I'll always be thoroughly deprived.
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]
Is it pleasant, lying half dead with fear,
Day and night dreading thieves, and fire, and slaves
Who might rob you and run? With wealth
Like that, I'd choose to be poorer than poor!
[tr. Raffel (1983)]
Half dead with fear,
night and day sitting vigil on your loot
to frighten off wicked thieves, arsonists,
slaves fleeing after having robbed you.
Does that please you? Of such benefits
I would always prefer to be most poor.
[tr. Alexander (1999)]
Instead, you lie awake in bed half-dead and stiff
as a plank from fear of broad-daylight thieves, dead-if-night thieves, fire, vengeful and fleeing slaves --
is this the bounty you foreswore pleasure for? If so, let me be poorest of the poor.
[tr. Matthews (2002)]
Or maybe you prefer to lie awake half dead with fright,
to spend your days and nights in dread of burglars or fire
or your own slaves, who may fleece you and then disappear? For myself,
I think I can always do without blessing like those!
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]
Does it give you pleasure to lie awake half dead of fright,
Terrified night and day of thieves or fire or slaves who rob
You of what you have, and run away? I’d always wish
To be poorest of the poor when it comes to such blessings.
[tr. Kline (2015)]
His wealth: He was very rich, v. 2. He was very heavy, so the Hebrew word signifies; for riches are a burden, and those that will be rich do but load themselves with thick clay, Hab. ii. 6. There is a burden of care in getting them, fear in keeping them, temptation in using them, guilt in abusing them, sorrow in losing them, and a burden of account, at last, to be given up concerning them. Great possessions do but make men heavy and unwieldy.
Matthew Henry (1662-1714) English writer, religious philosopher Exposition of the Old and New Testament, Genesis 13:2 (1706)
(Source)
On Genesis 13:2: "And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." [KJV]. Referencing Habakkuk 2:6: "Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? / and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!" [KJV]
Often just shortened to:
There is a burden of care in getting riches, fear in keeping them, temptation in using them, sorrow in losing them, and a burden of account, at last, to be given up concerning them.
You sleep, gaping,
On your bags of gold, adore them like hallowed
Relics not meant to be touched, stare as at gorgeous
Canvases. Money is meant to be spent, it buys pleasure:
Did you know that? Bread, vegetables, wine, you can
Buy almost everything it’s hard to live without.
[Congestis undique saccis
indormis inhians et tamquam parcere sacris
cogeris aut pictis tamquam gaudere tabellis.
Nescis, quo valeat nummus, quem praebeat usum?
Panis ematur, holus, vini sextarius, adde
quis humana sibi doleat natura negatis.]
Horace (65-8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus] Satires [Saturae, Sermones], Book 1, # 1, “Qui fit, Mæcenas,” l. 70ff (1.1.70-75) (35 BC) [tr. Raffel (1983)]
(Source)
Thy house, the hell, thy good, the flood, which, thoughe it doe not starte, Nor stirre from thee, yet hath it so in houlde thy servyle hearte,
That though in foysonne full thou swimmes, and rattles in thy bagges, Yet tost thou arte with dreadefulle dreames, thy mynde it waves and wagges,
And wisheth after greater things, and that, thats woorste of all, Thou sparst it as an hollye thynge, and doste thy selfe in thralle
Unto thy lowte, and cockescome lyke thou doste but fille thine eye With that, which shoulde thy porte preserve, and hoyste thyne honor hye.
Thou scannes it, and thou toots upponte, as thoughe it were a warke By practysde painters hande portrayde with shaddowes suttle darke.
Is this the perfytte ende of coyne? be these the veray vayles That money hath, to serve thy syghte? fye, fye thy wysedome fayles.
Tharte misse insenste, thou canst not use't, thou wotes not what to do Withall, by cates, bye breade, bye drincke, in fyne disburse it so,
That nature neede not move her selfe, nor with a betments scant Distrainte, and prickd passe forth her daye in pyne and pinchinge want.
[tr. Drant (1567)]
Thee,
Who on thy full cramb'd Bags together laid, Do'st lay thy sleepless and affrighted head;
And do'st no more the moderate use on't dare To make, then if it consicrated were:
Thou mak'st no other use of all thy gold, Then men do of their pictures, to behold.
Do'st thou not know the use and power of coyn? It buys bread, meat, and cloaths, (and what's more wine;)
With all those necessary things beside, Without which Nature cannot be suppli'd.
[tr. A. B.; ed. Brome (1666)]
Thou watchest o'er thy heaps, yet 'midst thy store Thou'rt almost starv'd for Want, and still art poor:
You fear to touch as if You rob'd a Saint, And use no more than if 'twere Gold in paint:
You only know how Wealth may be abus'd, Not what 'tis good for, how it can be us'd;
'Twill buy Thee Bread, 'twill buy Thee Herbs, and What ever Nature's Luxury can grant.
[tr. Creech (1684)]
Of thee the tale is told, With open mouth when dozing o'er your gold.
On every side the numerous bags are pil'd, Whose hallow'd stores must never be defil'd
To human use ; while you transported gaze, As if, like pictures, they were form'd to please.
Would you the real use of riches know? Bread, herbs, and wine are all they can bestow:
Or add, what nature's deepest wants supplies; This, and no more, thy mass of money buys.
[tr. Francis (1747)]
O'er countless heaps in nicest order stored You pore agape, and gaze upon the hoard,
As relicks to be laid with reverence by, Or pictures only meant to please the eye.
With all your cash, you seem not yet to know Its proper use, or what it can bestow!
"'Twill buy me herbs, a loaf, a pint of wine, -- All, which denied her, nature would repine."
[tr. Howes (1845)]
You sleep upon your bags, heaped up on every side, gaping over them, and are obliged to abstain from them, as if they were consecrated things, or to amuse yourself with them as you would with pictures. Are you ignorant of what value money has, what use it can afford? Bread, herbs, a bottle of wine may be purchased; to which [necessaries], add [such others], as, being withheld, human nature would be uneasy with itself.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]
You sleepless gloat o'er bags of money gained from every source, and yet you're forced to touch them not as though tabooed, or else you feel but such delight in them as painting gives the sense. Pray don't you know the good of money to you, or the use it is? You may buy bread and herbs, your pint of wine, and more, all else, which if our nature lacked, it would feel pain.
[tr. Millington (1870)]
Of you the tale is told: You sleep, mouth open, on your hoarded gold;
Gold that you treat as sacred, dare not use, In fact, that charms you as a picture does.
Come, will you hear what wealth can fairly do? 'Twill buy you bread, and vegetables too,
And wine, a good pint measure: add to this Such needful things as flesh and blood would miss.
[tr. Conington (1874)]
You sleep with open mouth on money-bags piled up from all sides, and must perforce keep hands off as if they were hallowed, or take delight in them as if painted pictures. Don't you know what money is for, what end it serves? You may buy bread, greens, a measure of wine, and such other things as would mean pain to our human nature, if withheld.
[tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]
You sleep on the sacks
Of money you've scraped up and raked in from everywhere
And, gazing with greed, are still forced to keep your hands off,
As if they were sacred or simply pictures to look at.
Don't you know what money can do, or just why we want it?
It's to buy bread and greens and a pint of wine
And the things that we, being human, can't do without.
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]
You have money bags amassed from everywhere,
just to sleep and gasp upon. To you they're sacred,
or they're works of art, to be enjoyed only with the eyes.
Don't you know the value of money, what it's used for?
It buys bread, vegetables, a pint of wine and whatever else
a human being needs to survive and not to suffer.
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]
You sleep with open mouth
on sacks accumulated from everywhere
and are constrained to worship them as sacred things,
or rejoice in them as if they were painted tablets.
Do you not know what money serves for?
How it's to be used? to buy bread, vegetables,
a sixth of wine, other things deprived of which
human nature suffers.
[tr. Alexander (1999)]
You sleep open-mouthed on a mound of money
bags but won't touch them; you just stare at them
as if they were a collection of paintings.
What's money for? What can it do? Why not
buy bread, vegetables, what you think's wine enough?
Don't you want what it harms us not to have?
[tr. Matthews (2002)]
You scrape your money-bags together and fall asleep
on top of them with your mouth agape. They must remain unused
like sacred objects, giving no more pleasure than if painted on canvas.
Do you not realize what money is for, what enjoyment it gives?
You can buy bread and vegetables, half a litre of wine,
and the other things which human life can't do without.
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]
... covetously sleeping on money-bags
Piled around, forced to protect them like sacred objects,
And take pleasure in them as if they were only paintings.
Don’t you know the value of money, what end it serves?
Buy bread with it, cabbages, a pint of wine: all the rest,
Things where denying them us harms our essential nature.
[tr. Kline (2015)]
We need not power or splendor; Wide hall or lordly dome;
The good, the true, the tender, — These form the wealth of home.
Sarah J. Hale (1788-1879) American writer, activist, magazine editor
“Home” (1830)
The provenance of this poem is unclear. It is often assigned to her Poems for Our Children (1830) (the original location of her "Mary Had a Little Lamb"), but does not appear there. That work is subtitled "Part First," but there is no indication that a second part was ever published.
It is not the fact that a man has riches which keeps him from the Kingdom of Heaven, but the fact that riches have him.
John Caird (1820-1898) Scottish theologian, academic, preacher
(Attributed)
I am unable to find the source of this quotation amongst Caird's writings (including of his many sermons). While he preaches in places on money and riches (e.g., "Covetousness a Misdirected Worship"), these phrases or ones like them do not show up in his works that I can find.
Nevertheless, this quotation was popularly requoted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, beginning during Caird's lifetime. The earliest references I find are from 1878 --
The Pacific, Vol. 27, No. 17/1366 (1878-04-25) and (in quotations marks rather than italics) The Calcutta Indian Mirror (1879-05-18):
Dr. Caird says it is not the fact that a man has riches which keeps him from the kingdom of heaven, but the fact that riches have him.
It is not the fact that a man has riches which keeps him from the kingdom of heaven, but the fact that riches have him.
-- Dr. Caird
Even this point, the references are not to a story about Caird preaching or writing it, but column filler, indicating the quote was already in wide circulation. The use of quotes / italics suggests it might also be an excerpt from a more complex formulation.
By the turn of the century, the quote is fixed as above, and gains popularity in various quotation collections, including Hotchkiss, ed., Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895).
Citations for this phrase begin with attribution to "John Caird," "J. Caird," and "Dr. Caird," referencing the prominent Scottish theologian and preacher. After a time, only his last name is used. Starting mid-20th century (and as memory of John Caird fades), the attribution is often to David Caird (e.g., 1, 2, 3).
Can wealth give happiness? look round and see
What gay distress! what splendid misery!
Whatever fortunes lavishly can pour,
The mind annihilates, and calls for more.
Edward Young (1683-1765) English poet
Poem (1727), “The Universal Passion: Satire 5,” l. 394ff, Love of Fame, the Universal Passion (1728)
(Source)
Like the Athenian miser, who was wont
To meet men’s curses with a hero’s front:
“Folks hiss me,” said he, “but myself I clap
When I tell o’er my treasures on my lap.”
[Ut quidam memoratur Athenis
sordidus ac dives, populi contemnere voces
sic solitus: ‘populus me sibilat, at mihi plaudo
ipse domi, simul ac nummos contemplor in arca.’]
Horace (65-8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus] Satires [Saturae, Sermones], Book 1, # 1, “Qui fit, Maecenas,” l. 64ff (1.1.64-67) (35 BC) [tr. Conington (1874)]
(Source)
Such one we reade of in olde tyme, that dwelte in Athins towne,
A man in substance passinge rytche, nathlesse a niggerde cloune,
At whose scarceheade, and covetyce the worlde did outas make,
But all in vayne, he forste it not, he sought not howe to slake
Blacke fame, that frisked everye wheare, and bounsed at ytche eare,
"A figge for them (brasen face) I force not howe I heare,
"They hauke, they hem, they hisse at me, I weygh it not an hawe,
"Whilste I may harbor in mine arke, and lodge wythin my lawe
"My darlynge goulde, my leaves gueste, my solace and my glee,
"He is the bone companion, its he that cheares up me."
[tr. Drant (1567)]
Thus that Athenian Monster Timon, which
Hated Man-kind, a sordid Knave, but rich,
Was wont to say, When ere I walk abroad
The People hiss me, but I do applaud
And hug my self at home, when I behold
My chests brim-full with Silver and with Gold.
[tr. A. B.; ed. Brome (1666)]
Since He, as the Athenian Chuff, will cry
The People hiss me, True, but what care I?
Let the poor fools hiss me where e're I come,
I bless my self to see my bags at home.
[tr. Creech (1684)]
At Athens liv'd a wight, in days of yore,
Though miserably rich, yet fond of more,
But of intrepid spirit to despise
The abusive crowd. "Let them hiss on," he cries,
" While, in my own opinion fully blest,
I count my money, and enjoy my chest."
[tr. Francis (1747)]
Self-cursed as that same miser must have been,
Who lived at Athens, rich as he was mean, --
Who, when the people hiss'd, would turn about
And drily thus accost the rabble-rout:
"Hiss on; I heed you not, ye saucy wags,
While self-applauses greet me o'er my bags."
[tr. Howes (1845)]
As a certain person is recorded [to have lived] at Athens, covetous and rich, who was wont to despise the talk of the people in this manner: “The crowd hiss me; but I applaud myself at home, as soon as I contemplate my money in my chest.”
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]
As wretched as, at Athens, some rich miser was, who (as they say) was wont to thus despise what people said of him: "Aha ! the Public hiss, but in my heart I say I m right, directly that I gaze upon the coins in my strong-box."
[tr. Millington (1870)]
He is like a rich miser in Athens who, they say, used thus to scorn the people's talk: "The people hiss me, but at home I clap my hands for myself, once I gaze on the moneys in my chest."
[tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]
Like the man they tell of
In Athens, filthy but rich, who despised the voice
Of the people and kept saying, "So! The citizens hiss at me!
Ah! But I applaud myself alone at home
When I gaze on the coins in my strongbox."
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]
They're like an Athenian I heard about
Rich and stingy, he thought nothing of the people's snide remarks,
and always said, "They hiss me, but I applaud myself
at home, as soon as I lay eyes on the money in my chest."
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]
As the Athenian miser
Is said to have answered, when citizens
Mocked him: "They hiss me, but at home I
Applaud myself, counting the coins in my safe."
[tr. Raffel (1983)]
Like that one
about whom the story was told in Athens:
stingy and rich, he used to express
his scorn of the people’s jibes with these words:
"The people may hiss me, but at home
I applaud myself as I contemplate
my gold in the strongbox."
[tr. Alexander (1999)]
He’s like the miser in Athens
who scorned, it’s said, what people thought of him.
“They hiss me in the streets, but once I’m home
I stare at my bright coffers and applaud
myself.”
[tr. Matthews (2002)]
He's like the rich
Athenian miser who treated the people's remarks with contempt.
"The people hiss me," he would say, "but I applaud myself
when I reach home and set eyes on all the cash in my box!"
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]
Like the rich Athenian miser
Who used to hold the voice of the crowd in contempt:
"They hiss at me, that crew, but once I’m home I applaud
Myself, as I contemplate all the riches in my chests."
[tr. Kline (2015)]
He that is proud of riches is a fool. For if he be exalted above his Neighbors because he hath more gold, how much inferior is he to a gold Mine! how much is he to give place to a chain of Pearl, or a knot of Diamonds? for certainly that hath the greatest excellence from whence he derives all his gallantry and preeminence over his Neighbours.
Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) English cleric and author The Rule and Exercise of Holy Living, ch. 2 “Of Christian Charity,” sec. 4 “Of Humility” (1650)
(Source)
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.
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]).
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]
One man steals a purse, and is punished. Another steals a State, and becomes a Prince.
[tr. Giles (1889)]
Here is one who steals a hook (for his girdle); -- he is put to death for it: here is another who steals a state; -- he becomes its prince.
[tr. Legge (1891)]
A poor man must swing
For stealing a belt buckle
But if a rich man steals a whole state
He is acclaimed
As statesman of the year.
[tr. Merton (1965)]
This one steals a buckle and he is executed, that one steals a country and he becomes its ruler.
[tr. Palmer (1996)]
He who steals a belt buckle pays with his life; he who steals a state gets to be a feudal lord.
[tr. Watson (2013)]
One steals a hook -- he is put to death. Another steals a state -- he becomes a prince.
[tr. Yang/Höchsmann (2007)]
He who steals a belt buckle is executed, but he who steals a state is made a feudal lord.
[tr. Ziporyn (2009)]
This adage can be found in a wide array of forms, with the same basic structure (steal something small, get punished; steal something big, get rewarded), usually stripped of its Chinese/Taoist origin, e.g.:
Steal money you're a thief; steal a country you're a king.
["Japanese proverb"]
Stealing a dog is said to be immoral. Still, they steal a country and call it righteousness.
[Source]
To steal a purse is rightly held a crime.
To steal a country is an act sublime.
[Percy Russell (1919)]
One who steals a pearl is persecuted as a thief. One who steals a nation is revered as a king.
[Source]
When you steal a pin, you are executed; but if you steal a country, you become a king.
[Chinese historian Sima Qian (c. 145 – c. 86 BC)]
One who steals a little is a thief. One who steals a little bit more is a robber. And one who steals a nation is a king.
[Source]
To steal a fruit means theft, while to steal a country does not.
["Old Chinese saying"]
Those that steal a loaf of bread are hanged as thieves - those that steal a country are made emperor.
[Source]
Steal an apple and you're a thief. Steal a country and you're a statesman. [Disney's Aladdin (2019)]
But there’s a class of persons, led astray
By false desires, and this is what they say:
“You cannot have enough: what you possess,
That makes your value, be it more or less.”
What answer would you make to such as these?
Why, let them hug their misery if they please.
[At bona pars hominum decepta cupidine falso
‘nil satis est’, inquit, ‘quia tanti quantum habeas sis’:
quid facias illi? iubeas miserum esse, libenter
quatenus id facit.]
Horace (65-8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus] Satires [Saturae, Sermones], Book 1, # 1, “Qui fit, Maecenas,” l. 61ff (1.1.61-64) (35 BC) [tr. Conington (1874)]
(Source)
But out (alas) the greater parte with sweete empoysned bate
Of welthe bewitchde, do weene their wants aboundance in eache state.
For monye maks, and mars (say they) and coyne it keepes the coyle,
It byndes the beare, it rules the roste, it putts all things to foyle.
A mann's his money, and no more, wherin confused is
An heaven of happs, a worlde of weeles, an hunnye hath of blisse.
O dottrells dome, and is it so? what guardon for these doultes
Shall we devyse? lets suffer still the foolishe frantycke foultes
To wallowe in their wilfulnes, whose under eating myndes
Is never cramde, but prooles for more and swarves not from their kyndes.
[tr. Drant (1567)]
But most of men deceiv'd by false desire,
Say, Noughts enough; 'cause they absurdly guess
At what men are, by what they do possess.
To such a Miser what is't best to do?
Let him be wretched, since he will be so.
[tr. A. B.; ed. Brome (1666)]
But most are lost in a Confounded Cheat,
They would have more, for when their Wealth is great
They think their Worth as much as their Estate:
Well then, what must we do to such a one?
Why, let him, 'tis his Will to be undone.
[tr. Creech (1684)]
Some, self-deceiv'd, who think their lust of gold
Is but a love of fame, this maxim hold,
No Fortune's large enough, since others rate
Your worth proportion'd to a large estate.
Say, for their cure what arts would you employ?
"Let them be wretched, and their choice enjoy."
[tr. Francis (1747)]
Yet thousands, duped by avarice in disguise,
Intrench themselves in maxims sage and wise. Go on, say they, and hoard up all you can; For wealth is worth, and money makes the man!
What shall we say to such? Since 'tis their will
Still to be wretched, let them be so still!
[tr. Howes (1845)]
But a great majority of mankind, misled by a wrong desire, cry, “No sum is enough; because you are esteemed in proportion to what you possess.” What can one do to such a tribe as this? Why, bid them be wretched, since their inclination prompts them to it.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]
But some one argues: -- many men, misled by wrong desire of fame, say no sum is enough, because we all are rated by the money we possess. What would you do with them? Why, bid them live a wretched life, since they act thus of their free will.
[tr. Millington (1870)]
But a good many people, misled by blind desire, say, "You cannot have enough: for you get your rating from what you have." What can you do to a man who talks thus? Bid him be miserable, since that is his whim.
[tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]
Mankind for the most part, fooled by its own false desires,
Says, “There’s no such thing as enough. You are worth
Only as much as you have.” And what can you do
With a person like this? Oh, well! Wish him hell and farewell,
Since he's headed that way by choice.
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]
Still, since false desires fool a large portion of mankind,
they'll tell you, *Nothing's enough. What we own, we are."
What can you say? Say, "Be miserable," for that's the choice
they freely made.
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]
Too many men, bewitched by false desire, insist that
"Nothing is enough: people value you by what you own."
What can I say? Let him be miserable, that's how
He wants it!
[tr. Raffel (1983)]
And yet a good part of humankind is deceived
by false cupidity. “Nothing is enough,”
they say. “For you are esteemed for as much as you
possess.” What can you do with one of these fools?
Leave him to his misery. It’s all of his
own doing anyway.
[tr. Alexander (1999)]
But most people
want all that they desire, and so say, “There’s no such
thing as too much: you are what you acquire.”
You can always tell such a man but you
can’t tell him much. Tell him to suffer, since
that’s his choice.
[tr. Matthews (2002)]
People are enticed by a desire which continually cheats them.
"Nothing is enough," they say, "for you’re only worth what you have."
What can you do with a man like that? You might as well tell him
to be miserable, since misery is what he enjoys.
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]
Still, a good many people misled by foolish desire
Say: ‘There’s never enough, you’re only what you own.’
What can one say to that? Let such people be wretched,
Since that’s what they wish.
[tr. Kline (2015)]
Widely used over the centuries in sermons, religious writings, and inscriptions regarding death and the vanity of worldly rank and honors. Citations I found go back at least to the 16th Century, with use peaking, then tailing off in the 19th Century.
While attributed in various places, without citation, to Lucan, Lucian, or Horace, it does not appear to be actually from any of those writers.
Alternate translations / renderings:
Death maketh sceptres and mattocks equal, and as soon arresteth he the prince that carrieth the sceptre, as the poor man that diggeth with the mattock.
[tr. Grindal (1564)]
Scepter and crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.
[tr. Shirley (1654)]
Death mingles scepters with spades.
[tr. Henry (1806)]
Death is the head of the leveling party.
[tr. Cawdry (1869)]
In death there is no difference betwixt the king and the beggar.
[tr. Cawdry (1869)]
Ah! who, in our degenerate days,
As nature prompts, his offering pays?
Here nature never difference made
Between the sceptre and the spade.
[Swift (1730), regarding the goddess of the sewer, Cloacina]
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."
There is this difference between those two temporal blessings health and money: money is the most envied, but the least enjoyed; health is the most enjoyed, but the least envied; and this superiority of the latter is still more obvious when we reflect that the poorest man would not part with health for money, but that the richest would gladly part with all their money for health.
Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780-1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 225 (1820)
(Source)
ELECTRA: What deceived you the most, what you misunderstood,
Is that someone cannot be strong because of money.
Money can only stay with us for a brief time.
Character is strength, not money.
Character always stands at our sides and bears our troubles.
Wealth shacks up with fools unjustly and then disappears
Leaving their houses after it bloomed for a little while.
But here lay
Thy error; thou didst deem thyself a man
Able to rule, because thou wert possess'd
Of wealth, which in itself is nought, and stays
For a short season only with its owner:
But Nature, and not Gold, is ever firm;
Nature abides with man, and can remove
Evils the most severe, while lawless Gold,
That inmate of the wicked, takes his flight
From mansions where he flourish'd but a moment
[tr. Wodhull (1809)]
Herein lay thy grievous error, due to ignorance; thou thoughtest thyself some one, relying on thy wealth, but this is naught save to stay with us a space. 'Tis nature that stands fast, not wealth. For it, if it abide unchanged, exalts man's horn. But riches dishonestly acquired and in the hands of fools, soon take their flight, their blossom quickly shed.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]
Which thing has most deceived thee, not knowing it. Thou didst boast to be somebody, relying on thy wealth; but wealth is naught, except to tarry with us for a little time. But nature is stable; not money: since the one ever remaining uplifts her head; but wealth unjust, and dwelling with the foolish, is wont to flit from the house, having flourished for a short season.
[tr. Buckley (1892)]
This was thy strong delusion, blind of heart,
Through pride of wealth to boast thee some great one!
Nought wealth is, save for fleeting fellowship.
'Tis character abideth, not possessions:
This, ever-staying, lifteth up the head;
But wealth by vanity gotten, held of fools,
Takes to it wings; as a flower it fadeth soon.
[tr. Way (1896)]
And then the lie of lies that dimmed thy brow,
Vaunting that by thy gold, thy chattels, Thou
Wert Something; which themselves are nothingness,
Shadows, to clasp a moment ere they cease.
The thing thou art, and not the things thou hast,
Abideth, yea, and bindeth to the last
Thy burden on thee: while all else, ill-won
And sin-companioned, like a flower o'erblown,
Flies on the wind away.
[tr. Murray (1905)]
This deceived you the most, in your ignorance: you professed to be some one, strong in your wealth, but that is nothing, except to associate with briefly. It is nature that is secure, not wealth; for, always standing by, it takes away troubles; but prosperity, when it lives wickedly and with fools, flies out of the house, flowering for a short time.
[tr. Coleridge (1938 ed.)]
And you, Aigisthus, because of your lack of intelligence, fell into a big trap which is that you thought that the great wealth made you important. Yet wealth is not something you can have for long. A man’s strength is his nature, not his wealth because that is what stays with us and that is what defeats our troubles. When the unjust joy falls into sinful ways, it blossoms in the house for a very short time before it flies away again.
[tr. Theodoridis (2006)]
But most of all,
you were so ignorant you were deceived
in claiming to be someone because your strength
was in your wealth. But that’s not worth a thing --
its presence is short lived. What stays secure
is not possessions but one’s nature, which stands
beside you and takes away your troubles.
But when riches live with fools unjustly,
they bloom a little while, then flee the house.
[tr. Johnston (2009)]
Now here's where you deceived yourself the most: that you had wealth, and thought it made you someone. But money's nothing: here and gone again. Trust nature, it's secure. Riches are not. Nature remains forever, helps in trouble. Prosperity that lives a while with fools briefly flowers with evil, then flies from home.
[tr. Wilson (2016)]
ALCESTE: His social polish can’t conceal his nature;
One sees at once that he’s a treacherous creature;
No one could possibly be taken in
By those soft speeches and that sugary grin.
The whole world knows the shady means by which
The low-brow’s grown so powerful and rich,
And risen to a rank so bright and high
That virtue can but blush, and merit sigh.
[Au travers de son masque on voit à plein le traître;
Partout il est connu pour tout ce qu’il peut être ;
Et ses roulements d’yeux, et son ton radouci
N’imposent qu’à des gens qui ne sont point d’ici.
On sait que ce pied plat, digne qu’on le confonde,
Par de sales emplois s’est poussé dans le monde,
Et que, par eux son sort de splendeur revêtu
Fait gronder le mérite et rougir la vertu.]
Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin] Le Misanthrope, Act 1, sc. 1 (1666) [tr. Wilbur (1954)]
(Source)
You may plainly perceive the traitor through his mask; he is well known everywhere in his true colours; his rolling eyes and his honeyed tones impose only on those who do not know him. People are aware that this low-bred fellow, who deserves to be pilloried, has, by the dirtiest jobs, made his way in the world; and that the splendid position he has acquired makes merit repine and virtue blush.
[tr. Van Laun (1878)]
The treacherous rascal is plainly seen through his mask, he is everywhere known for what he is; his rolling eyes and soft tones impose only upon strangers. People know that this wretched fellow, who ought to be hanged, has pushed his way in the world by dirty jobs, and that the splendid condition he finds himself in through them makes merit grumble and virtue blush.
[tr. Mathew (1890)]
Behind his mask the knave is seen, wherever he is known, for what he is; the rolling of his eye, his bated voice, impose on none but those who do not live here. All others know that the sneaking fellow, fit only to be shunned, has by the foulest actions foisted himself upon society, where his career, by their connivance clothed in splendor, makes merit groan and virtue blush.
[tr. Wormeley (1894)]
You can clearly see the traitor through his mask. He is known everywhere for what he is: his rolling eyes and his honeyed tones only impose on those people who do not know him. They know that this low-bred cur, who deserves to be exposed, has, by the dirtiest means, pushed himself on in the world; and the splendid position he has acquired by these means makes merit repine and virtue blush.
[tr. Waller (1903)]
The traitor's face shows plainly through his mask,
And everywhere he's known for what he is;
His up-turned eyes, his honeyed canting voice,
Impose on none but strangers. All men know
That this confounded, low-bred, sneaking scamp
Has made his way by doing dirty jobs,
And that the splendid fortune these have brought him
Turns merit bitter and makes virtue blush.
[tr. Page (1913)]
Behind his mask the scoundrel's visible.
Here everybody knows his character;
And his protesting eyes, his honeyed tongue,
Impose on no one but a casual stranger.
And that contemptible boor notoriously
Has made his way in the world by dirty means,
So that his present splendid situation
Makes merit grumble and makes virtue blush.
[tr. Bishop (1957)]
Right through his mask men see the traitor's face,
And everywhere give him his proper place;
His wheedling eyes, his soft and cozening tone,
Fool only those to whom he is not known.
That this knave rose, where he deserved to fall,
By shameful methods, is well known to all,
And that his state, which thanks to these is lush,
Makes merit murmur and makes virtue blush.
[tr. Frame (1967)]
The man who, if born to wealth and power, exploits and ruins his less fortunate brethren is at heart the same as the greedy and violent demagogue who excites those who have not property to plunder those who have.
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)
Divitiæ sæculi sunt laquei diaboli: so writes Bernard; worldly wealth is the devil’s bait: and as the Moon, when she is fuller of light, is still farthest from the Sun, the more wealth they have, the farther they are commonly from God.
Robert Burton (1577-1640) English scholar Anatomy of Melancholy, Part 2, sec. 3, member 3 “Against Poverty and Want” (1621-1651)
(Source)
The Latin is as translated; it's elsewhere also given as: "The riches of the world are the snares of the devil."
This overall passage, in later editions (which did away with much of Burton's Latin, or just left it in translation), reads:
Worldly wealth is the devil's bait: so writes Bernard; and as the Moon, when she is fuller of light, is still farthest from the Sun, the more wealth they have, the farther they are commonly from God.
Further editedand condensed editions in the 19th Century, shifts from wealth estranging people from God to wealth estranging people from happiness:
Worldly wealth, indeed, is the devil's bait; and those whose minds feed upon riches recede, in general, from real happiness, in proportion as their stores increase; as the Moon when she is fullest is farthest from the Sun.
This last version, leaving out the "indeed," becomes commonlyused in late 19th Century collections of quotations, and is most common (from that) in quotation collections today.
ORESTES: Ye Gods! There’s no art to tell a decent man,
since generations work haphazardly.
I’ve encountered worthless men, the sons
of noble fathers; good men born from bad;
and I’ve seen hunger in a rich man’s mind,
a poor man’s body housing thoughts sublime.
There is no certain mark of generous souls:
For in the tempers of mankind prevails
A strange confusion. I have seen the son
Of a great father dwindle into nothing.
And virtuous children spring from wicked Sires;
Among the rich a mean contracted spirit
Have I discover'd, and the poor man's breast
Withi most exalted sentiments inspir'd.
[tr. Wodhull (1809)]
Ah! there is no sure mark to recognize a man's worth; for human nature hath in it an element of confusion. For I have seen ere now the son of a noble sire prove himself a worthless knave, and virtuous children sprung from evil parents; likewise dearth in a rich man's spirit, and in a poor man's frame a mighty soul.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]
Alas! there is no sure mark of manliness; for the natures of mortals exhibit a confusion. For already have I seen a man who was naught sprung from a noble sire, and good children [sprung] from bad [fathers[,. and hunger in the spirit of a rich man, and a great mind in a poor body.
[tr. Buckley (1892)]
Lo, there is no sure test for manhood’s worth:
For mortal natures are confusion-fraught. --
I have seen ere now a noble father’s son
Proved nothing-worth, seen good sons of ill sires,
Starved leanness in a rich man’s very soul,
And in a poor man’s body a great heart.
[tr. Way (1896)]
How dark lies honour hid! And what turmoil
In all things human: sons of mighty men
Fallen to naught, and from ill seed again
Good fruit: yea, famine in the rich man's scroll
Writ deep, and in poor flesh a lordly soul.
[tr. Murray (1905)]
Ah! There is no exact way to test a man's worth; for human nature has confusion in it. I have seen before now the son of a noble father worth nothing, and good children from evil parents; famine in a rich man's spirit, and a mighty soul in a poor man's body.
[tr. Coleridge (1938 ed.)]
It is impossible to judge a man’s virtue with accuracy. There’s always great confusion in the nature of mortals. I, myself, have seen worthless children born of a virtuous man and from evil parents born brilliant children. I have seen a small, poor mind in a wealthy man and in the soul of a poor man, a great one.
[tr. Theodoridis (2006)]
Well, nothing is precise
when it comes to how a man is valued --
men’s natures are confusing. Before this,
I’ve seen a man worth nothing, yet he had
a noble father; I’ve known evil parents
with outstanding children, seen famine
in a rich man’s mind and a great spirit
in a poor man’s body.
[tr. Johnston (2009)]
I have known a man of a noble father who turns out
To be nothing while powerful men can rise from the low.
I have seen emptiness in a rich man’s thought
And great judgement in a poor person’s frame.
[tr. @sententiq (2020)]
People with advantages are loath to believe that they just happen to be people with advantages. They come readily to define themselves as inherently worthy of what they possess; they come to believe themselves “naturally” elite, and, in fact, to imagine their possessions and their privileges as natural extensions of their own elite selves.
C. Wright Mills (1916-1962) American sociologist, academic, author [Charles Wright Mills] The Power Elite, ch. 1 “The Higher Circles,” sec. 4 (1956)
(Source)
Proud purple kings shall kneel before thy throne, Mix’d with the poor, their pomp, their glory gone:
All vain distinctions levelled by the grave, Thy righteous sentence shall condemn or save.
[Sub tua purpurei venient vestigia reges
deposito luxu turba cum paupere mixti
(omnia mors aequat); tu damnatura nocentes,
tu requiem latura piis.]
Claudian (c. AD 370-404) Greco-Latin poet
[Claudius Claudianus; Κλαυδιανός] The Rape of Prosperine [De Raptu Proserpinæ], Book 2, I. 300 (c. AD 396) [tr. Howard (1854)]
(Source)
Pluto reassuring Proserpine that being Queen of the Underworld has its benefits.
Source of the phrase Omnia mors æquat, "Death levels all things" or "Death makes all equal."
The rich-clad purple kings shall humbly fall Before thy throne (mixt with the poore) for all
Death equals; thou the guilty and unjust Shalt judge, with them, the Innocente and Just.
Those shall bewaile their crimes, these shall be blest By thee, and sent into eternal rest.
[tr. Diggs (1617)]
Before thy lofty Throne, the haughty Pride Of mighty Kings, their Purple laid aside
And Pageantry of State, shall lowly fall, Mix'd with the poorer Rout, for Death will equal all.
In Judgement thou shalt sit, with Pow'r supreme, To crown the Pious and the Bad condemn.
[tr. Hughes (1723)]
Monarchs shall appear
Before thee, spoil'd of regal ornament,
And undistinguish'd from the vulgar crowd:
Death renders all men equal. Thou shalt judge
The guilty; and thy hand shall give the meed
To virtue.
[tr. Strutt (1814), l. 369ff]
To thy feet shall come purple-clothed kings, stripped of their pomp, and mingling with the unmoneyed throng; for death renders all equal. Thou shalt give doom to the guilty and rest to the virtuous.
[tr. Platnauer (Loeb) (1922)]
It is an insanity to get more than you want. Imagine a man in this city, an intelligent man, say with two or three millions of coats, eight or ten millions of hats, vast warehouses full of shoes, billions of neckties, and imagine that man getting up at four o’clock in the morning, in the rain and snow and sleet, working like a dog all day to get another necktie! Is not that exactly what the man of twenty or thirty millions, or of five millions, does to-day? Wearing his life out that somebody may say, “How rich he is!”
Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, agnostic, orator
Speech (1886-11-14), “A Lay Sermon,” American Secular Union annual congress, Chickering Hall, New York City
(Source)
In vain do they think themselves innocent who appropriate to their own use alone those goods which God gave in common; by not giving to others that which they themselves receive, they become homicides and murderers, inasmuch as in keeping for themselves those things which would have alleviated the sufferings of the poor, we may say that they every day cause the death of as many persons as they might have fed and did not.
Gregory I (c. 540 - 604) Bishop of Rome, liturgist, Latin Father, Doctor of the Church [Gregorius I, Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Gregory the Dialogist]
(Attributed)
(Source)
Quoted in George D. Herron, Between Caesar and Jesus, ch. 4 "Christian Doctrine and Private Property" (1899).
In a land of great wealth, families must not live in hopeless poverty. In a land rich in harvest, children just must not go hungry. In a land of healing miracles, neighbors must not suffer and die untended. In a great land of learning and scholars, young people must be taught to read and write.
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1965-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.
(Source)
This is in the formal text of the speech, delivered at the US Capitol building, but a review of the videos (1, 2, 3) shows this as part of a large section of the speech he skipped (from the end of the "AMERICAN COVENANT" section directly to the "AMERICAN BELIEF" section).
As for me, I’d like to have money. And I’d like to be a good writer. These two can come together, and I hope they will, but if that’s too adorable, I’d rather have the money. I hate almost all rich people, but I think I’d be darling at it.
Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) American writer, poet, wit
Interview (1956, Summer), “The Art of Fiction, No. 13,” by Marion Capron, The Paris Review, Issue 13
(Source)
Collected in Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, First Series (1958).
The man who is possessed of wealth, who lolls on his sofa or rolls in his carriage, cannot judge the wants or feelings of the day-laborer.
James Madison (1751-1836) American statesman, political theorist, US President (1809-17)
Comment (1787-06-26), US Constitutional Convention, Philadelphia
(Source)
During debate on the length of terms for US Senators.
As quoted in Robert Yates, Notes of the Secret Debates of the Federal Convention of 1787 . Yates was a delegate from New York to the Constitutional Convention, and later served as state Chief Justice.
POLYPHEME:Vile caitiff,
Wealth is the deity the wise adore,
But all things else are unsubstantial boasts,
And specious words alone.
[tr. Wodhull (1809)]
CYCLOPS: Wealth, my good fellow, is the wise man's God, All other things are a pretence and boast.
[tr. Shelley (1824)]
CYCLOPS: Wealth, manikin, is the god for the wise; all else is mere vaunting and fine words.
[tr. Coleridge (1913)]
CYCLOPS: Wealth, master Shrimp, is to the truly wise
The one true god; the rest are mockeries
Of tall talk, naught but mere word-pageantries.
[tr. Way (1916)]
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.
If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free; if our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.
Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Anglo-Irish statesman, orator, philosopher Letters on a Regicide Peace, Letter 1 “On the Overtures of Peace” (1796)
(Source)
The first letter -- on the Pitt government's efforts to negotiate a peace with Revolutionary France -- was written in January 1796, but not published (with the second) until October.
Nothing withstands the influence of wealth. Everything submits to its tyranny, everything cowers at its dominion.
[Οὐδὲν ὑφίσταται τὴν βίαν τοῦ πλούτου· Πάντα ὑποκύπτει τῇ τυραννίδι, πάντα ὑποπτήσσει τὴν δυναστείαν.]
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)
Thirst, hunger, and nakedness, are positive evils: but wealth is relative; and a prince who would be rich in a private station, may be exposed by the increase of his wants to all the anxiety and bitterness of poverty.
Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) English historian The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. 61 (1776-88)
(Source)
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.
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)
In C. Paul Schroeder, ed., Saint Basil on Social Justice (2009).
When will the Miser’s Chest be full enough?
When will he cease his Bags to cram and stuff?
All Day he labours and all Night contrives,
Providing as if he’d an hundred Lives.
While endless Care cuts short the common Span:
So have I seen with Dropsy swoln, a Man,
Drink and drink more, and still unsatisfi’d,
Drink till Drink drown’d him, yet he thirsty dy’d.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist Poor Richard (1735 ed.)
(Source)
It takes a grate deal of money tew make a man ritch, but it don’t take but little virtew.
[It takes a great deal of money to make a man rich, but it doesn’t take but little virtue.]
Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw] Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 144 “Affurisms: Gnats” (1874)
(Source)
You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
[KJV (1611)]
No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.
[JB (1966)]
No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.
[NJB (1985)]
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
[CEB (2011)]
No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]
If it be true that a man is rich who wants nothing, a wise man is a very rich man.
[S’il est vrai que l’on soit riche de tout ce dont on n’a pas besoin, un homme fort riche, c’est un homme qui est sage.]
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)
Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. You need to take up the challenges that we face as a nation and make them your own. Not because you have a debt to those who helped you get here, although you do have that debt. Not because you have an obligation to those who are less fortunate than you, although I do think you do have that obligation. It’s primarily because you have an obligation to yourself. Because individual salvation has always depended on collective salvation. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.
Barack Obama (b. 1961) American politician, US President (2009-2017)
Speech (2005-06-04), Commencement, Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois
(Source)
A little House well fill’d, a little Field well till’d, and a little Wife well will’d, are great Riches.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist Poor Richard (1735 ed.)
(Source)
As with so many other proverbs, Franklin did not originate it, just presented it as Poor Richard's own.
The oldest version of this is handwritten (at the same time period) in a copy of the Grete Herball (1526), found by William Hazlitt in the late 19th C:
A little house well filled,
A little land well tilled,
And a little wife well willed,
Are great riches.
My days of love are over; me no more The charms of maid, wife, and still less of widow,
Can make the fool of which they made before, — In short, I must not lead the life I did do;
The credulous hope of mutual minds is o’er, The copious use of claret is forbid too,
So for a good old-gentlemanly vice,
I think I must take up with avarice.
George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) English poet Don Juan, Canto 1, st. 216 (1818)
(Source)
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)
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)]
Scorn for wealth among philosophers was at bottom a desire to avenge themselves against fate, by despising the very things of which she deprived them. It was a strategic way of avoiding the humiliations of poverty, a roundabout way of gaining an esteem they could not gain through wealth.
[Le mépris des richesses était dans les philosophes un désir cache de venger leur mérite de l’injustice de la fortune par le mépris des mêmes biens dont elle les privait; c’était un secret pour se garantir de l’avilissement de la pauvreté; c’était un chemin détourné pour aller à la considération qu’ils ne pouvaient avoir par les richesses.]
François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶54 (1665-1678) [tr. Kronenberger (1959)]
(Source)
The contempt of wealth, in the Philosophers, was a secret desire of vindicating their merit, against the injustice of Fortune, by an affected slighting of those goods, whereof she depriv'd them. It was an humorous secret, which they had found out, to indemnifie themselves from the disparagement accessory to Poverty. In fine, it was a winding path, or by-way to get into that esteem, which they could not obtain by Riches.
[tr. Davies (1669), ¶170]
When the Philosophers despised Riches, it was because they had a mind to vindicate their own Merit, and take a Revenge upon the injustice of Fortune, by vilifying those Enjoyments which She had not given them: This was a secret to ward off the Contempt that Poverty brings, a kind of winding By-path to get into the Esteem of the World, and when Riches had not made them considerable, to make themselves so some other way.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶55]
The contempt of riches in the philosophers was a concealed desire of revenging on Fortune the injustice done to their merit, by despising the good she denied them. It was a secret to shelter them from the ignominy of poverty ; a bye-way to arrive at the esteem they could not procure by wealth.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶341; ed. Lepoittevin-Lacroix (1797), ¶54]
Contempt of riches in the old philosophers was a concealed desire of revenge, by despising the good which Fortune had denied them. It was an artful shelter from the disgrace of poverty: a by-way to arrive at that esteem which they could not procure by wealth.
[ed. Carville (1835), ¶301]
The contempt of riches among the philosophers was a hidden desire to revenge their merit for the injustice of Fortune, by contempt of the very advantages of which she deprived them. It was a secret to secure themselves from the degradation of poverty: it was a by road to arrive at that consideration which they could not obtain by riches.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶55]
The contempt of riches in philosophers was only a hidden desire to avenge their merit upon the injustice of fortune, by despising the very goods of which fortune had deprived them; it was a secret to guard themselves against the degradation of poverty, it was a back way by which to arrive at that distinction which they could not gain by riches.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871)]
The Philosophers' scorn of wealth was but their secret ambition to exalt their merit above fortune by deriding those blessings which Fate denied them. It was a ruse to shield them from the sordidness of poverty, and a subterfuge to attain that distinction which they could not achieve by wealth.
[tr. Heard (1917)]
Contempt of wealth was, among the early philosophers, due to a secret desire to vindicate their worth agaiunst the malignity of fate, by affecting to despise those very gifts of which it deprived them. It was a means of insurance against the ignominy of poverty, a round-about way of acquiring the esteem they were unable to command by the possession of wealth.
[tr. Stevens (1939)]
Philosophers have expressed their contempt for material riches; they thus reveal their wish to vindicate their merit on their fate by displaying their contempt for those gifts which fate has withheld from them; it is a secret remedy to save them from those degradations which poverty entails; it is also an indirect method for obtaining that respect which they cannot gain through wealth.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957)]
The scorn for riches displayed by the philosophers was a secrete desire to recompense their own merit for the injustice of Fortune by scorning those very benefits she had denied them; it it was a private way of remaining unsullied by poverty, a devious path towards the high respect they could not command by wealth.
[tr. Tancock (1959)]
The contempt which philosophers professed for wealth, was but a hidden desire of getting revenge for their merit upon the injustice of Fortune, by despising those goods of which she had deprived them: it was a secret by which to protect themselves against the degradation of poverty; it was an alternate path by which to gain that consideration which they had not been able to attain through riches.
[tr. Whichello (2016)]
Put not your trust in money, but put your money in trust.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
Article (1857-12), “The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly (Source)
Collected in The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, ch. 2 (1858).
In truth, it is not want, but rather abundance, that breeds avarice.
[De vray, ce n’est pas la disette, c’est plustost l’abondance qui produict l’avarice.]
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French essayist Essays, Book 1, ch. 14 “The Taste of Good and Bad Things Depends Mostly on the Opinion We Have of Them [Que le goust des biens et des maux despend en bonne partie de l’opinion que nous en avons]” (1572) (1.14) (1595) [tr. Frame (1943)]
(Source)
Though this chapter was written around 1572 for the 1580 edition, this text was added for the 1588 edition. The chapter as a whole was numbered ch. 14 in the 1580 and 1588 editions, moved to ch. 40 for the 1595 ed. Most modern translations use the original numbering.
He called to mind all the millionaires he had ever read or heard of; they didn’t seem to get much fun out of their riches. The majority of them were martyrs to dyspepsia. They were often weighed down by the cares and responsibilities of their position; the only people who were unable to obtain an audience of them at any time were their friends; they lived in a glare of publicity, and every post brought them hundreds of begging letters, and a few threats; their children were in constant danger from kidnappers, and they themselves, after knowing no rest in life, could not be certain that even their tombs would be undisturbed. Whether they were extravagant or thrifty, they were equally maligned, and, whatever the fortune they left behind them, they could be absolutely certain that, in a couple of generations, it would be entirely dissipated.
F. Anstey (1856-1934) English novelist and journalist (pseud. of Thomas Anstey Guthrie) The Brass Bottle, ch. 7 (1900)
(Source)
Let us not envy a certain class of men for their enormous riches; they have paid such an equivalent for them that it would not suit us; they have given for them their peace of mind, their health, their honour, and their conscience; this is rather too dear, and there is nothing to be made out of such a bargain.
[N’envions point à une sorte de gens leurs grandes richesses; ils les ont à titre onéreux, et qui ne nous accommoderait point: ils ont mis leur repos, leur santé, leur honneur et leur conscience pour les avoir; cela est trop cher, et il n’y a rien à gagner à un tel marché.]
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 6 “Of Gifts of Fortune [Des Biens de Fortune],” § 13 (6.13) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]
(Source)
One translator suggestions the "certain class of men" refers to the partisans, or tax-farmers: private tax collectors, often of humble origin, who purchased the right to their job, and were notorious for turning tax collection into a profitable profession.
Let us not envy some Men their great Riches; their Burthens would be too heavy for us; we cou'd not Sacrifice, as they do, Health, Quiet, Honour and Conscience, to obtain 'em: 'Tis to pay so dear for them that there is nothing to be got by the Bargain.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]
Let us not envy some Men their great Riches, their burden would be too heavy for us; we cou'd not sacrifice, as they do, Health, Quiet, Honour and Conscience, to obtain 'em: 'Tis to pay so dear for 'em, that there is nothing to be got by the Bargain.
[Curll ed. (1713)]
Let us not envy some Men their accountable Riches; their Burthen would be too heavy for us; we could not sacrifice, as they do, Health, Quiet, Honour and Conscience, to obtain them. It is to pay so dear for them, that the Bargain is a Loss.
[Browne ed. (1752)]
We need not envy certain people their great wealth; they acquired it at a heavy cost, which would not suit us; they staked their rest, their health, their honour and their conscience to acquire it; the price is too high, and there is nothing to be gained by such a bargain.
[tr. Stewart (1970)]
To what extremes, O cursèd lust for gold
will you not drive man’s appetite?
[Per che non reggi tu, o sacra fame
de l’oro, l’appetito de’ mortali?]
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Italian poet The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 2 “Purgatorio,” Canto 22, l. 40ff (22.40-41) [Statius] (1314) [tr. Musa (1981)]
(Source)
Quid non mortalia pectora cogis,
Auri sacra fames?
Unlike the phrase in that pagan book, which is purely about the corrupting power of greed and gold-lust, Dante's Italian and some translators make reference to a "holy hunger," a virtue/rule of proper attitude toward money and spending, criticized here for it not restraining humans from the sins of being either spendthrifts or misers -- a nod to Aristotle making sin about extremes and virtue about moderation. See Ciardi, Durling, Kirkpatrick, Princeton, and Sayers for more discussion.
(Source (Italian)). Alternate translations:
Why, thou cursed thirst
Of gold! dost not with juster measure guide
The appetite of mortals?
[tr. Cary (1814)]
Why should'st thou not restrain accursèd thirst
Of gold, the appetite of mortals lost?
[tr. Bannerman (1850)]
To what impellest thou not, O cursed hunger
Of gold, the appetite of mortal men?
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]
Why restrainest thou not, O holy hunger of gold, the desire of mortals?
[tr. Butler (1885)]
To what lengths, O thou cursed thirst of gold,
Dost thou not rule the mortal appetite?
[tr. Minchin (1885)]
O cursed hunger of gold, to what dost thou not impel the appetite of mortals?
[tr. Norton (1892)]
Wherefore dost thou not regulate the lust of mortals, O hallowed hunger of gold?
[tr. Okey (1901)]
To what, O cursed hunger for gold, dost thou not drive the appetite of mortals?
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]
O hallowed hunger of gold, why dost thou not
The appetite of mortal men control?
[tr. Binyon (1943)]
With what constraint constran'st thou not the lust
Of mortals, thou devoted greed of gold!
[tr. Sayers (1955)]
To what do you not drive man's appetite,
O cursèd gold-lust!
[tr. Ciardi (1961)]
Why do you not control the appetite
Of mortals, O you accurst hunger for gold?
[tr. Sisson (1981)]
Why cannot you, o holy hunger
for gold, restrain the appetite of mortals?
[tr. Mandelbaum (1982)]
O sacred hunger for gold, why do you not rule human appetite?
[tr. Kline (2002)]
Why do you, O holy hunger for gold, not
govern the appetite of mortals?
[tr. Durling (2003)]
You, awestruck hungering for gold! Why not
impose a rule on mortal appetite?
[tr. Kirkpatrick (2007)]
To what end, O cursèd hunger for gold,
do you not govern the appetite of mortals?
[tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]
Accursed craving for money, what is there, in
This world, you don't lead human beings to?
[tr. Raffel (2010)]
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).
There are such things as to speak well, to speak easily, to speak correctly, and to speak seasonably. We offend against the last way of speaking if we mention a sumptuous entertainment we have just been present at before people who have not had enough to eat; if we boast of our good health before invalids; if we talk of our riches, our income, and our fine furniture to a man who has not so much as an income or a dwelling; in a word, if we speak of our prosperity before people who are wretched; such a conversation is too much for them, and the comparison which they then make between their condition and ours is very painful.
[Il y a parler bien, parler aisément, parler juste, parler à propos. C’est pécher contre ce dernier genre que de s’étendre sur un repas magnifique que l’on vient de faire, devant des gens qui sont réduits à épargner leur pain; de dire merveilles de sa santé devant des infirmes; d’entretenir de ses richesses, de ses revenus et de ses ameublements un homme qui n’a ni rentes ni domicile; en un mot, de parler de son bonheur devant des misérables: cette conversation est trop forte pour eux, et la comparaison qu’ils font alors de leur état au vôtre est odieuse.]
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 5 “Of Society and Conversation [De la Société et de la Conversation],” § 23 (5.23) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]
(Source)
Some men talk well, easily, justly, and to the purpose: those offend in the last kind, who speak of the Banquets they are to be at, before such as are reduc'd to spare their Bread; of sound Limbs, before the Infirm; of Demesnes and Revenues, before the Poor and Needy; of fine Houses and Furniture, before such as have neither Dwelling or Moveables: in a word, who speak of Prosperity, before the Miserable. This conversation is too strong for 'em, and the comparison you make between their condition and yours is odious.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]
There is speaking well, speaking easily, speaking justly, and speaking seasonably: 'Tis transgressing the last rule, to speak ofthe sumptuous Entertainments you have made, before such as are reduc'd to want of Bread; of a healthy Constitution of Body, before the Infirm; of Demesnes, Revenues and Furniture, before a Man who has neither Dwelling, Rents, nor Movables; in a word, to speak of your Prosperity before the Miserable: this Conversation is too strong from them, and the Comparison they make between their Condition and yours is odious.
[Curll ed. (1713)]
There is speaking well, speaking easily, speaking justly, and speaking seasonably: It is offending against the last, to speak of Entertainments before the Indigent; of sound Limbs and Health before the Infirm; of Houses and Lands before one who has not so much as a Dwelling; in a Word, to speak of your Prosperity before the Miserable; this Conversation is cruel, and the Comparison which naturally rises in them betwixt their Condition and yours is excruciating.
[Browne ed. (1752)]
There is a difference between speaking well, speaking easily, speaking with judgement and speaking opportunely. We fail in this last respect when we enlarge upon the splendid meal we have just enjoyed in front of people who have to be thrifty of their bread; or boast of our health in the presence of invalids; or talk about our wealth, our fortune and property to a man who has neither home nor income; in a word, when we speak of our happiness in front of those who are wretched; such conversation is too painful for them, and the comparison they are bound to make between your state and their own is intolerable.
[tr. Stewart (1970)]
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.
As favour and riches forsake a man, we discover in him the foolishness they concealed, and which no one perceived before.
[À mesure que la faveur et les grands biens se retirent d’un homme, ils laissent voir en lui le ridicule qu’ils couvraient, et qui y était sans que personne s’en aperçût.]
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 6 “Of Gifts of Fortune [Des Biens de Fortune],” § 4 (6.4) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]
(Source)
When Riches and Favour forsake a Man, we see presently he was a Fool, but no body could find it out in his Prosperity.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]
In proportion as Riches and Favour forsake a Man, we discover he was a Fool, which no body cou'd find out in his Prosperity.
[Curll ed. (1713)]
As Riches and Favour forsake a Man, we discover him to be a Fool, but no body could find it out in his Prosperity.
[Browne ed. (1752)]
As a man falls out of favour and his wealth declines, we discover for the first time the ridiculous aspects of his character, which were always there but which wealth and favour had concealed.
[tr. Stewart (1970)]
What Nature wants, commodious Gold bestows, ‘Tis thus we eat the bread another sows:
But how unequal it bestows, observe, ‘Tis thus we riot, while who sow it, starve.
What Nature wants (a phrase I much distrust) Extends to Luxury, extends to Lust;
And if we count among the Needs of life Another’s Toil, why not another’s Wife?
Useful, we grant, it serves what life requires, But dreadful too, the dark Assassin hires:
Trade it may help, Society extend; But lures the Pyrate, and corrupts the Friend:
It raises Armies in a nation’s aid, But bribes a Senate, and the Land’s betray’d.
Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English poet
“An Epistle to Allen, Lord Bathurst: Of the Use of Riches” (1733), Moral Essays, Epistle 3 (1735)
(Source)
Earthly riches can neither bless us nor our children with happiness; we must either lose them in this life or leave them to be enjoyed after our death by one, we cannot tell whom, perhaps by those we would not should have them.
[Felices enim uel nos uel filios nostros non diuitiae terrenae faciunt aut nobis uiuentibus amittendae aut nobis mortuis a quibus nescimus uel forte a quibus nolumus possidendae.]
Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Christian church father, philosopher, saint [b. Aurelius Augustinus] City of God [De Civitate Dei], Book 5, ch. 18 (5.18) (AD 412-416) [tr. Healey (1610)]
(Source)
For it is not earthly riches which make us or our sons happy; for they must either be lost by us in our lifetime, or be possessed when we are dead, by whom we know not, or perhaps by whom we would not.
[tr. Dods (1871)]
The riches of this earth can make neither us nor our children happy, if they are to be lost while we are alive or, after we are dead, are to pass to people we do not know or, perhaps, dislike.
[tr. Zema/Walsh (1950)]
For neither we nor our children are made happy by earthly riches, since they are bound either to be lost while we are living or to be acquired after our death by persons unknown and perhaps unwelcome.
[tr. Green (Loeb) (1963)]
Happiness, whether for us or for our children, is not the result of earthly riches, which must either be lost by us in our lifetime or else must pass after our death into the possession of those we do not know or, it may be, of those whom we do not wish to have them.
[tr. Bettenson (1972)]
For neither we nor our sons are made happy by earthly riches. These things must either be lost while we are still alive or, after we are dead, acquired by someone whom we do not know, or perhaps by someone whom we would not wish to have them.
[tr. Dyson (1998)]
For earthly riches do not make either us or our children happy; they will either be lost while we are still alive or will pass, after our death, to someone we do not know or even to someone we do not want.
[tr. Babcock (2012)]
I have never been in any rich man’s house which would not have looked the better for having a bonfire made outside of it of nine-tenths of all that it held.
William Morris (1834-1896) British textile designer, writer, socialist activist
“The Art of the People,” speech, Birmingham Society of Arts (1879-02-19)
(Source)
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)
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)]
Thou art an heyre to fayre lyving, that is nothing, if thou be disherited of learning, for better were it to thee to inherite righteousnesse then riches, and far more seemely were it for thee to have thy Studie full of bookes, then thy pursse full of mony: to get goods is the benefit of Fortune, to keepe them the gift of Wisedome.
[Thou art an heir to fair living; that is nothing if thou be disinherited of learning, for better were it to thee to inherit righteousness than riches and far more seemly were it for thee to have thy study full of books than thy purse full of money. To get goods is the benefit of fortune, to keep them the gift of wisdom. (1916 ed.)]
John Lyly (c. 1553-1606) was an English writer [also Lilly or Lylie] Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit, “Letter to Alcius” (1579)
(Source)
But the rich man is tortured by fears, wasted with griefs, aflame with greed, never free from care, always restless and uneasy, out of breath from unending struggles with his enemies. It is true enough that he increases his holdings beyond measure by going through these miseries; but at the same time, thanks to that very increase, he also multiples his bitter cares. In contrast, the individual of moderate means is satisfied with his small and limited property; he is loved by family and friends; he enjoys sweet peace with his relations, neighbors, and friends; he is devout in his piety, benevolent of mind, sound of body, moderate in his style of life, unblemished in character, and untroubled in conscience. I do not know whether anyone would be so foolish as to have any doubt about which of the two to prefer.
[Alium praediuitem cogitemus; sed diuitem timoribus anxium, maeroribus tabescentem, cupiditate flagrantem, numquam securum, semper inquietum, perpetuis inimicitiarum contentionibus anhelantem, augentem sane his miseriis patrimonium suum in inmensum modum atque illis augmentis curas quoque amarissimas aggerantem; mediocrem uero illum re familiari parua atque succincta sibi sufficientem, carissimum suis, cum cognatis uicinis amicis dulcissima pace gaudentem, pietate religiosum, benignum mente, sanum corpore, uita parcum, moribus castum, conscientia securum. Nescio utrum quisquam ita desipiat, ut audeat dubitare quem praeferat.]
Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Christian church father, philosopher, saint [b. Aurelius Augustinus] City of God [De Civitate Dei], Book 4, ch. 3 (4.3) (AD 412-416) [tr. Babcock (2012)]
(Source)
On wealth and power as the foundation for happiness.
Let my wealthy man take with him fears, sorrows, covetousness, suspicion, disquiet, contentions, making immense additions to his estate only by adding to his heap of most bitter cares; and let my poor man take with him sufficiency with little, love of kindred, neighbours, friends, joyous peace, peaceful religion, soundness of body, sincereness of heart, abstinence of diet, chastity of carriage, and security of conscience. Where should a man find any one so sottish as would make a doubt which of these to prefer in his choice?
[tr. Healey (1610)]
But the rich man is anxious with fears, pining with discontent, burning with covetousness, never secure, always uneasy, panting from the perpetual strife of his enemies, adding to his patrimony indeed by these miseries to an immense degree, and by these additions also heaping up most bitter cares. But that other man of moderate wealth is contented with a small and compact estate, most dear to his own family, enjoying the sweetest peace with his kindred neighbors and friends, in piety religious, benignant in mind, healthy in body, in life frugal, in manners chaste, in conscience secure. I know not whether any one can be such a fool, that he dare hesitate which to prefer.
[ed. Dods (1871)]
But, our wealthy man is haunted by fear, heavy with cares, feverish with greed, never secure, always restless, breathless from endless quarrels with his enemies. By these miseries, he adds to his possessions beyond measure, but he also piles up for himself a mountain of distressing worries. The man of modest means is content with a small and compact patrimony. He is loved by his own, enjoys the sweetness of peace, in his relations with kindred, neighbors, and friends, is religious and pious, of kindly disposition, healthy in body, self-restrained, chaste in morals, and at peace with his conscience. I wonder if there is anyone so senseless as to hesitate over which of the two to prefer.
[tr. Zema/Walsh (1950)]
Let us suppose that the rich man is troubled by fears, pining with grief, burning with desire, never secure, always restless, panting in ceaseless struggles with his foes, though he does, to be sure, by dint of such suffering accumulate great additions to his estate even beyond measure, these additions adding also their quota of corrosive anxieties. Let the man of modest means, on the other hand, be self-sufficient on his trim and tiny property, beloved by his family, enjoying the most agreeable relations with his kindred, neighbours and friends, devoutly religious, kindly disposed, in good physical condition, leading a simple life, free from vice and untroubled in conscience. I don’t suppose that there is anyone so foolish as to think of doubting which one he would prefer.
[tr. Green (Loeb) (1963)]
But the rich man is tortured by fears, worn out with sadness, burnt up with ambition, never knowing serenity of repose, always panting and sweating in his struggles with opponents. It may be true that he enormously swells his patrimony, but at the cost of those discontents, while by this increase he heaps up a load of further anxiety and bitterness. The other man, the ordinary citizen, is content with his strictly limited resources. He is loved by family and friends; he enjoys the blessing of peace with his relations, neighbours, and friends; he is loyal, compassionate, and kind, healthy in body, temperate in habits, of unblemished character, and enjoys the serenity of a good conscience. I do not think anyone would be fool enough to hesitate about which he would prefer.
[tr. Bettenson (1972)]
The wealthy man, however, is troubled by fears; he pines with grief; he burns with greed. He is never secure; he is always unquiet and panting from endless confrontations with his enemies. To be sure, he adds to his patrimony in immense measure by these miseries; but alongside these additions he also heaps up the most bitter cares. By contrast, the man of moderate means is self-sufficient on his small and circumscribed estate. He is of his own family, and rejoices in the most sweet peace with kindred, neighbours and friends. He is devoutly religious, well disposed in mind, healthy in body, frugal in life, chaste in morals, untroubled in conscience. I do not know if anyone could be such a fool as to dare to doubt which to prefer.
[tr. Dyson (1998)]
My ethical state, Were I wealthy and great,
Is a subject you wish I’d reply on. Now who can foresee What his morals might be?
What would yours be if you were a lion?
[Saepe rogare soles, qualis sim, Prisce, futurus,
Si fiam locuples simque repente potens.
Quemquam posse putas mores narrare futuros?
Dic mihi, si fias tu leo, qualis eris?]
Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis] Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 12, epigram 92 (12.92) (AD 101) [tr. Nixon (1911)]
(Source)
Priscus! you've often ask'd me how I'd live, Should Fate at once both wealth and honour give?
What soul his future conduct can foresee? Tell me what sort of lion you would be?
[tr. Lewis (<1752)]
What would I do, the question you repeat, if on a sudden I were rich and great?
Who can himself with future conduct charge? What would you do, a lion, and at large?
[tr. Hay (1755), ep. 93]
You've often been used, my good friend, for to ask What sort of man I might prove
Was I rich or soon great? but 'tis no easy talk, For 'faith I can't tell you, by Jove!
For who do You think, of the men that are here Can his manners divine, that You see?
And was you as Jonathan's bull or a bear, Pray what sort of beast would you be?
[tr. Scott (1773)]
Thou asketh oft, how I should brook the hour, Of wealth o'erwhelming, and resistless pow'r.
His future self what seer can prophesy? What lion, Priscus, should'st thou make? Reply.
[tr. Elphinston (1782), 2.143]
Priscus! you often ask me what wouild be my future conduct, if I were made suddenly rich or powerful? Who can be competent to judge of his future character under such contingencies? Tell me, if you were metamorphosed into a lion, what kind of lion would you be?
[tr. Amos (1858), ep. 94]
You often ask me, Priscus, what sort of person I should be, if I were to become suddenly rich and powerful. Who can determine what would be his future conduct? Tell me, if you were to become a lion, what sort of a lion would you be?
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]
You are often wont to ask me what sort of person I should be, Priscus, if I became rich and were suddenly powerful. Do you think any man can declare his character in the future? Tell me, if you became a lion, what sort of lion will you be?
[tr. Ker (1919)]
What should I be if great and rich?
That is the sort of question which One cannot prophesy on;
Apply it to yourself: e.g.,
What sort of lion will you be If you become a lion?
[tr. Pott & Wright (1921), "Riddles"]
You often ask me, Priscus, how I'ld use My fortune if I stood in rich men's shoes.
'Tis hard forecasting the effect of pelf; What sort of lion would you make, yourself?
[tr. Francis & Tatum (1924), ep. 687]
Your question: would my character, And how, change if I suddenly were
Powerful and rich? Who can foresee The sort of person he might be?
Supposing, Priscus, you became A lion, would you be fierce or tame?
[tr. Michie (1972)]
You are wont to ask me, Priscus, what sort of person I should be if I were suddenly to become rich and powerful. Do you suppose that anybody can foretell his character? Tell me, if you were to become a lion, what would you be like?
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]
Priscus, your perennial party game Is "How would you handle wealth and power?"
Who knows? But back at you the same: If you were a lion, would you rage or cower?
[tr. Ericsson (1995)]
If I were what I am not, rich, Would I become a king?
If you were what you are not, brave, Would you be anything?
[tr. Wills (2007)]
Priscus, you often ask what I'd be like if I got wealth and power suddenly.
Can anyone foretell his future conduct? If you were a lion, what kind would you be?
[tr. McLean (2014)]
The prosperous fortunes, and the haughty wealth
Of an unrighteous man, we never ought
To deem establish’d on a solid base,
Or that the children of th’ unjust can prosper:
For Time, who from no Father springs, applies
His levell’d line, and shews man’s foul misdeeds.
Think not that the prosperity and riches of the wicked can endure, nor yet the generation of the bad; for Time, sprung from eternity, having a just rule in his hand, shows the wickedness of men.
[Source (1878)]
One ought never to imagine the success of a bad man, and his proud wealth, as secure, nor the lineage of unjust men; for time, which was born from nothing, adduces standards which are just and shows the wickedness of men in spite of all.
[tr. Collard, Hargreaves, Cropp (1995)]
It must not be believed
that the wicked thrive securely
though puffed-up-proud in their prosperity
nor the long line of injustices go on and on
uninterrupted -- Self-generating Time
(slowly -- slowly) lays
the yardstick of justice --
into the open (at least) brings
all iniquities of men.
For all that. For all that.
[tr. Stevens (2012)]
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.
Jane Austen (1775-1817) English author Pride and Prejudice, ch. 1, Opening Lines (1813)
(Source)
Money was made, not to command our Will,
But all our lawful pleasures to fulfil.
Shame and Woe to us, if we our Wealth obey;
The Horse doth with the Horseman run away.
Abraham Cowley (1618-1667) English poet and essayist
“Paraphrase upon the 10th Epistle of the First Book of Horace,” l. 75ff.
(Source)
Others lash the unknown seas with oars,
Rush at the sword, pay court in royal halls.
One destroys a city and its homes
To drink from jewelled cups and sleep on scarlet;
One hoards his wealth and lies on buried gold.
One gapes dumbfounded at the speaker’s stand;
At the theater, still another, open-mouthed,
Reels before crescendos of applause
From the tiers where mob and dignitaries sit.
Others are keen to drench themselves in blood,
Their brothers’ blood, and, exiled, change their homes
And winsome hearths, to range abroad for room
To live in, underneath a foreign sun.
[Sollicitant alii remis freta caeca ruuntque
in ferrum, penetrant aulas et limina regum;
hic petit excidiis urbem miserosque Penatis,
ut gemma bibat et Sarrano dormiat ostro;
condit opes alius defossoque incubat auro;
hic stupet attonitus rostris; hunc plausus hiantem
per cuneos — geminatus enim plebisque patrumque —
corripuit; gaudent perfusi sanguine fratrum,
exsilioque domos et dulcia limina mutant
atque alio patriam quaerunt sub sole iacentem.]
Virgil (70-19 BC) Roman poet [b. Publius Vergilius Maro; also Vergil] Georgics [Georgica], Book 2, l. 504ff (2.504-513) (29 BC) [tr. Bovie (1956)]
(Source)
Virgil contrasting violent, ambitious, vain, and rootless life of city folk (evoking the Roman civil wars), in contrast to the bucolic peace and sense of home enjoyed by farmers.
Some vex the Sea, and some to war resorts, Attend on Kings, and waite in Princes Courts.
This would his Countrey, and his God betray To drink in Jems, and on proud scarlet lye.
This hides his wealth, and broods on hidden gold, This loves to plead, and that to be extold
Through all the seats of Commons, and the sires. To bathe in's brothers blood this man desires.
Some banish'd, must their native seats exchange, And Countries, under other Climates range.
[tr. Ogilby (1649)]
Some to the Seas, and some to Camps resort, And some with Impudence invade the Court.
In foreign Countries others seek Renown, With Wars and Taxes others waste their own.
And Houses burn, and household Gods deface, To drink in Bowls which glitt'ring Gems enchase:
To loll on Couches, rich with Cytron Steds, And lay their guilty Limbs in Tyrian Beds.
This Wretch in Earth intombs his Golden Ore, Hov'ring and brooding on his bury'd Store.
Some Patriot Fools to pop'lar Praise aspire, By Publick Speeches, which worse Fools admire.
While from both Benches, with redoubl'd Sounds, Th' Applause of Lords and Commoners abounds.
Some through Ambition, or thro' Thirst of Gold; Have slain their Brothers, or their Country sold:
And leaving their sweet Homes, in Exile run To Lands that lye beneath another Sun.
[tr. Dryden (1709), l. 720ff]
Some rush to battle, vex with oars the deep, Or in the courts of Kings insidious creep;
For cups of gem, and quilts of Tyrian, die, Others remorseless loose each public tie:
On hoarded treasures these ecstatic gaze, Those eye the Rostra, stupid with amaze:
This for the theatre's applauding roar Sighs: with the blood of brothers sprinkled o'er
From their dear homes to exile others run, And seek new seats beneath a distant sun.
[tr. Nevile (1767), l. 565ff]
Some vex with restless oar wild seas unknown. Some rush on death, or cringe around the throne;
Stern warriors here beneath their footsteps tread The realm that rear'd them, and the hearth that fed,
To quaff from gems, and lull to transient rest The wound that bleeds beneath the Tyrian vest.
These brood with sleepless gaze o'er buried gold, The rostrum these with raptur'd trance behold,
Or wonder when repeated plaudits raise 'Mid peopled theatres the shout of praise;
These with grim joy, by civil discord led, And stain'd in battles where a brother bled.
From their sweet household hearth in exile roam, And seek beneath new suns a foreign home.
[tr. Sotheby (1800)]
Some vex the dangerous seas with oars, some rush into arms, some work their way into courts, and the palaces of kings. One destines a city and wretched families to destruction, that he may drink in gems and sleep on Tyrian purple. Another hoards up wealth, and broods over buried gold. One, astonished at the rostrum, grows giddy; another peals of applause along the rows, (for it is redoubled both by the people and the fathers,) have captivated, and set agape; some rejoice when stained with their brother's blood; and exchange their homes and sweet thresholds for exile, and seek a country lying under another sun.
[tr. Davidson (1854)]
While others vex dark Hellespont with oars, Leap on the sword, or dash through royal stores,
Storm towns and homesteads, in their vile desire To quaff from pearl, and sleep on tints of Tyre;
While others hoard and brood on buried dross, And some are moonstruck at the pleader's gloss;
While this man gapes along the pit, to hear The mob and senators renew their cheer;
And others, reeking in fraternal gore, With songs of triumph quit their native shore,
Abjure sweet home for banishment, and run In quest of country 'neath another sun --
[tr. Blackmore (1871), l. 602ff]
Others are startling the darkness of the deep with oars, rushing on the sword's pint, winning their way into the courts and ante-chambers of kings; another is dooming a city to ruin and its homes to misery, that he may drink from jewelled cups and sleep on Tyrian purple; another hoards his wealth, and broods o'er buried gold; this man is dazzled and amazed by the eloquence of the rostra; that man the applause of commoners and senators, as it rolls redoubled through the benches, transports agape with wonder; they steep their hands in brothers' blood and joy, they change their homes and the thresholds of affection for the land of exile, and seek a fatherland that lies beneath another sun.
[tr. Wilkins (1873)]
Others vex
The darksome gulfs of Ocean with their oars,
Or rush on steel: they press within the courts
And doors of princes; one with havoc falls
Upon a city and its hapless hearths,
From gems to drink, on Tyrian rugs to lie;
This hoards his wealth and broods o'er buried gold;
One at the rostra stares in blank amaze;
One gaping sits transported by the cheers,
The answering cheers of plebs and senate rolled
Along the benches: bathed in brothers' blood
Men revel, and, all delights of hearth and home
For exile changing, a new country seek
Beneath an alien sun.
[tr. Rhoades (1881)]
These dare the ocean, and invite the storm, This rage, and this the courtier’s wiles deform;
All faith, all right the traitor’s acts defy, From gems to drink, on Tyrian purple lie;
One broods in misery o’er his hoarded gold. And one in chains the people’s plaudits hold.
There stains of blood pollute a brother’s hand, And he in terror flies his father’s land.
[tr. King (1882), l. 514ff]
Some vex the dangerous seas with oars, or rush into arms, or work their way into courts and the palaces of kings: one marks out a city and its wretched homes for destruction, that he may drink from jewelled cups and sleep on Tyrian purple. Another hoards up wealth, and lies sleepless on his buried gold. One, in bewildered amazement, gazes at the Rostra; another, in open-mouthed delight, the plaudits of the commons and the nobles, redoubled along benches, have arrested: some take pleasure in being drenched with a brother’s blood; and exchange their homes and dear thresholds for exile, and seek a country lying under another sun.
[tr. Bryce (1897)]
Others vex blind sea-ways with their oars, or rush upon the sword, pierce the courts and chambers of kings; one aims destruction at the city and her wretched homes, that he may drink from gems and sleep on Tyrian scarlet; another heaps up wealth and broods over buried gold; one hangs rapt in amaze before the Rostra; one the applause of populace and senate re-echoing again over the theatre carries open-mouthed away: joyfully they steep themselves in blood of their brethren, and exchange for exile the dear thresholds of their homes, and seek a country spread under an alien sun.
[tr. Mackail (1899)]
Others may tempt with oars the printless sea, may fling Their lives to the sword, may press through portals and halls of a king.
This traitor hath ruined his country, hath blasted her homes, thereby To drink from a jewelled chalice, on Orient purple to lie;
That fool hoards up his wealth, and broods o'er his buried gold; That simple-one gazes rapt on the rostra: the loud cheers rolled
Down the theatre-seats, as Fathers and people acclaiming stood, Have entranced yon man; men drench them with joy in their brethren's blood;
Into exile from home and its sweet, sweet threshold some have gone Seeking a country that lieth beneath an alien sun.
[tr. Way (1912), l. 503ff]
Let strangers to such peace
Trouble with oars the boundless seas or fly
To wars, and plunder palaces of kings;
Make desolate whole cities, casting down
Their harmless gods and altars, that one's wine
May from carved rubies gush, and slumbering head
On Tyrian pillow lie. A man here hoards
His riches, dreaming of his buried gold;
Another on the rostrum's flattered pride
Stares awe-struck. Him th' applause of multitudes.
People and senators, when echoed shouts
Ring through the house approving, quite enslaves.
With civil slaughter and fraternal blood
One day such reek exultant, on the next
Lose evermore the long-loved hearth and home.
[tr. Williams (1915)]
Others brave with oars seas unknown, dash upon the sword, or press their way into courts and the chambers of kings. One wreaks ruin on a city and its wretched homes, and all to drink from a jewelled cup and sleep on Tyrian purple; another hoards wealth and gloats over buried gold; one stares in admiration at the rostra; another, open-mouthed, is carried away by the applause of high and low which rolls again and again along the benches. They steep themselves in their brothers’ blood and glory in it; they barter their sweet homes and hearths for exile and seek a country that lies beneath an alien sun.
[tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1916)]
Other men dare the sea with their oars blindly, or dash
On the sword, or insinuate themselves into royal courts:
One ruins a whole town and the tenements of the poor
In his lust for jewelled cups, for scarlet linen to sleep on,
One piles up great wealth, gloats over his cache of gold;
One gawps at the public speakers; one is worked up to hysteria
By the plaudits of senate and people resounding across the benches:
These shed their brothers’ blood
Merrily, they barter for exile their homes beloved
And leave for countries lying under an alien sun.
[tr. Day-Lewis (1940)]
Others churn blind straits with their oars, and rush to the sword, force their way across the thresholds and into the courts of kings; [...] They rejoice, soaked in their brothers’ blood, exchange their own sweet thresholds for exile and seek a fatherland under another sun.
[tr. Miles (1980)]
Some vex with oars uncharted waters, some
Rush on cold steel, some seek to worm their way
Into the courts of kings. One is prepared
To plunge a city's homes in misery
All for a jewelled cup and a crimson bedspread;
Another broods on a buried hoard of gold.
This one is awestruck by the platform's thunder;
That one, enraptured, gapes ad the waves of applause
from high and low rolling across the theater.
Men revel steeped in brothers' blood, exchange
The hearth they love for banishment, and seek
A home in lands benath an alien sun.
[tr. Wilkinson (1982)]
Others trouble unknown seas with oars, rush on
their swords, enter the gates and courts of kings.
This man destroys a city and its wretched houses,
to drink from a jewelled cup, and sleep on Tyrian purple:
that one heaps up wealth, and broods about buried gold:
one’s stupefied, astonished by the Rostra: another, gapes,
entranced by repeated applause, from people and princes,
along the benches: men delight in steeping themselves
in their brothers’ blood, changing sweet home and hearth for exile,
and seeking a country that lies under an alien sun.
[tr. Kline (2001)]
Others slap their oars on dark, unknown seas, fall on their swords,
or thrust themselves into royal courts and palaces.
One man aims to destroy a city and its humble homes -- just
to drink from a jeweled goblet and sleep on Tyrian purple;
another stores up treasures and broods on his buried gold.
Wide-eyed, one gawks at the forum's speakers; another,
mouth agape, is swept away when lower class and upper both
applaud a statesman. Dripping with their brothers' gore,
they exult, exchanging familiar homes and hearths for exile,
they seek a fatherland that lies beneath a foreign sun.
[tr. Lembke (2004)]
Others fret with oars uncharted seas, or rush
upon the sword, or infiltrate the courts and vestibules of kings.
One visits devastation on a city and its wretched hearths
that he may slurp from a jewelled cup and snore on Tyrian purple.
Another hoards treasure and broods over buried gold.
One wonders thunderstruck at the podium, one gapes
transported by the applause of senators and commonfolk
resounding through the galleries. Drenched in their brothers' blood
they exult, and trade exile for their homes and sweet porches,
and seek a homeland under an alien sun.
[tr. Johnson (2009)]
There are those who with their oars disturb the waters
Of dangerous unknown seas, and those who rush
Against the sword, and those who insinuate
Their way into the chamber of a king:
There's one who brings down ruin on a city
And all its wretched households, in his desire
To drink from an ornate cup and go to sleep
On Tyrian purple coverlets at night;
There's the man who heaps up gold, and hides it away,
There's he who stares up stupefied at the Rostrum;
There's the open-mouthed, undone astonishment
Of the one who hears the waves and waves of the wild
Applause of the close packed crowd in the theater;
There are those who bathe in their brothers' blood, rejoicing;
And those who give up house and home for exile,
Seeking a land an alien sun shines on.
[tr. Ferry (2015)]
Nature never said to me: Do not be poor; still less did she say: Be rich; her cry to me was always: Be independent.
[La Nature ne m’a point dit: ne sois point pauvre; encore moins: sois riche; mais elle me crie: sois indépendant.]
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. 4, ¶ 281 (1795) [tr. Mathers (1926)]
(Source)
More ease than masters, servants lives afford: Think on that, Tom; nor wish to be your lord.
On a coarse rug you most securely snore: Deep sunk in down he counts each sleepless hour.
Anxious betimes to every statesman low He bows; much lower than to him you bow.
Behold him with a dun at either ear, “Pray, pay,” the word; a word you never hear.
Fear you a cudgel? view his gouty state; Which he would change for many a broken pate.
You know no morning qualm; no costly whore: Think then, though not a lord, that you are more.
[Quae mala sint domini, quae servi commoda, nescis, Condyle, qui servum te gemis esse diu.
Dat tibi securos vilis tegeticula somnos, Pervigil in pluma Gaius, ecce, iacet.
Gaius a prima tremebundus luce salutat Tot dominos, at tu, Condyle, nec dominum.
‘Quod debes, Gai, redde’ inquit Phoebus et illinc Cinnamus: hoc dicit, Condyle, nemo tibi.
Tortorem metuis? podagra cheragraque secatur Gaius et mallet verbera mille pati.
Quod nec mane vomis nec cunnum, Condyle, lingis, Non mavis, quam ter Gaius esse tuus?]
Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis] Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 9, epigram 92 (9.92) (AD 94) [tr. Hay (1755)]
(Source)
Masters often think themselves more put-upon than their lazy, "carefree" servants/slaves, as do the rich versus the poor. "To Condylus" (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:
The weal of a servant, and woe of his lord, Thou know'st not, who so long hast service abhorr'd.
Securest of slumbers thy coverlet crown: Thy master, my Condyl, lies watching in down.
Lords many hails he, the chill morn just begun: Thou own'st no such duty, saluting scarce one.
To him this and that wight: Pray, pay what you ow. To thee not a mortal pretends to say so.
Thou feat'st but a flogging: he's rackt with the gout. A thousand sound lashes he'd rather stand out.
Nor sick thou at morning, nor pale with disease: Who's moire, prithee, thou or thy master at ease?
[tr. Elphinston (1782), Book 4, Part 2, ep. 35]
Of the troubles of a master, and the pleasures of a slave, Condylus, you are ignorant, when you lament that you have been a slave so long. A common rug gives you sleep free from all anxiety; Caius lies awake all night on his bed of down. Caius, from the first dawn of day, salutes with trembling a number of patrons; you, Condylus, salute not even your master. "Caius, pay what you owe me," cries Phoebus on the one side, and Cinnamus on the other; no one makes such a demand on you, Condylus. Do you fear the torturer? Caius is a martyr to the gout in his hands and feet, and would rather suffer a thousand floggings than endure its pains. You indulge neither gluttonous nor licentious propensities. Is not this preferable to being three times a Caius?
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]
The lowliest cot will give thee powerful sleep, While Caius tosses on his bed of down.
[ed. Harbottle (1897), 9.93.3]
What are a master's ills, what a slave's blessings you do not know, Condylus, who groan that you are so long a slave. Your common rush-mat affords you sleep untoubled; wakeful all night on down, see, Gaius lies! Gaius from early morn salutes trembling many masters; but you, Condylus, not even your master. "What you owe, Gaius, pay," says Phoebus, and after him Cinnamus: this no one Condylus says to you. Do you dread the torturer? By gout in food and hand Gaius is stabbed, and would choose instead to endure a thousand blows. You do not vomit in the morning, nor are you given to filthy vice, Condylus: do you not prefer this to being your Gaius three times over?
[tr. Ker (1919)]
"How easy live the free," you say, and brood Upon your long but easy servitude.
See Gaius tossing on his downy bed; Your sleep’s unbroken tho’ the couch be rude;
He pays his call ere chilly dawn be red, You need not call on him, you sleep instead;
He’s deep in debt, hears many a summons grim From creditors that you need never dread,
You might be tortured at your master’s whim; Far worse the gout that racks his every limb;
Think of the morning qualms, his vicious moods. Would you for thrice his freedom change with him?
[tr. Pott & Wright (1921), "True Servitude"]
Condylus, you lament that you have been so long a slave; you don't know a master's afflictions and a slave's advantages. A cheap little mat gives you carefree slumbers: there's Gaius lying awake all night on feathers. From daybreak on Gaius in fear and trembling salutes so many masters: but you, Condylus, do not salute even your own. "Gaius, pay me back what you owe," says Phoebus, and from yonder so says Cinnamus: nobody says that to you, Condylus. You fear the torturer? Gaius is cut by gout in foot and hand and would rather take a thousand lashes. You don't vomit of a morning or lick a cunt, Condylus; isn't that better than being your Gaius three times over?
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]
Never the pros & cons of "slave," or "master," can you, mourning long servitude, discern.
The cheapest matting yields you dreamless sleep; Gaius's feather-bed keeps him awake.
From crack of down Gaius respectfully greets many masters; yours goes ungreeted.
"Pay day, Gaius, pay!" says Phoebus. "Pay! Pay!" chimes Cinnamus. What man speaks thus to you?
Screw & rack, you dread? Gaius' gout stabs so he'ld far prefer the thumbscrew or the rack.
You've no hangover habit, oral sex: is not one life of yours worth three of his?
[tr. Whigham (2001)]
You can be young without money but you can’t be old without it. You’ve got to be old with money because to be old without it is just too awful, you’ve got to be one or the other, either young or with money, you can’t be old and without it.
Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) American playwright Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Act 1 [Margaret] (1955)
(Source)
Money never remains just coins and pieces of paper. Money can be translated into the beauty of living, a support in misfortune, an education, or future security. It also can be translated into a source of bitterness.
Sylvia Porter (1913-1991) American economist, journalist, author Sylvia Porter’s Money Book, Part 1, ch. 1 (1975)
(Source)
But the best state for human nature is that in which, while no one is poor, no one desires to be richer, nor has any reason to fear being thrust back, by the efforts of others to push themselves forward.
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and economist Principles of Political Economy, Book 4, ch. 6 (1871)
(Source)
The whole trouble with the Republicans is their fear of an increase in income tax, especially on higher incomes. They speak of it almost like a national calamity. I really believe if it come to a vote whether to go to war with England, France and Germany combined, or raise the rate on incomes of over $100,000, they would vote war.
Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1931-02-27), “Daily Telegram”
(Source)
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. I tell you there is no despair like the despair of the man who has everything.
Jean Kerr (1922-2003) American author and playwright [b. Bridget Jean Collins] Poor Richard, Act 1 [Sydney] (1963)
(Source)
Money is a singular thing. It ranks with love as man’s greatest source of joy. And with death as his greatest source of anxiety.
John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author The Age of Anxiety, ch. 6 “The Rise and Fall of Money” (1977)
(Source)
Ah, Constantine! what mischief in the gift —
Not thy conversion, but the dower you gave
For the first wealthy Father to receive.
[Ahi, Costantin, di quanto mal fu matre,
non la tua conversion, ma quella dote
che da te prese il primo ricco patre!]
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Italian poet The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 1 “Inferno,” Canto 19, l. 115ff (9.115-117) [Dante] (1309) [tr. Bannerman (1850)]
(Source)
According to legend, the Emperor Constantine, having been cured of leprosy through baptism by Pope Sylvester, both showered Sylvester with riches and moved his own capital to Constantinople, leaving the Pope as temporal ruler of the West. This "Donation of Constantine" was fabricated in the 8th century, and first used by Pope Adrian I to encourage Charlemagne to give generously and acknowledge papal power over the emperor. It was largely believed true until the 15th Century. Dante, both author and character, traced the Church's corruption by power and wealth from that legend.
Ah! Constantine, of how much ill was Cause
Not thy Conversion, but those rich Domains
That the first wealthy Pope received of thee!
[tr. Milton (1641)]
Ah, Constantine, what are the many Ills
You have been parent of: I do not mean
By your Conversion, but that pompous Gift
By which our Holy Father you enrich'd!
[tr. Rogers (1782), l. 112ff]
Lamented ever be that lib'ral hand,
Whose gifts allur'd the Apostolic band
To leave that humble path where long they trod.
[tr. Boyd (1802), st. 19]
Ah, Constantine! to how much ill gave birth,
Not thy conversion, but that plenteous dower,
Which the first wealthy Father gain’d from thee!
[tr. Cary (1814)]
Ah, Constantine! what ills have we to rue --
I say not from thine own conversion sprung,
But from thy dower, the first rich father drew!
[tr. Dayman (1843)]
Ah Constantine! to how much ill gave birth, not thy conversion, but that dower which the first rich Father took from thee!
[tr. Carlyle (1849)]
Oh, Constantine, of how much ill the source!
Not thy conversion, but that fatal dower
Which the first Father took from the in gift!
[tr. Johnston (1867)]
Ah, Constantine! of how much ill was mother,
Not thy conversion, but that marriage-dower
Which the first wealthy Father took from thee!
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]
Ah, Constantine, of how great ill was mother, not thy conversion, but that dowry which the first rich pope got from thee!
[tr. Butler (1885)]
Ah, Constantine, of how much ill was cause,
Not thy conversion but the fatal dower
Which the first wealthy father from thee draws!
[tr. Minchin (1885)]
Ah Constantine! of how much ill was mother, not thy conversion, but that dowry which the first rich Father received from thee!
[tr. Norton (1892)]
Ah! Constantine, of how great ill was mother,
Not thy conversion, but that fatal dowry,
Which from thy hands received the first rich Father.
[tr. Griffith (1908)]
Ah, Constantine, of how much evil gave birth,
not thy conversion, but that dower
the first rich Father had from thee.
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]
Ah, Constantine, what evil fruit did bear
Not they conversion, but that dowry broad
Thou on the first rich Father didst confer!
[tr. Binyon (1943)]
Ah, Constantine! What ills were gendered there --
No, not from thy conversion, but the dower
The first rich Pope received from thee as heir?
[tr. Sayers (1949)]
Ah Constantine, what evil marked the hour --
not of your conversion, but of the fee
the first rich Father took from you in dower!
[tr. Ciardi (1954)]
Ah, Constantine, of how much ill was mother, not your conversion, but that dowry which the first rich Father took from you!
[tr. Singleton (1970)]
Oh, Constantine, what evil did you sire,
not by your conversion, but by the dower
that the first wealthy Father got from you!
[tr. Musa (1971)]
Ah, Constantine, what wickedness was born --
and not from your conversion -- from the dower
that you bestowed upon the first rich father!
[tr. Mandelbaum (1980)]
Ah, Constantine, how much ill you produced,
Not by your conversion, but by that endowment
Which the first rich father accepted from you.
[tr. Sisson (1981)]
Ah Constantine! What measure of wickedness
Stems from that mother -- not your conversion, I mean:
Rather the dowry that the first rich Father
Accepted from you!
[tr. Pinsky (1994), l. 108ff]
Ah, Constantine, not your conversion, but that dowry which the first rich father took from you, has been the mother of so much evil!
[tr. Durling (1996)]
Ah, Constantine, how much evil you gave birth to, not in your conversion, but in that Donation that the first wealthy Pope, Sylvester, received from you!
[tr. Kline (2002)]
What harm you mothered, Emperor Constantine!
Not your conversion but the dowry he --
that first rich Papa -- thus obtained from you!
[tr. Kirkpatrick (2006)]
Ah, Constantine, to what evil you gave birth,
not by your conversion, but by the dowry
that the first rich Father had from you!
[tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]
Ah, Constantine, the evil thrown in the world
Was not your conversion to Christ, but the wealth and grandeur
The first rich Pope and Father took from your hands!
[tr. Raffel (2010)]
Constantine! You set the spurs
To evil, not by cleaving to your new
Religion, but by how, when you moved east,
You gave Sylvester, just to stay behind,
The Western Empire's wealth.
[tr. James (2013)]
People feel shameful to be poor and underprivileged in a well-run country. You should feel shameful if you are rich and aristocratic in a decadent and corrupt country.
[邦有道、貧且賤焉、恥也、邦無道、富且貴焉、恥也。]
Confucius (c. 551- c. 479 BC) Chinese philosopher, sage, politician [孔夫子 (Kǒng Fūzǐ, K'ung Fu-tzu, K'ung Fu Tse), 孔子 (Kǒngzǐ, Chungni), 孔丘 (Kǒng Qiū, K'ung Ch'iu)] The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 8, verse 13, sec. 3 (8.13.3) (6th C. BC – AD 3rd C.) [tr. Li (2020)]
(Source)
Brooks (below) says that this analect was added into Book 8 at the time of Book 14 being produced.
When a country is well-governed, poverty and a mean condition are things to be ashamed of. When a country is ill-governed, riches and honour are things to be ashamed of.
[tr. Legge (1861)]
Under a good government it will be a disgrace to him if he remain in poverty and low estate; under a bad one it would be equally disgraceful to him to hold riches and honours.
[tr. Jennings (1895)]
When there is justice and order in the government of his own country, he should be ashamed to be poor and without honour; but when there is no justice in the government of his own country he should be ashamed to be rich and honoured.
[tr. Ku Hung-Ming (1898)]
When law and order prevail in his State, he is ashamed to be needy and of no account. When law and order fail, he is ashamed to be in affluence and honour.
[tr. Soothill (1910)]
When a state is functioning, poverty and meanness are shameful; when a state is in chaos (ill governed) riches and honours are shameful. [Let us say: under a corrupt government.]
[tr. Pound (1933)]
When the Way prevails in your own land, count it a disgrace to be needy and obscure; when the Way does not prevail in your land, then count it a disgrace to be rich and honoured.
[tr. Waley (1938)]
If a state is following The Right Way, it is a disgrace to be in poverty and a low estate therein; if not, it is a disgrace to be rich and honored therein.
[tr. Ware (1950)]
It is a shameful matter to be poor and humble when the Way prevails in the state. Equally, it is a shameful matter to be rich and noble when the Way falls into disuse in the state.
[tr. Lau (1979)]
When the Way prevails in your own state, to be made poor and obscure by it is a disgrace; but when teh Way does not prevail in your own state, to be made rich and honourable by it is a disgrace.
[tr. Dawson (1993)]
In a country where the Way prevails, it is shameful to remain poor and obscure; in a country which has lost the Way, it is shameful to become rich and honored.
[tr. Leys (1997)]
When the state possesses the Way and you are poor and lowly, it is a shame; when the state loses the Way and you are rich and noble, it is also a shame.
[tr. Huang (1997)]
If the country is on the right way, it is the shame to be poor and low; If the country is not on the right way, it is the shame to be rich and honor.
[tr. Cai/Yu (1998), #201]
It is a disgrace to remain poor and without rank when the way prevails in the state; it is a disgrace to be wealthy and of noble rank when it does not.
[tr. Ames/Rosemont (1998)]
When the state has the Way, to be poor and humble in it is shameful; when the state has not the Way, to be wealthy and honored in it is shameful.
[tr. Brooks/Brooks (1998)]
When the Way rules in your country, there's shame in poverty and obscurity; when the Way's lost in your country, there's shame in wealth and renown.
[tr. Hinton (1998)]
In a state that has the Way, to be poor and of low status is a cause for shame; in a state that is without the Way, to be wealthy and honored is equally a cause for shame.
[tr. Slingerland (2003)]
When the state follows the Way, being poor and lowly is a cause for shame. When the state is without the Way, being rich and eminent is a cause for shame.
[tr. Watson (2007)]
When the moral way prevails in a state, being poor and lowly is a cause for shame. When the moral way does not prevail in the world, having wealth and position is a cause for shame.
[tr. Chin (2014)]
Gold and silver are the gods you adore
In what are you different from the idolater,
save that he worships one, and you a score?
[Fatto v’avete dio d’oro e d’argento;
e che altro è da voi a l’idolatre,
se non ch’elli uno, e voi ne orate cento?]
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Italian poet The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 1 “Inferno,” Canto 19, l. 112ff (19.112-114) [Dante] (1309) [tr. Ciardi (1954)]
(Source)
Chiding the damned shade of Pope Nicholas III (reigned 1280-1303), who was infamous for his corruption, extorting lands for the Church from nobles before giving his blessing, taking bribes, and selling holy offices (simonism); the last has landed him in the Eighth Circle, third Bolgia, with the other simoniacs.
But you of silver and gold have made
Your God: What differs your Idolatry
From that of others, but that they did one
Alone, and you a hundred Gods adore.
[tr. Rogers (1782), l. 109ff]
Go, seek your Saviour in the delved mine.
And bid the Idolater the palm resign;
Thine is a Legion, his a single God!
[tr. Boyd (1802), st. 19]
Of gold and silver ye have made your god,
Diff’ring wherein from the idolater,
But he that worships one, a hundred ye?
[tr. Cary (1814)]
Silver and gold ye make your god: what more
Divides the brute idolater and you,
Save that he one, a hundred ye adore?
[tr. Dayman (1843)]
Ye have made you a god of gold and silver; and wherein do ye differ from the idolater, save that he worships one, and ye a hundred?
[tr. Carlyle (1849)]
Of gold and silver you have made your god,
Idols of yours and others to recount,
Theirs to one, to a hundred yours amount.
[tr. Bannerman (1850)]
Or gold and silver ye your gods have made;
And what is 'twist th' idolater and you,
But he to one -- ye to a hundred pray.
[tr. Johnston (1867)]
Ye have made yourselves a god of gold and silver;
And from the idolater how differ ye,
Save that he one, and ye a hundred worship?
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]
Ye have made a god of gold and silver, and what else is there between you and the idolater save that he worships one, and you a hundred.
[tr. Butler (1885)]
Ye've made your God of silver and of gold.
Ye from idolaters what line withdraws.
Save they sin once, and ye a hundredfold?
[tr. Minchin (1885)]
Ye have made you a god of gold and silver: and what difference is there between you and the idolater save that he worships one and ye a hundred?
[tr. Norton (1892)]
A god ye have made yourselves of gold and silver,
And from idolaters what else divides you,
Save that they pray to one and you a hundred?
[tr. Griffith (1908)]
You have made you a god of gold and silver, and what is there between you and teh idolaters but that they worship one and you a hundred?
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]
A God of silver and gold ye have made to adore;
And how do ye differ from the idolater
Sav e that he worships one, and ye five-score?
[tr. Binyon (1943)]
You deify silver and gold; how are you sundered
In any fashion from the idolater,
Save that he serves one god and you an hundred?
[tr. Sayers (1949)]
You have made you a god of gold and silver; and wherein do you differ from the idolaters, save that they worship one, and you a hundred?
[tr. Singleton (1970)]
You have built yourselves a God of gold and silver!
How do you differ from the idolater,
except he worships one, you worship hundreds?
[tr. Musa (1971)]
You’ve made yourselves a god of gold and silver;
how are you different from idolaters,
save that they worship one and you a hundred?
[tr. Mandelbaum (1980)]
You have made a god of gold and silver:
And how do you differ from an idolater,
Except that he prays to one, and you to a hundred?
[tr. Sisson (1981)]
You made a god of gold and silver: wherein
Is it you differ from the idolatrous --
Save that you worship a hundred, they but one?
[tr. Pinsky (1994), l. 105ff]
You have made gold and silver your god; and what difference is there between you and the idol-worshipper, except that he prays to one, and you to a hundred?
[tr. Durling (1996)]
You have made a god for yourselves of gold and silver, and how do you differ from the idolaters, except that he worships one image and you a hundred?
[tr. Kline (2002)]
Silver and gold you have made your god. And what’s
the odds -- you and some idol-worshipper?
He prays to one, you to a gilded hundred.
[tr. Kirkpatrick (2006)]
You have wrought yourselves a god of gold and silver.
How then do you differ from those who worship idols
except they worship one and you a hundred?
[tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]
The god you made for yourself is silver and gold --
And where are you different, you and worshippers
Of idols? They have one, and you a hundred.
[tr. Raffel (2010)]
You thieves reigned,
Making a God of gold and silver. Room
Does not exist between the idolaters
And you, except they worship one, and you
A hundred.
[tr. James (2013)]
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)
Dore – Inferno, Canto 7 – hoarders and wasters (1890)
You now can see, dear son, the short-lived pranks that goods consigned to Fortune’s hand will play, causing such squabbles in the human ranks.
For all the gold that lies beneath the moon — or all that ever did lie there — would bring no respite to these worn-out souls, not one.
[Or puoi, figliuol, veder la corta buffa
d’i ben che son commessi a la fortuna,
per che l’umana gente si rabuffa;
ché tutto l’oro ch’è sotto la luna
e che già fu, di quest’anime stanche
non poterebbe farne posare una.]
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Italian poet The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 1 “Inferno,” Canto 7, l. 61ff (7.61-66) [Virgil] (1309) [tr. Kirkpatrick (2006)]
(Source)
On the never-ending labor and contention between the hoarders and the wasters. (Source (Italian)). Alternate translations:
Therefore, my Son, the vanity you may Of Fortune's gifts perceive, for which Mankind Raise such a bustle, and so much contend.
Not all the Gold which is beneath the moon, Or which was by these wretched Souls possess'd, Could ever satisfy their craving minds.
[tr. Rogers (1782), l. 53ff]
Learn hence of mortal things how vain the boast, Learn to despise the low, degen'rate host, And see their wealth how poor, how mean their pride;
Not all the mines below the wand'ring moon, Not all the sun beholds at highest noon, Can for a moment bid the fray subside.
[tr. Boyd (1802), st. 11]
Now may’st thou see, my son! how brief, how vain, The goods committed into fortune’s hands, For which the human race keep such a coil!
Not all the gold, that is beneath the moon, Or ever hath been, of these toil-worn souls Might purchase rest for one.
[tr. Cary (1814)]
Now may'st thou, son, behold how brief the shuffle Of goods by shifting Fortune held in store, For which the human kind so fiercely ruffle:
Since all below the moon of golden ore That lies, or all those weary souls possessed, Could purchase none a moment's peace the more.
[tr. Dayman (1843)]
But thou, my Son, mayest [now] see the brief mockery of the goods that are committed unto Fortune, for which the human kind contend with each other. For all the gold that is beneath the moon, or ever was, could not give rest to a single one of these weary souls.
[tr. Carlyle (1849)]
Now see, my son, how frivolous and vain The goods committed unto Fortune's hand, For which the race will so rebutting stand.
Not all the gold that is beneath the moon, Nor all these toil-worn creatures have possessed, could purchase for them but a moment's rest.
[tr. Bannerman (1850)]
And now, my son, behold the folly brief of the world's goods to fortune's guidance given, And for which men so struggle and dispute.
Not all the gold that is beneath the moon, Or ever was, unto these wearied souls Could give one hour of respite or of peace.
[tr. Johnston (1867)]
Now canst thou. Son, behold the transient farce Of goods that are committed unto Fortune, For which the human race each other buffet;
For all the gold that is beneath the moon, Or ever has been, of these weary souls Could never make a single one repose.
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]
Now canst thou, my son, see the short game of the goods which are entrusted to Fortune, for which the human race buffet each other. For all the gold that is beneath the moon and that ever was, of these wearied souls could never make one of them rest.
[tr. Butler (1885)]
Now thou canst see, O son, the short-lived day Of good, committed unto Fortune's 'hest, For which the human race so strives alway.
Since all the gold beneath the moon possest, Or ever owned by those worn souls of yore, Could not make one of them one moment rest.
[tr. Minchin (1885)]
Now canst thou, son, see the brief jest of the goods that are committed unto Fortune, for which the human race so scramble; for all the gold that is beneath the moon, or that ever was, of these weary souls could not make a single one repose.
[tr. Norton (1892)]
Here mayest thou see, my son, the fleeting mockery of wealth that is the sport of Fortune, for sake of which men strive with one another. For all the gold that is, or ever hath been beneath the moon, could not procure repose for one of these weary souls.
[tr. Sullivan (1893)]
Now canst thou see, my son, how vain and short-lived Are the good things committed unto fortune, For which sake human folk set on each other.
For all the gold on which the moon now rises, Or ever rose, would be quite unavailing To set one of these weary souls at quiet.
[tr. Griffith (1908)]
Now mayst thou see, my son, the brief mockery of wealth committed to fortune, for which the race of men embroil themselves; for all the gold that is beneath the moon, or ever was, could not give rest to one of these weary souls.
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]
Now, my son, see to what a mock are brought The goods of Fortune's keeping, and how soon! Though to possess them still is all man's thought.
For all the gold that is beneath the moon, Or ever was, never could buy repose For one of those souls, faint to have that boon.
[tr. Binyon (1943)]
See now, my son, the fine and fleeting mock Of all those goods men wrangle for -- the boon That is delivered into the hand of Luck;
For all the gold that is beneath the moon, Or ever was, could not avail to buy Repose for one of these weary souls -- not one.
[tr. Sayers (1949)]
Now may you see the fleeting vanity of the goods of Fortune for which men tear down all that they are, to build a mockery.
Not all the gold that is or ever was under the sky could buy for one of these exhausted souls the fraction of a pause.
[tr. Ciardi (1954)]
Now you can see, my son, the brief mockery of the goods that are committed to Fortune, for which humankind contend with one another; because all the gold that is beneath the moon, or ever was, would not give rest to a single one of these weary souls.
[tr. Singleton (1970)]
You see, my son, the short-lived mockery of all the wealth that is in Fortune's keep, over which the human race is bickering;
for all the gold that is or ever was beneath the moon won't buy a moment's rest for even one among these weary souls.
[tr. Musa (1971)]
Now you can see, my son, how brief's the sport of all those goods that are in Fortune's care, for which the tribe of men contend and brawl;
for all the gold that is or ever was beneath the moon could never offer rest to even one of these exhausted spirits.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1980)]
Now you can see, my son, how short a life Have the gifts which are distributed by Fortune, And for which people get rough with one another:
So that all the gold there is beneath the moon And all there ever was, could never give A moment's rest to one of these tired souls.
[tr. Sisson (1981)]
Now you can see, my son, how ludicrous And brief are all the goods in Fortune's ken, Which humankind contend for: you see from this
How all the gold there is beneath the moon, Or that there ever was, could not relieve One of these weary souls.
[tr. Pinsky (1994), l. 55ff]
Now you can see, my son, the brief mockery of the goods that are committed to Fortune, for which the human race so squabbles;
for all the gold that is under the moon and that ever was, could not give rest to even one of these weary souls.
[tr. Durling (1996)]
But you, my son, can see now the vain mockery of the wealth controlled by Fortune, for which the human race fight with each other, since all the gold under the moon, that ever was, could not give peace to one of these weary souls.
[tr. Kline (2002)]
Now you see, my son, what brief mockery Fortune makes of goods we trust her with, for which the race of men embroil themselves.
All the gold that lies beneath the moon, or ever did, could never give a moment's rest to any of these wearied souls.
[tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]
Now see, my son, the futile mockery Of spending a life accumulating possessions, Competing with fortune and men for worthless frippery:
Take all the gold still lying under the moon, Add all that ever was and you could not buy A moment of rest for one of these souls -- not one.
[tr. Raffel (2010)]
You see it clear,
My son: the squalid fraud as brief as life
Of goods consigned to Fortune, whereupon
Cool heads come to the boil, hands to the knife.
For all the gold there is, and all that's gone,
Would give no shred of peace to even one
Of these drained souls.
[tr. James (2013), l. 56ff]
A conservative is a man who has plenty of money and doesn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t always have plenty of money.
Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1933-03-26), “Weekly Article: We’re Off to a Flying Start”
(Source)
Collected in Steven Grager, ed., Will Rogers' Weekly Articles, Vol. 6 "The Roosevelt Years, 1933-1935" (2011 ed.). Also reprinted in abbreviated format, in Donald Day, ed., The Autobiography of Will Rogers (1949).
Rich men’s houses are seldom beautiful, rarely comfortable, and never original. It is a constant source of surprise to people of moderate means to observe how little a big fortune contributes to Beauty.
Margot Asquith (1864-1945) British socialite, author, wit [Emma Margaret Asquith, Countess Oxford and Asquith; Margot Oxford; née Tennant] Autobiography, Vol. 2, 5 May 1908 (1922)
(Source)
When citizens are relatively equal, politics has tended to be fairly democratic. When a few individuals hold enormous amounts of wealth, democracy suffers. The reason for this pattern is simple. Through campaign contributions, lobbying, influence over public discourse, and other means, wealth can be translated into political power. When wealth is highly concentrated — that is, when a few individuals have enormous amounts of money — political power tends to be highly concentrated, too. The wealthy few tend to rule. Average citizens lose political power. Democracy declines.
Benjamin I. Page (b. 1940) American political scientist, academic, researcher Democracy in America?: What Has Gone Wrong and What We Can Do About It, Part 1, ch. 2 (2017) [with Martin Gilens]
(Source)
They tell me thou art rich, my country: gold
In glittering flood has poured into thy chest;
Thy flocks and herds increase, thy barns are pressed
With harvest, and thy stores can hardly hold
Their merchandise; unending trains are rolled
Along thy network rails of East and West;
Thy factories and forges never rest;
Thou art enriched in all things bought and sold!
But dost thou prosper? Better news I crave.
O dearest country, is it well with thee
Indeed, and is thy soul in health?
A nobler people, hearts more wisely brave,
And thoughts that lift men up and make them free, —
These are prosperity and vital wealth!
Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) American clergyman and writer
“America’s Prosperity” (1 Oct 1916), The Red Flower: Poems Written in War Time (1917)
(Source)
There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has.
Hugo Black (1886-1971) American politician and jurist, US Supreme Court Justice (1937-71) Griffin v. Illinois, 351 US 12, 19 (1956) [majority opinion]
(Source)
On the Constitutional requirement for states to ensure not only that trial defense is available to poor defendants, but that appeals costs be addressed as well.
Dignity of character ought to be graced by a house; but from a house it is not wholly derived. A master is not to be honored by a house; but a house by its master.
[Ornanda enim est dignitas domo, non ex domo tota quaerenda, nec domo dominus, sed domino domus honestanda est.]
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The Offices], Book 1, ch. 39 (1.39) / sec. 139 (44 BC) [tr. McCartney (1798)]
(Source)
It is well if a man can enhance that credit and reputation he has gotten by the splendour of his house; but he must not depend on his house alone for it; for the master ought to bring honour to his fine seat, and not the fine seat bring honour to its master.
[tr. Cockman (1699)]
For dignity should be adorned by a palace, but not be wholly sought from it: -- the house ought to be ennobled by the master, and not the master by the house.
[tr. Edmonds (1865)]
In truth, high standing in the community should be adorned by a house, not sought wholly from a house; nor should the owner be honored by the house, but the house by the owner.
[tr. Peabody (1883)]
The house should not constitute, though it may enhance, the dignity of the master; let the master honour the house, not the house the master.
[tr. Gardiner (1899)]
Your house may add lustre to your dignity, but it will not suffice that you should derive all your dignity from your house: the master should ennoble the house, not the house the master.
[ed. Harbottle (1906)]
The truth is, a man's dignity may be enhanced by the house he lives in, but not wholly secured by it; the owner should bring honour to his house, not the house to its owner.
[tr. Miller (1913)]
A house may enhance a man's dignity, but it should not be the only source of dignity; the house should not glorify its owner, but he should enhance it.
[tr. Edinger (1974)]
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)
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.
For the old notions of civil liberty and social order did not benefit the masses of the people. Wealth increased, without relieving their wants. The progress of knowledge left them in abject ignorance. Religion flourished, but failed to reach them. Society, whose laws were made by the upper class alone, announced that the best thing for the poor is not to be born, and the next best, to die in childhood, and suffered them to live in misery and crime and pain. As surely as the long reign of the rich has been employed in promoting the accumulation of wealth, the advent of the poor to power will be followed by schemes for diffusing it. Seeing how little was done by the wisdom of former times for education and public health, for insurance, association, and savings, for the protection of labour against the law of self-interest, and how much has been accomplished in this generation, there is reason in the fixed belief that a great change was needed, and that democracy has not striven in vain.
John Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902) British historian, politician, writer
“Review of Sir Erskine May’s Democracy in Europe,” The Quarterly Review (1878-01)
(Source)
The life of making money is a life people are, as it were, forced into, and wealth is clearly not the good we are seeking, since it is merely useful, for getting something else.
Rackham notes the term βίαιος (translated under compulsion/constraint) is "literally ‘violent’; the adjective is applied to the strict diet and and laborious exercises of athletes, and to physical phenomena such as motion, in the sense of ‘constrained,’ ‘not natural.’"
As for the life of money-making, it is one of constraint, and wealth manifestly is not the good we are seeking, because it is for use, that is, for the sake of something further.
[tr. Chase (1847), ch. 3]
As for the money-getting life, it violates the natural fitness of things. Wealth is clearly not the absolute good of which we are in search, for it is a utility, and nonly desirable as a means.
[tr. Williams (1869)]
The life of money-making is in a sense a life of constraint, and it is clear that wealth is not the good of which we are in quest; for it is useful in part as a means to something else.
[tr. Welldon (1892), ch. 3]
As for the money-making life, it is something quite contrary to nature; and wealth evidently is not the good of which we are in search, for it is merely useful as a means to something else.
[tr. Peters (1893)]
The life of money-making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else.
[tr. Ross (1908)]
The Life of Money-making is a constrained kind of life, and clearly wealth is not the Good we are in search of, for it is only good as being useful, a means to something else.
[tr. Rackham (1934), 1.5.8]
The life of a moneymaker is in a way forced, and wealth is clearly not the good we are looking for, since it was useful and for the sake of something else.
[tr. Reeve (1948), ch. 5]
As for the life of a money-maker, it is one of tension; and clearly the good sought is not wealth, for wealth is instrumental and is sought for the sake of something else.
[tr. Apostle (1975), ch. 3]
As for the life of the businessman, it does not give him much freedom of action. Besides, wealth is obviously not the good that we are seeking, because it serves only as a means; i.e., for getting something else.
[tr. Thomson/Tredennick (1976)]
The moneymaking life is characterized by a certain constraint, and it is clear that wealth is not the good being sought, for it is a useful thing and for the sake of something else.
[tr. Bartlett/Collins (2011)]
A thief can rifle any till, A fire with ash your home can fill,
A creditor calls in your debt. Bad harvest does your farm upset,
An impish mistress robs your dwelling, Storm shatters ships with water swelling.
But gifts to friends your friendships save. You keep thus always what you gave.
[Callidus effracta nummos fur auferet arca,
Prosternet patrios impia flamma lares:
Debitor usuram pariter sortemque negabit,
Non reddet sterilis semina iacta seges:
Dispensatorem fallax spoliabit amica,
Mercibus extructas obruet unda rates.
Extra fortunam est, quidquid donatur amicis:
Quas dederis, solas semper habebis opes.]
Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis] Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 5, epigram 42 (5.42) (AD 90) [tr. Wills (2007)]
(Source)
The crafty thefe from battered chest, doth filch thy coine awaie:
The debter nor the interest, nor principall will pay.
The fearefull flame destroies the goods, and letteth nought remaine:
The barren ground for seede recevd, restoreth naught again.
The subtle harlot naked strips her lover to the skin:
If thou commit thy self to seas, great danger art thou in.
Not that thou gevest to thy frend, can fortune take away:
That onely that thou givst thy friend, thou shalt posses for ay.
[tr. Kendall (1577)]
Thieves may thy Coffers breake, steale coyne or plate; Thy house a sudden fire may ruinate.
Debtors may Use, and Principall deny, And dead thy seedes in barren Grounds may lye:
Thy Steward may be cheated by a Whore; Thy Merchandise the Ocean may devour.
But what thou giv'st thy friends, from chance is free. Thy gifts alone shall thine for ever be.
[tr. May (1629)]
Some felon-hand may steal thy gold away; Or flames destructive on thy mansion prey.
The fraudful debtor may thy loan deny; Or blasted fields no more their fruits supply.
The am'rous steward to adorn his dear, With spoils may deck her from thy plunder'd year.
Thy freighted vessels, ere the port they gain, O'erwhelm'd by storms may sink beneath the main:
But what thou giv'st a friend for friendship's sake, Is the sole wealth which fortune n'er can take.
[tr. Melmoth (c. 1750)]
Thieves may break locks, and with your cash retire; Your ancient seat may be consumed by fire;
Debtors refuse to pay you what they owe; Or your ungrateful field the seed you sow;
You may be plundered by a jilting whore; Your ships may sink at sea with all their store:
Who gives to friends, so much from Fate secures; That is the only wealth for ever yours.
[tr. Hay (1755), ep. 43]
The thief shall burst thy box, and slyly go: The impious flame shall lay thy Lares low.
Thy dettor shall deny both use and sum: Thy seed deposited may never come.
A faithless female shall they steward spoil: They ships are swallow'd, while thy billow boil.
Whate'er is bountied, quit vain fortune's road: Thine is alone the wealth thou has bestow'd.
[tr. Elphinston (1782), Book 5, ep. 82]
A crafty thief may purloin money from a chest;
an impious flame may destroy paternal Lares;
a debtor may deny both principal and interest;
land may not yield crops in return for the seed scattered upon it;
frauds may be practices on a steward entrusted with your household purse;
the sea may overwhelm ships laden with merchandise.
Whatever is given to friends is beyond the reach of Fortune;
the wealth you have bestowed is the only wealth you can keep.
[tr. Amos (1858), ch. 3, ep. 77]
A cunning thief may burst open your coffers, and steal your coin;
an impious fire may lay waste your ancestral home;
your debtor may refuse you both principal and interest;
your corn-field may prove barren, and not repay the seed you have scattered upon it;
a crafty mistress may rob your steward;
the waves may engulf your ships laden with merchandise.
But what is bestowed on your friends is beyond the reach of fortune;
the riches you give away are the only riches you will possess for ever.
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]
A present to a friend's beyond the reach of fortune:
That wealth alone you always will possess
Which you have given away.
[ed. Harbottle (1897)]
A cunning thief will break your money-box and carry off your coin,
cruel fire will lay low your ancestral home;
your debtor will repudiate interest alike and principal,
your sterile crop will not return you the seed you have sown;
a false mistress will despoil your treasurer,
the wave will overwhelm your ships stored with merchandise.
Beyond Fortune's power is any gift made to your friends;
only wealth bestowed will you possess always.
[tr. Ker (1919)]
Some thief may steal your wealth away,
Although by massive walls surrounded;
Or ruthless fire in ashes lay The ancient home your fathers founded;
A debtor may withhold your dues,
Deny perhaps a debt is owing,
Or sullen ploughlands may refuse To yield a harvest to your sowing.
A cunning trollop of the town
May make your agent rob his master,
Or waters of the ocean drown Your goods and ship in one disaster.
But give to friends whate'er you may,
'Tis safe from fortune's worst endeavor:
The riches that you give away, These only shall be yours for ever.
[tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]
Some cunning burglar will abstract your plate, A godless fire your roof will devastate,
A debtor steal both interest and loan, A barren field will turn your seed to stone.
A wily wench will strip your steward bare, The greedy sea engulf your galleon's ware.
Give to a friend and fortune is checkmated; Such wealth will ever as your own be rated.
[tr. Francis & Tatum (1924), #247]
A cunning thief may rob your money-chest,
And cruel fire lay low an ancient home;
Debtors may keep both loan and interest; Good seed may fruitless rot in barren loam.
A guileful mistress may your agent cheat,
And waves engulf your laden argosies;
But boons to friends can fortune's slings defeat: The wealth you give away will never cease.
[tr. Duff (1929)]
A cunning thief will break open your coffer and carry off your money, ruthless fire will lay low your family horne, your debtor will repudiate interest and principal alike, your barren fields will not return the scattered seed, a tricky mistress will rob your steward, the wave ,will overwhelm your ships piled high with merchandise: hut whatever is given to friends is beyond the grasp of Fortune. Only the wealth you give away will always be yours.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]
Deft thieves can break your locks and carry off your savings,
fire consume your home,
debtors default on principal and interest,
failed crops return not even the seed you'd sown,
cheating women run up your charge accounts,
storm overwhelm ships freighted with all your goods.
Fortune can't take away what you give your friends:
that wealth stays yours forever.
[tr. Powell (c. 2000)]
The only wealth that's yours forever
is the wealth you give away.
[tr. Kennelly (2008), "Forever"]
Sly thieves will smash your coffer and steal your cash;
impious flames will wreck your family home;
your debtor won't repay your loan or interest; your barren fields will yield less than you've sown;
a crafty mistress will despoil your steward;
a wave will swamp your ships piled high with stores.
But what you give to friends is safe from Fortune: only the wealth you give away is yours.
[tr. McLean (2014)]
Savings -- the cunning thief will crack your safe and steal them;
ancestral home -- the fires don't care, they'll trash it;
the guy who owes you money -- won't pay the interest, won't pay at all.
Your field -- it's barren, sow seed and you'll get no return;
your girlfriend -- she'll con your accountant and leave you penniless;
your shipping line -- the waves will swamp your stacks of cargo.
But what you give to friends is out of fortune's reach.
The wealth you give away is the only wealth you'll never lose.
[tr. Nisbet (2015)]
Democritus (c. 460 BC - c. 370 BC) Greek philosopher
Frag. 78 (Diels) [tr. @sententiq (2018)]
(Source)
Original Greek. Diels citation "78. (74 N.) DEMOKRATES. 43."; collected in Joannes Stobaeus (Stobaios) Anthologium 4, 31, 21. Bakewell lists this under "The Golden Sayings of Democritus." Freeman notes this as one of the Gnômae, from a collection called "Maxims of Democratês," but because Stobaeus quotes many of these as "Maxims of Democritus," they are generally attributed to the latter. Alternate translations:
"Making money is not without its value, but nothing is baser than to make it by wrong-doing." [tr. Bakewell (1907)]
"To make money is not without use, but if it comes from wrong-doing, nothing is worse." [tr. Freeman (1948)]
Democritus (c. 460 BC - c. 370 BC) Greek philosopher
Frag. 77 (Diels) [tr. @sententiq (2018)]
(Source)
Original Greek. Diels citation "77. (78 N.) DEMOKRATES. 42."; collected in Joannes Stobaeus (Stobaios) Anthologium 3, 4, 82. Bakewell lists this under "The Golden Sayings of Democritus." Freeman notes this as one of the Gnômae, from a collection called "Maxims of Democratês," but because Stobaeus quotes many of these as "Maxims of Democritus," they are generally attributed to the latter. Alternate translations:
"Fame and wealth without wisdom are unsafe possessions." [tr. Bakewell (1907)]
"Fame and wealth without intelligence are dangerous possessions." [tr. Freeman (1948)]
"Reputation and wealth without intelligence are unsafe possessions." [tr. Taylor]
"Fame and wealth without understanding are not secure possessions." [Source]
"But backed by hope, lucre has ruined many." [tr. Donaldson (1848)]
"Yet hope of gain hath lured men to their ruin oftentimes." [tr. Storr (1859)]
"But hope of gain full oft ere now hath been the ruin of men." [tr. Campbell (1873)]
"Yet by just the hope of it, money has many times corrupted men." [tr. Jebb (1891)]
"Yet lucre hath oft ruined men through their hopes." [tr. Jebb (1917)]
"Yet money talks, and the wisest have sometimes been known to count a few coins too many." [tr. Fitts/Fitzgerald (1939)]
"But often we have known men to be ruined by the hope of profit." [tr. Wyckoff (1954)]
"But love of gain has often lured a man to his destruction." [tr. Kitto (1962)]
"But all too often the mere hope of money has ruined many men." [tr. Fagles (1982)]
"But hope -- and bribery -- often have led men to destruction." [tr. Woodruff (2001)]
"But profit with its hopes often destroys men." [tr. Tyrell/Bennett (2002)]
https://diotima-doctafemina.org/translations/greek/sophocles-antigone/#post-1273:~:text=But%20profit,with%20its%20hopes%20often%20destroys%20men.
"Yet there are men who the mere hope of winning has killed them." [tr. Theodoridis (2004)]
"And yet men have often been destroyed because they hoped to profit in some way." [tr. Johnston (2005)]
"But often profit has destroyed men through their hopes." [tr. Thomas (2005)]
"But the profit-motive has destroyed many people in their hope for gain." [tr. @sentantiq (2018)]
A society which reverences the attainment of riches as the supreme felicity will naturally be disposed to regard the poor as damned in the next world, if only to justify making their life a hell in this.
R. H. Tawney (1880-1962) English writer, economist, historian, social critic [Richard Henry Tawney] Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, ch. 4: The Puritan Movement, sec. 4 “The New Medicine for Poverty” (1926)
(Source)
Originally delivered as Holland Lectures, Kings College (Feb-Mar 1922).
These women were fatuous with a fatuity which had threatened her all her life, as it threatened all people of means, and which was of mournful significance for humanity in general, since it proved the emptiness of one of man’s most reasonable expectations. No more sensible form of government could be imagined than aristocracy. If certain able stocks in the community were able to amass enough wealth to give their descendants beautiful houses to grow up in, the widest opportunities of education, complete economic security, so that they need never be influenced by mercenary considerations, and easy access to any public form of work they chose to undertake — why, then, the community had a race of perfect governors ready made.
Only, as the Lauristons showed, the process worked out wholly different in practice. There came to these selected stocks a deadly, ungrateful complacence, which made them count these opportunities as their achievements, and belittle everybody else’s achievements unless they were similarly confused with opportunities; and which did worse than this, by abolishing all standards from their minds except what they themselves were and did.
Rebecca West (1892-1983) British author, journalist, literary critic, travel writer [pseud. for Cicily Isabel Fairfield] The Thinking Reed, ch. 7 (1936)
For life without life’s joys
Is living death; and such a life is his.
Riches and rank and show of majesty
And state, where no joy is, are empty, vain
And unsubstantial shadows, of no weight
To be compared with happiness of heart.
For him I reckon but
An animate corpse, and not a living man,
Whose life's delights are cast away. Thy house,
I grant thee, may be richly stored with wealth;
And thou may'st live in royal pomp: but if
Joy is not there the while, and I must lose
All happiness thereby, I would not give
Smoke's shadow as the price of all the rest.
[tr. Donaldson (1848)]
For a life
Without life's joys I count a living death.
You'll tell me he has ample store of wealth,
The pomp and circumstance of kings; but if
These give no pleasure, all the rest I count
The shadow of a shade, nor would I weigh
His wealth and power 'gainst a dram of joy.
[tr. Storr (1859)]
For when a man is lost to joy,
I count him not to live, but reckon him
A living corse. Riches belike are his,
Great riches and the appearance of a King;
But if no gladness come to him, all else
Is shadow of a vapour, weighed with joy.
[tr. Campbell (1873)]
When a man has forfeited his pleasures, I do not reckon his existence as life, but consider him just a breathing corpse. Heap up riches in your house, if you wish! Live with a tyrant's pomp! But if there is no joy along with all of that, I would not pay even the shadow of smoke for all the rest, compared with joy.
[tr. Jebb (1891)]
For when a man hath forfeited his pleasures, I count him not as living, -- I hold him but a breathing corpse. Heap up riches in thy house, if thou wilt; live in kingly state; yet, if there be no gladness therewith, I would not give the shadow of a vapour for all the rest, compared with joy.
[tr. Jebb (1917)]
Who can say
That a man is still alive when his life’s joy fails?
He is a walking dead man. Grant him rich,
Let him live like a king in his great house:
If his pleasure is gone, I would not give
So much as the shadow of smoke for all he owns.
[tr. Fitts/Fitzgerald (1939), l. 910ff]
Yes, when a man has lost all happiness,
he's not alive. Call him a breathing corpse.
Be very rich at home. Live as a king.
But once your joy has gone, though these are left
they are smoke's shadow to lost happiness.
[tr. Wyckoff (1954)]
He who forfeits joy
Forfeits his life; he is a breathing corpse.
Heap treasures in your palace, if you will,
And wear the pomp of royalty; but if
You have no happiness, I would not give
A straw for all of it, compared with joy.
[tr. Kitto (1962)]
Believe me,
when a man has squandered his true joys,
he's good as dead, I tell you, a living corpse.
Pile up riches in your house, as much as you like --
live like a king with a huge show of pomp,
but if real delight is missing from the lot,
I wouldn't give you a wisp of smoke for it,
not compared to joy.
[tr. Fagles (1982), l. 1284ff]
When every source of joy deserts a man,
I don't call him alive: he's an animated corpse.
For my money, you can get rich as you want,
You can wear the face of a tyrant,
But if you have no joy in this,
Your life's not worth the shadow of a puff of smoke.
[tr. Woodruff (2001)]
Whenever men forfeit their pleasures, I do not regard
such a man as alive, but I consider him a living corpse.
Be very wealthy in your household, if you wish, and live
the style of absolute rulers, but should the enjoyment of these
depart, what is left, compared to pleasure,
I would not buy from a man for a shadow of smoke.
[tr. Tyrell/Bennett (2002)]
When a man’s body has lost all sense of joy, you can say he’s not alive any more. He is a living corpse. You can have as much wealth in your house as you like and you can live like a king but when joy is missing then all those other things I wouldn’t exchange for the price of the shadow of smoke -- not against the sweetness of joy!
[tr. Theodoridis (2004), "Herald"]
For when a man has lost
what gives him pleasure, I don’t include him
among the living -- he’s a breathing corpse.
Pile up a massive fortune in your home,
if that’s what you want -- live like a king.
If there’s no pleasure in it, I’d not give
to any man a vapour’s shadow for it,
not compared to human joy.
[tr. Johnston (2005), l. 1296ff]
But when people lose their pleasures, I do not consider this life -- rather, it is just a corpse with a soul.
[tr. @sentantiq (2018)]
But no moral philosopher, from Aristotle to Aquinas, to John Locke and Adam Smith, divorced economics from a set of moral ends or held the production of wealth to be an end in itself; rather it was seen as a means to the realization of virtue, a means of leading a civilized life.
Daniel Bell (1919-2011) American sociologist, writer, editor, academic The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (1976)
Where some possess much, and the others nothing, there may arise an extreme democracy, or a pure oligarchy; or a tyranny may grow out of either extreme.
"When some possess too much, and others nothing at all, the government must either be in the hands of the meanest rabble or else a pure oligarchy; or, from the excesses of both, a tyranny." [tr. Ellis (1912)]
"Where some own a very great deal of property and others none there comes about either an extreme democracy or an unmixed oligarchy, or a tyranny may result from both of the two extremes." [tr. Rackham (1932)]
"Where some possess very many things and others nothing, either rule of the people in its extreme form must come into being, or unmixed oligarchy, or -- as a result of both of these excesses -- tyranny." [tr. Reeve (2007)]
"Where some people are very wealthy and others have nothing, the result will be either extreme democracy or absolute oligarchy, or despotism will come from either of those excesses."
The ability of the rich and their acolytes to see social virtue in what serves their interest and convenience and to depict as ridiculous or foolish what does not was never better manifested than in their support of gold and their condemnation of paper money.
John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went, ch. 9 (1975)
(Source)
Why, pray, should I speak of things which are incredible except to those who have seen them, that a host of private men have levelled mountains and built upon the seas? To such men their riches seem to me to have been but a plaything; for while they might have enjoyed them honourably, they made haste to squander them shamefully. Nay more, the passion which arose for lewdness, gluttony, and the other attendants of luxury was equally strong; men played the woman, women offered their chastity for sale; to gratify their palates they scoured land and sea; they slept before they needed sleep; they did not await the coming of hunger or thirst, of cold or of weariness, but all these things their self-indulgence anticipated.
[Nam quid ea memorem, quae nisi eis qui videre nemini credibilia sunt, a privatis compluribus subvorsos montis, maria constrata esse? Quibus mihi videntur ludibrio fuisse divitiae; quippe quas honeste habere licebat, abuti per turpitudinem properabant. Sed lubido stupri, ganeae ceterique cultus non minor incesserat; viri muliebria pati, mulieres pudicitiam in propatulo habere; vescendi causa terra marique omnia exquirere, dormire prius quam somni cupido esset, non famem aut sitim neque frigus neque lassitudinem opperiri sed omnia luxu antecapere.]
Sallust (c. 86-35 BC) Roman historian and politician [Gaius Sallustius Crispus] Bellum Catilinae [The War of Cateline; The Conspiracy of Catiline], ch. 13, sent. 1-3 [tr. Rolfe (1931)]
(Source)
"Need I mention, what to all but eye-witnesses would seem incredible? whole mountains levelled to the valley by the expense and labour of individuals, and even the seas covered with magnificent structures! To such men riches seem to be a burden: what they might enjoy with credit and advantage to themselves, they seem in eager haste to squander away in idle ostentation. To these vices that conspired against the commonwealth, many others may be added, such as prostitution, convivial debauchery, and all kinds of licentious pleasure. The men unsexed themselves, and the women made their persons venal. For the pleasures of the table, sea and land were ransacked; the regular returns of thirst and hunger were anticipated; the hour of sleep was left to a price and accident; cold was a sensation not to be endured by delicate habits; luxury was the business of life, and by that every thing was governed." [tr. Murphy (1807)]
"It is needless to recount other things, which none but those who saw them will believe; as the levelling of mountains by private citizens, and even covering the sea itself with fine edifices. These men appear to me to have sported with their riches, since they lavished them in the most shameful manner, instead of enjoying them with honour. Nor were they less addicted to all manner of extravagant gratifications: men and women laid aside all regard to chastity. To procure dainties for their tables, sea and land were ransacked. They indulged in sleep before nature craved it; the returns of hunger and thirst were anticipated with luxury: and cold and fatigue were never so much as felt." [tr. Rose (1831)]
"For why should I relate those things which are credible to no one except to those who have seen them -- that mountains have been levelled, seas built over by many private persons, whose riches appear to me to have been a jest, since those which they might have used honourably, they hastened to abuse disgracefully? But no less a desire of wantoning, gluttony, and other fashion had come on, women exhibited their shame in the open air, for the sake of feasting they ransacked every place by sea and land, and slept before there was any desire of sleep, they waited not for hunger nor thirst, nor cold nor fatigue, but anticipated all these things through their luxury." [Source (1841)]
"For why should I mention those displays of extravagance, which can be believed by none but those who have seen them; as that mountains have been leveled, and seas covered with edifices, by many private citizens; men whom I consider to have made a sport of their wealth, since they were impatient to squander disreputably what they might have enjoyed with honor. But the love of irregular gratification, open debauchery, and all kinds of luxury, had spread abroad with no less force. Men forgot their sex; women threw off all the restraints of modesty. To gratify appetite, they sought for every kind of production by land and by sea; they slept before there was any inclination for sleep; they no longer waited to feel hunger, thirst, cold, or fatigue, but anticipated them all by luxurious indulgence." [tr. Watson (1867)]
"Why should I tell of things which no one who has not seen them could believe, of how often private individuals have levelled mountains and built over seas? Such men seem to me to have trifled with their riches in the haste with which they have ignobly abused what they might honourably have enjoyed. But the passion for defilement, gluttony, and all other kinds of indulgence, had kept pace with that for wealth. Each sex alike trampled on their modesty. Sea and land were ransacked to supply the table. Men went to trest before the felt a desire for sleep; they did not wait for hunger or thirst, cold, or weariness, but anticipated them all by luxurious expedients." [tr. Pollard (1882)]
"Why should I recall that numerous private individuals undermined mountains and paved over the seas -- things that are credible to no one except those who have seen them? To such men, it seems to me, their riches were a plaything: when they could have held them with honour, they hurried to misuse them disgracefully. But the lust which had arisen for illicit sex, gluttony and other refinements was no less: men took the passive role of women, women made their chastity openly available; everywhere, by land and by sea, was ransacked for the sake of feeding; they slept before there could be any desire for slumber: they did not wait for hunger or thirst nor for cold nor tiredness, but in their luxuriousness anticipated them all." [tr. Woodman (2007)]
As soon as riches came to be held in honour, when glory, dominion, and power followed in their train, virtue began to lose its lustre, poverty to be considered a disgrace, blamelessness to be termed malevolence. Therefore as the result of riches, luxury and greed, united with insolence, took possession of our young manhood. They pillaged, squandered; set little value on their own, coveted the goods of others; they disregarded modesty, chastity, everything human and divine; in short, they were utterly thoughtless and reckless.
[Postquam divitiae honori esse coepere et eas gloria, imperium, potentia sequebatur, hebescere virtus, paupertas probro haberi, innocentia pro malivolentia duci coepit. Igitur ex divitiis iuventutem luxuria atque avaritia cum superbia invasere; rapere, consumere, sua parvi pendere, aliena cupere, pudorem, pudicitiam, divina atque humana promiscua, nihil pensi neque moderati habere.]
Sallust (c. 86-35 BC) Roman historian and politician [Gaius Sallustius Crispus] Bellum Catilinae [The War of Cateline; The Conspiracy of Catiline], ch. 12, sent. 1-2 [tr. Rolfe (1931)]
(Source)
"Riches became the epidemic passion; and where honours, imperial sway, and power, followed in their train, virtue lost her influence, poverty was deemed the meanest disgrace, and innocence was thought to be no better than a mark for malignity of heart. In this manner riches engendered luxury, avarice, and pride; and by those vices the Roman youth were enslaved. Rapacity and profusion went on increasing; regardless of their own property, and eager to seize that of their neighbours, all rushed forward without shame or remorse, confounding every thing sacred and profane, and scorning the restraint of moderation and justice." [tr. Murphy (1807)]
"When riches began to be held in high esteem, and attended with glory, honour, and power, virtue languished, poverty was deemed a reproach, and innocence passed for ill-nature. And thus luxury, avarice, and pride, all springing from riches, enslaved the Roman youth; they wantoned in rapine and prodigality; undervalued their own, and coveted what belonged to others; trampled on modesty, friendship, and continence; confounded things divine and human; and threw off all manner of consideration and restraint." [tr. Rose (1831)]
"After that riches began to be an honour and glory, and command and power followed them, virtue began to languish, poverty to be accounted matter of reproach, and innocence to be considered as malignity. Therefore from riches, luxury and avarice with pride came in upon our youth. They ravaged and wasted every thing, their own property they valued at a trifle, that of other persons they coveted, and had not the least care for, or moderation in, shame, modesty, sacred or profane things, which were all the same to them." [Source (1841)]
"When wealth was once considered an honor, and glory, authority, and power attended on it, virtue lost her influence, poverty was thought a disgrace, and a life of innocence was regarded as a life of ill-nature. From the influence of riches, accordingly, luxury, avarice, and pride prevailed among the youth; they grew at once rapacious and prodigal; they undervalued what was their own, and coveted what was another’s; they set at naught modesty and continence; they lost all distinction between sacred and profane, and threw off all consideration and self-restraint." [tr. Watson (1867)]
"Riches became a means of distinction and glory, power and influence followed their possession. As a result the edge of virtue was dulled, poverty was accounted a disgrace, and uprightness a kind of ill-nature. Riches made the youth prey to luxury, avarice, and pride: at once grasping and prodigal, they valued lightly their own property, while the coveted that of others; all modesty and purity, alike things human and things divine, everything, in short, was despised and disregarded." [tr. Pollard (1882)]
"After riches began to be a source of honour and to be attended by glory, command and power, prowess began to dull, poverty to be considered a disgrace and blamelessness to be regarded as malice. In the wake of riches, therefore, young men were attacked by luxury and avarice along with haughtiness; they seized, they squandered; they placed little weight on their own property and desired that of others; they considered propriety and unchastity, divine and human matters, as indistinguishable, and nothing as worth weight or restraint." [tr. Woodman (2007)]
Avarice, on the other hand, implies a zeal for money, an object for which no philosopher ever yearned. Tainting the body and mind of the strong, it weakens them as by some deadly poison; it is always boundless, always insatiable; plenty and want alike fail to lessen it.
[Avaritia pecuniae studium habet, quam nemo sapiens concupivit; ea quasi venenis malis imbuta corpus animumque virilem effeminat, semper infinita, insatiabilis est, neque copia neque inopia minuitur.]
Sallust (c. 86-35 BC) Roman historian and politician [Gaius Sallustius Crispus] Bellum Catilinae [The War of Cateline; The Conspiracy of Catiline], ch. 11, sent. 3 [tr. Pollard (1882)]
(Source)
Alt. trans.:
"Avarice, on the other hand, aims at an accumulation of riches; a passion unknown in liberal minds. It may be called a compound of poisonous ingredeients; it has power to enervate the body, and debauch the best understanding; always unbounded; never satisfied; in plenty and in want equally craving and rapacious." [tr. Murphy (1807)]
"Avarice has money for its object, which no wise man ever coveted. This vice, as if impregnated with deadly poison, enervated both soul and body; is always boundless and insatiable; nor are its cravings lessened by plenty or want." [tr. Rose (1831)]
"Avarice has a longing for money, which no wise man ever desired. This passion, as if it were imbued with deadly poisons, enervates the body and mind of man. It is always boundless, insatiable, is neither diminished by plenty nor want." [Source (1841)]
"But avarice has merely money for its object, which no wise man has ever immoderately desired. It is a vice which, as if imbued with deadly poison, enervates whatever is manly in body or mind. It is always unbounded and insatiable, and is abated neither by abundance nor by want." [tr. Watson (1867)]
"Avarice implies a desire for money, which no wise man covets; steeped as it were with noxious poisons, it renders the most manly body and soul effeminate; it is ever unbounded and insatiable, nor can either plenty or want make it less." [tr. Rolfe (1931)]
"Avarice involves an enthusiasm for money (which no wise man has ever desired): as if saturated with a harmful poison, it feminizes the manly body and mind, knows neither limit nor surfeit, and lessened by neither sufficiency nor insufficiency." [tr. Woodman (2007)]
Objects close to the eye shut out much larger objects on the horizon; and splendors born only of the earth eclipse the stars. So a man sometimes covers up the entire disk of eternity with a dollar, and quenches transcendent glories with a little shining dust.
Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814-1880) American clergyman Living Words (1860)
(Source)
When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall be able to rid ourselves of many of the pseudo-moral principles which have hag-ridden us for two hundred years, by which we have exalted some of the most distasteful of human qualities into the position of the highest virtues. We shall be able to afford to dare to assess the money-motive at its true value. The love of money as a possession — as distinguished from the love of money as a means to the enjoyment and realities of life — will be recognized for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity, one of those semi-criminal, semi-pathological propensities which one hands over with a shudder to the specialists in mental disease.
John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) English economist
“Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren,” Nation and Athenaeum (1930-10-11)
(Source)
Originally a society talk in 1920, expanded to a lecture given in Madrid (1930-06). Reprinted in Essays in Persuasion, Part 5, ch. 2 (1931).
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).
Justice is indiscriminately due to all, without regard to numbers, wealth, or rank.
John Jay (1745-1829) American statesman, diplomat, abolitionist, politician, Chief Justice (1789-1795) Georgia v. Brailsford, 3 US 1 (1794) [unanimous opinion]
(Source)
Making money ain’t nothing exciting to me. … You might be able to buy a little better booze than some wino on the corner. But you get sick just like the next cat, and when you die you’re just as graveyard dead as he is.
Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong (1900-1971) American musician Ebony (Nov 1964)
(Source)
We need leaders not in love with money but in love with justice. Not in love with publicity but in love with humanity.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
“The Birth of a New Age,” speech, Alpha Phi Alpha banquet, Buffalo (11 Aug 1956)
(Source)
King used the same phrases, or variations of them, for different speeches and sermons, e.g., in "Desegregation and the Future" (15 Dec 1956), he used "Leaders not in love with publicity, but in love with justice. Leaders not in love with money, but in love with humanity."
If a man who was rich enough in this world’s goods saw that one of his brothers was in need, but closed his heart to him, how could the love of God be living in him? My children, our love is not to be just words or mere talk, but something real and active.
But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
[KJV (1611)]
If we are rich and see others in need, yet close our hearts against them, how can we claim that we love God? My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.
[GNT (1976)]
If anyone is well-off in worldly possessions and sees his brother in need but closes his heart to him, how can the love of God be remaining in him? Children, our love must be not just words or mere talk, but something active and genuine.
[NJB (1985)]
But if someone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but refuses to help—how can the love of God dwell in a person like that? Little children, let’s not love with words or speech but with action and truth.
[CEB (2011)]
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
[NIV (2011)]
How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]
After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all — the trouble is, humans do have a knack for choosing precisely those things that are worst for them.
Joanne "Jo" Rowling (b. 1965) British novelist [writes as J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith] Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, ch. 17 [Dumbledore] (1997)
The greatest foe to art is luxury, art cannot live in its atmosphere.
William Morris (1834-1896) British textile designer, writer, socialist activist
“The Beauty of Life,” lecture, Birmingham Society of Arts and School of Design (19 Feb 1880)
(Source)
Luxury has been railed at for two thousand years, in verse and in prose, and it has always been loved.
Voltaire (1694-1778) French writer [pseud. of Francois-Marie Arouet] Philosophical Dictionary [Dictionnaire philosophique], “Luxury [Le Luxe],” sec. 2 (1764)
Alt trans.:
"Luxury has been declaimed against for the space of two thousand years, both in verse and prose; and yet it has been always liked." [tr. Fleming (1905)]
"For these two thousand years past, luxury has been declaimed against, both in verse and prose: but still mankind has always delighted in it." [Source (1835)]
While we are poor, the necessarys ov life are the luxurys; after we git ritch, the luxurys are the necessarys.
[While we are poor, the necessaries of life are the luxuries; after we get rich, the luxuries are the necessaries.]
Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw] Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, “Mollassis Kandy” (1874)
(Source)
We’re like a rich father who wishes he knew how to give his son the hardships that made the father such a man.
Robert Frost (1874-1963) American poet
Comment, “Meet the Press” (22 Mar 1959)
When asked by Ernest Lindley whether American civilization had improved or declined in his lifetime. Often misquoted as "Americans are like a rich father who wishes he knew how to give his son the hardships that made him rich."
In reality, the likelihood of reaching the pinnacle of capitalist society today is only marginally better than were the chances of being accepted into the French nobility four centuries ago, though at least an aristocratic age was franker, and therefore kinder, about the odds. It did not relentlessly play up the possibilities open to all, … and so, in turn, did not cruelly equate an ordinary life with a failed one.
Alain de Botton (b. 1969) Swiss-British author The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, ch. 9 “Entrepreneurship” (2009)
(Source)
Here’s a man who’s wangled millions; Yet the parasite’s not done.
Fortune gives too much to many, Yet, strange to say, enough to none.
[Habet Africanus miliens, tamen captat.
Fortuna multis dat nimis, satis nulli.]
Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis] Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 12, epigram 10 (12.10) (AD 101) [tr. Marcellino (1968)]
(Source)
"On Africanus." Africanus is identified in some sources as a captator, one who sucked up to a childless millionaire in order to inherit part or all of their estate.
As riche as Cresus Afric is: for more yet hunts the chuffe:
To muche to many, fortune gives, and yet to none inuffe.
[tr. Kendall (1577)]
Fortune, some say, doth give too much to many:
And yet she never gave enough to any.
[tr. Harington (fl. c. 1600); Book 4, ep. 56; overall ep. 310]
African has a thousand pounds in store, Yet he desires, and hunts, and rakes for more:
Fortune hath overmuch bestow'd on some; But plenary content doth give to none.
[tr. Fletcher (1656)]
He fawns for more, though he his thousands touch:
Fortune gives one enough, but some too much.
[tr. Hay (1755)]
Millions has Africa; yet grasps at more:
Too much have many, none sufficient store.
[tr. Elphinston (1782), 12.65]
Africanus possesses a hundred thousand sesterces, but is always striving by servility to acquire more. Fortune gives too much to many, enough to none.
[tr. Amos (1858), ch. 3, ep. 92, "Sufficient Fortune"]
Africanus possesses a hundred thousand sesterces, and yet covets more. Fortune gives too much to many, enough to none.
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]
Fortune to many gives too much, enough to none.
[ed. Harbottle (1897)]
African us possesses a hundred millions, yet he angles for more. Fortune to many gives too much, enough to none.
[tr. Ker (1919)]
Although he is a millionaire, He courts the rich who lack an heir;
Fortune gives much to many a one, But just enough she grants to none.
[tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]
Africanus has a hundred million, but still he fishes for legacies. Fortune gives too much to many, to none enough.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]
Africanus is a tireless legacy-hunter
though he's a wealthy man.
Fortune gives too much to many,
enough to none
[tr. Kennelly (2008)]
Although worth millions, Africanus hunts a legacy.
To many Fortune gives too much, enough to nobody.
[tr. McLean (2014)]
Africanus has a hundred million, and still he's hunting legacies. Fortune gives too much to many, but "enough" to none.
[tr. Nisbet (2015)]
Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis] Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 11, epigram 5 (11.5.3) (AD 96) [tr. Killigrew (1695)]
(Source)
Doom for the man who founds his palace on anything but integrity, his upstairs rooms on anything but honesty, who makes his fellow man work for nothing, without paying him his wages, who says, “I will build myself an imposing palace with spacious rooms upstairs”, who pierces lights in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it vermilion. Are you more of a king for outrivalling others with cedar? Your father ate and drank, like you, but he practised honesty and integrity, so all went well for him. He used to examine the cases of poor and needy, then all went well. Is not that what it means to know me? – it is Yahweh who speaks. You on the other hand have eyes and heart for nothing but your own interests, for shedding innocent blood and perpetrating violence and oppression.
The Bible (The Old Testament) (14th - 2nd C BC) Judeo-Christian sacred scripture [Tanakh, Hebrew Bible], incl. the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonicals)
Jeremiah 22:13-17 [JB (1966)]
(Source)
Speaking out against Jehoiakim, the King of Judah.
Alternate translations:
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord. But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
[KJV (1611)]
Doomed is the one who builds his house by injustice and enlarges it by dishonesty;
who makes his people work for nothing and does not pay their wages.
Doomed is the one who says, “I will build myself a mansion with spacious rooms upstairs.”
So he puts windows in his house, panels it with cedar, and paints it red.
Does it make you a better king if you build houses of cedar, finer than those of others?
Your father enjoyed a full life. He was always just and fair, and he prospered in everything he did.
He gave the poor a fair trial, and all went well with him.
That is what it means to know the Lord.
But you can only see your selfish interests; you kill the innocent and violently oppress your people.
The Lord has spoken.
[GNT (1976)]
Disaster for the man who builds his house without uprightness, his upstairs rooms without fair judgement, who makes his fellow-man work for nothing, without paying him his wages, who says, "I shall build myself a spacious palace with airy upstairs rooms," who makes windows in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it vermilion. Are you more of a king because of your passion for cedar? Did your father go hungry or thirsty? But he did what is just and upright, so all went well for him. He used to examine the cases of poor and needy, then all went well. Is not that what it means to know me? Yahweh demands. You on the other hand have eyes and heart for nothing but your own interests, for shedding innocent blood and perpetrating violence and oppression.
[NJB (1985)]
Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness and his upper rooms by injustice,
who makes his neighbors work for nothing and does not give them their wages,
who says, “I will build myself a spacious house with large upper rooms,”
and who cuts out windows for it, paneling it with cedar and painting it with vermilion.
Are you a king because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him.
He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well.
Is not this to know me? says the Lord.
But your eyes and heart are only on your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence.
[NRSV (1989 ed.)]
Ha! He who builds his house with unfairness
And his upper chambers with injustice,
Who makes his neighbors work without pay
And does not give them their wages,
Who thinks: I will build me a vast palace
With spacious upper chambers,
Provided with windows,
Paneled in cedar,
Painted with vermilion!
Do you think you are more a king
Because you compete in cedar?
Your father ate and drank
And dispensed justice and equity --
Then all went well with him.
He upheld the rights of the poor and needy --
Then all was well.
That is truly heeding Me
-- declares GOD.
But your eyes and your mind are only
On ill-gotten gains,
On shedding the blood of the innocent,
On committing fraud and violence.
[RJPS (2023 ed.)]
Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
Timothy Snyder (b. 1969) American historian, author On Tyranny, ch. 10 (2017)
(Source)
If you’re poor now, my friend, then you’ll stay poor.
These days only the rich get given more.
[Semper eris pauper, si pauper es, Aemiliane;
Dantur opes nulli nunc, nisi divitibus.]
Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis] Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 5, epigram 81 (5.81) (AD 90) [tr. Michie (1972)]
(Source)
Faile yee of wealth, of wealthy ye still will faile,
None but fat sowes are now greaz'd in the taile.
[tr. Davison (1602), "To All Poore Schollers"]
If thou be poore, thou shalt be ever so;
None now do wealth, but on the rich, bestowe.
[tr. May (1629)]
If thou are poor, Æmilian,
Thou shalt be ever so,
For no man now his presents can
But on the rich bestow.
[tr. Fletcher (1656)]
You want, Æmilianus, so you may;
Riches are given rich men, and none but they.
[tr. Wright (1663)]
Once poor, my friend, still poor you must remain,
The rich alone have all the means of gain.
[tr. Edward Cave, Rambler # 166 (19 Oct 1751); sometimes attributed to publisher Samuel Johnson]
Poor once and poor for ever, Nat, I fear;
None but the rich get place and pension here.
[tr. Halhed (1793)]
If you are poor now, Æmilianus, you will always be poor.
Riches are now given to none but the rich.
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]
If poor you are, poor you will always be,
For wealth’s now given to none but to the rich.
[ed. Harbottle (1897)]
You will always be poor, if you are poor, Aemilianus.
Wealth is given today to none save the rich.
[tr. Ker (1919)]
Gold only draws to gold, so it is plain,
If you are poor, that poor you will remain.
[tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]
Poor if you are, my friend,
Poor will you always be.
Money gets money today;
Poverty, poverty.
[tr. Marcellino (1968)]
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days only the rich get given more.
[tr. Michie (1972)]
You will always be poor if you are poor, Aemilianus.
Nowadays wealth is given only to the rich.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]
You're cursed by poverty? But they tell me you're "blessed."
While the rich get richer ... you know the rest.
[tr. Ericsson (1995)]
Aemilianus, you’ll always be poor if you’re poor.
These days they only give wealth to the rich.
[tr. Klein (2006)]
Vainly the poor extend their palms.
Only the rich are given alms.
[tr. Wills (2007)]
If you're a poor man now, Amos,
a poor man you'll remain.
Riches are only given only
to rich men.
[tr. Kennelly (2008)]
You will always be poor, Aemilianus, if you are poor;
nowadays wealth comes to no one but the rich.
[tr. @sentantiq (2012)]
If poor, Aemilianus, poor you'll stay.
None but the rich get wealthier today.
[tr. McLean (2014)]
Where Plenty smiles — alas! she smiles for few,
And those who taste not, yet behold her store,
Are as the slaves that dig the golden ore,
The wealth around them makes them doubly poor.
George Crabbe (1754-1832) English poet, writer, surgeon, clergyman The Village, Book 1, line 136 (1783)
(Source)
She ate her trifle, reflecting that grinding poverty, though loathsome while one is in it, has the advantage of making one enjoy money in a way denied to the rich-from-birth.
Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer Flying Too High, ch. 2 (1990)
(Source)
One house upon the Esquiline, One where patricians dwell,
And hard beside Diana’s shrine You have a third as well.
You live near mournful Cybele, You’ve Vesta’s fane in view;
Jove’s ancient temple you can see. You look upon the new.
With seven dwellings I despair
To find you when I call, He who has mansions everywhere Has not a home at all.
[Esquiliis domus est, domus est tibi colle Dianae,
Et tua patricius culmina vicus habet;
Hinc viduae Cybeles, illinc sacraria Vestae,
Inde novum, veterem prospicis inde Iovem.
Dic, ubi conveniam, dic, qua te parte requiram:
Quisquis ubique habitat, Maxime, nusquam habitat.]
Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis] Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 7, epigram 73 (7.73) (AD 92) [tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]
(Source)
Thou has a house on the Aventine hill, Another where Diana's worshipped still,
In the Patrician street more of them stand, Hence thou beholdst within thine eyes, command
The widowed Cybells, thence Vesta with all, There either Jove earth'd in the Capitol.
Where shall I meet thee? tell, where wilt appear? He dwells just nowhere, that dwells everywhere.
[tr. Fletcher (1656)]
On Esquiline, and on Diana's hill, Thou hast abodes thou not pretend'st to fill.
But city-sites can ne'er suffice thy state: Thou far from town must tow'r among the great:
Hence Cybele's, thence Vesta's fane behold; Here the new Jupiter, and there the old.
Where shall I meet thee? who they mansion tells? Who e'vrywhere inhabits, nowhere dwells.
[tr. Elphinston (1782), Book 6, Part 1, ep. 10]
You possess a house at Esquiliae, and one on the hill of Diana; and the street of Patricians amongst its roofs reckons yours. From one of your houses you behold the temple of Cybele, from another that of Vesta; you command a view both of the ancient and modern capitol. Say, where shall I meet with you? At what place shall I ask for you? Maximus! he who lives everywhere lives nowhere.
[tr. Amos (1858), ch. 3, ep. 103]
You have a mansion on the Esquiline hill, and a mansion on the hill of Diana; and another rears its head in the Patricians' quarter. From one of your dwellings you behold the temple of the widowed Cybele, from another that of Vesta; from others you look on the old and the new Capitol. Tell me where I may meet you; tell me whereabouts I am to look for you: a man who lives everywhere, Maximus, lives nowhere.
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]
He has no home whose home is all the world.
[ed. Harbottle (1897)]
On the Esquiline you have a house, you have a house on Diana's hill, and the Patrician Street holds a roof of yours; from this you survey the shrine of widowed Cybele, from that the shrine of Vesta; from here the new, from there the ancient temple of Jove. Say where I amy call upon you, say in what quarter I may look for you: he who lives everywhere, Maximus, lives nowhere.
[tr. Ker (1919)]
The Esquiline and Aventine are yours And the Patrician Street confronts your doors;
Thence widowed Cybele and Vesta's fire And ancient Jove and modern you admire.
Where shall I meet you, wither, pray, repair? He has no home who lodges everywhere.
[tr. Francis & Tatum (1924), ep. 372]
That's a fine lace you have on Beacon Hill, Max,
and that unlisted duplex out Huntington Avenue,
and the old homestead in Tewksbury. From one you can see
the big gilt dome; the second
gives you an uninterrupted ecstatic view
of the Mother Church; the third
commands the County Poorhouse. And you
invite me to dinner? There? There? Or there?
Max, a man who lives everywhere lives nowhere.
[tr. Fitts (1967), "... Are Many Mansions"]
You have one home on the Esquiline, Another on the Aventine,
And from a third one you can see The shrine of widowed Cybele.
From still another you've a view Of both the temples, old and new,
Of Jupiter, In fact, a home Of yours lies everywhere in Rome!
Where can I find you when in town? At what address can you be found?
He who lives all over Rome Never can be found at home.
[tr. Marcellino (1968), "A Far-Flung Friend"]
A house on the Esquiline --
and one on the Aventine --
Patricius Street claims another rooftop of yours
over here you have a shrine on the widowed Great Mother
over there is your sacred hearth of Vesta
elsewhere you display a new bust of Jove
elsewhere a bust of Veiovis. Can you tell me, Maximus, where to meet you, where to find you at home?
Someone who lives everywhere lives
Nowhere.
[tr. Bovie (1970)]
You have a house on the Esquiline, and a house on Diana's hill, and Patrician Row has a roof of yours. From one you view the shrine of bereaved Cybele, from another that of Vesta, and from this Jupiter's new temple, from that the old one. Tell me where I am to meet you, in what quarter to look for you. Who lives everywhere, Maximus, lives nowhere.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]
You’ve a house on the Esquiline, house on the Aventine,
and Patrician Street owns a roof of yours too;
add one with a view of poor Cybele’s shrine, one Vesta’s, one Jupiter’s old, one his new.
Tell me where to meet you, tell me where to find you:
Who lives everywhere, Maximus, lives nowhere at all.
[tr. Kline (2006)]
Birds of the air know
the man with a house everywhere
has a home nowhere.
[tr. Kennelly (2008), "A geography"]
Man has three friends on whose company he relies. First, wealth — which goes with him only while good fortune lasts. Second, his relatives — they go only as far as the grave and leave him there. The third friend, his good deeds, go with him beyond the grave.
The Talmud (AD 200-500) Collection of Jewish rabbinical writings
(Attributed)
I could not find an actual citation for this quotation, but the story (the explanation of a parable, in which a man is summoned before a king, and while his dearest friend will not go with him, and his second best friend will only go to the palace gates, his least-loved friend goes with him before the throne) shows up with different translation in multiple sources:
The Talmud: Selections, Part 5 "Civil and Criminal Laws -- the Holy Days" - "The Day of Atonement" [tr. Polano (1876)].
Isaac Aboav, Lamp of Light [Menorat Hamoar] [14th C], Fifth Lamp "Teshuvah," Sec. 2 [ch. 3] in Leonard Kravitz and Kerry Olitzky, <i>Journey of the Soul: Traditional Sources on the</i> Teshuvah (1995).
The urge to distribute wealth equally, and still more the belief that it can be brought about by political action, is the most dangerous of all popular emotions. It is the legitimation of envy, of all the deadly sins the one which a stable society based on consensus should fear the most. The monster state is a source of many evils; but it is, above all, an engine of envy.
Paul Johnson (b. 1928) English journalist, historian, speechwriter, author The Recovery of Freedom (1980)
[Capitalism is] the astonishing belief that the nastiest motives of the nastiest men somehow or other work for the best results in the best of all possible worlds.
John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) English economist
(Attributed)
Attributed by Sir George Schuster, Christianity and Human Relations in Industry (1951). Frequently quoted, but no direct citation found. More information here.
Variations:
"... the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
"... the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."
"The great merit of the capitalist system, it has been said, is that it succeeds in using the nastiest motives of nasty people for the ultimate benefit of society." (written by E. A. G. Robinson, Monopoly (1941). (Robinson was a colleague of Keynes.)
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 (2014)
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)
“Rich people show their appreciation through favors,” I said. “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 (2014)
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)
It is not merely that the ownership of any substantial share in the national wealth is concentrated to-day in the hands of a few hundred thousand families, and that at the end of an age which began with an affirmation of the rights of property, proprietary rights are, in fact, far from being widely distributed. Nor is it merely that what makes property insecure to-day is not the arbitrary taxation of unconstitutional monarchies or the privileges of an idle noblesse, but the insatiable expansion and aggregation of property itself, which menaces with absorption all property less than the greatest, the small master, the little shopkeeper, the country bank, and has turned the mass of mankind into a proletariat working under the agents and for the profit of those who own.
R. H. Tawney (1880-1962) English writer, economist, historian, social critic [Richard Henry Tawney] The Acquisitive Century, ch. 5 “Property and Creative Work” (1920)
The exact measure of the progress of civilization is the degree in which the intelligence of the common mind has prevailed over wealth and brute force.
George Bancroft (1800-1891) American historian, statesman, education reformer
Speech, Adelphi Society, Liamstown College (Aug 1835)
“Which of them shall be accounted greatest?” Let the churches stop trying to outstrip each other in the number of their adherents, the size of its sanctuary, the abundance of wealth. If we must compete let us compete to see which can move toward the greatest attainment of truth, the greatest service of the poor, and the greatest salvation of the soul and bodies of men. If the Church entered this kind of competition we can imagine what a better world this would be.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
“Cooperative Competition / Noble Competition,” sermon outline
(Source)
Convinced that character is all and circumstances nothing, [the Puritan] sees in the poverty of those who fall by the way, not a misfortune to be pitied and relieved, but a moral failing to be condemned, and in riches, not an object of suspicion but the blessing which rewards the triumph of energy and will.
R. H. Tawney (1880-1962) English writer, economist, historian, social critic [Richard Henry Tawney] Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, ch. 4 (1926)
(Source)
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)
He who withholds but a pennyworth of worldly goods from his neighbor, knowing him to be in need of it, is a robber in the sight of God.
Meister Eckhart (c. 1260-1328?) German theologian, philosopher, mystic [a.k.a. Johannes Eckhart von Hochheim; Eckhart; Eckehart]
Meister Eckhart, Tractate 6, “Sister Katrei” [ed. Pfeiffer (1857), tr. Evans]
(Source)
I will enjoy the pleasure of what I give by giving it alive, and seeing another enjoy it. When I die, I should be ashamed to leave enough to build me a monument if there were a wanting friend above ground.
Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English poet
Letter to Jonathan Swift (9 Oct 1729)
No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has.
Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American clergyman and orator Life Thoughts: Gathered from the Extemporaneous Discourses of Henry Ward Beecher (1858)
This planet has — or rather had — a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much all of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.
Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humourist, screenwriter The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Introduction (1979)
(Source)
The truest American president we have ever had, the companion of Washington in our love and honor, recognized that the poorest man, however outraged, however ignorant, however despised, however black, was, as a man, his equal. The child of the American people was their most prophetic man, because, whether as small shop-keeper, as flat-boatman, as volunteer captain, as honest lawyer, as defender of the Declaration, as President of the United States, he knew by the profoundest instinct and the widest experience and reflection, that in the most vital faith of this country it is just as honorable for an honest man to curry a horse and black a boot as it is to raise cotton or corn, to sell molasses or cloth, to practice medicine or law, to gamble in stocks or speculate in petroleum. He knew the European doctrine that the king makes the gentleman; but he believed with his whole soul the doctrine, the American doctrine, that worth makes the man.
George William Curtis (1824-1892) American essayist, editor, reformer, orator
“The Good Fight” (1865)
(Source)
I cannot call riches better than the baggage of virtue; the Roman word is better, “impedimenta;” for as the baggage is to an army, so is riches to virtue; it cannot be spared nor left behind, but it hindereth the march; yea, and the care of it sometimes loseth or disturbeth the victory.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
“Of Riches,” Essays, No. 34 (1625)
(Source)
Mors sceptra ligonibus æquat.
