The Wise Man's Saying

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. For as to the value of riches to him so much the more can it be said of those who possess neither; for while we have riches without wives, what have we with wives? A man may say without vanity that he has his fortune, but this is not true. His fortune cannot compare to other men's fortunes, because there are none like him, nor can it give him any other than himself; therefore his life itself may be esteemed but small if he has no one to share it with. This was how the wise man of old observed, who had lived long enough to understand the ways of nature, and knew well enough that a man should seek his fortune by living alone.

As to the virtue of wealth, that is another matter altogether. There are those who hold the opinion that wealth is something akin to pleasure; for as there are persons who love pleasure, so there are also people who seek pleasure; and as there are those who find pleasure, so they too seek their fortune by having it, or by spending it upon pleasures which they can take with them; for if a poor man spends his wealth, he shall have little to show for it when he dies, so that his friends will perhaps think of him fondly whilst yet they live and see no harm in it, and will certainly wish him well on his last day.

But although all of these opinions may hold, yet I say again, that there are many who believe that wealth brings great happiness. They say that gold gives a man power, and wealth can confer happiness; they say that if you give your money to charity, then God will bless you; they say you can obtain wealth if you work hard enough at it, but it does not follow that those who do not work hard at it should get rich either. It is easy for you to talk about being rich and happy; but do you really know whether your friends and neighbours are happier? Do you truly care whether your children grow up happy or not? Are you sure that the world will not end in fire from some villain’s catapult if your wealth is spent on unnecessary pleasures? And what of those who say that the only way to get money is through industry and hard work? You will soon discover how true these words are; but I would ask you, first of all, to remember that even though you may be wealthy, and may spend it as freely as you please if your income is less than five hundred dollars per annum or less than thirty thousand dollars, you still may be poor, and you may starve to death within a year of being rich. The same may be true of most of your colleagues; they may spend their fortune in foolishness, and not realize their folly until it is too late, but if it is to be found anywhere, it is in our society: the people whose fortune depends almost entirely upon their skill, and who can spend it freely if they will; the people who cannot afford to live without money, but who often go out of their way to buy things worth nothing at all. But if there is no such thing as poverty, then why are men of business so often seen shirking their responsibilities for women? Why are women often made to feel ashamed, and sometimes even ridiculed for their lack of ability? If wealth were always a source of joy to most people, why did not the rich themselves make a habit of spending all their money in vain? The answer lies in the fact that wealth is a means to an end. We can never enjoy its blessings unless we strive for them, and if the pursuit leads us beyond the limits of reason, then our lives will be miserable indeed. As to whether or not a woman deserves happiness, that question lies far outside my scope; but the fact remains, that it is better to have riches and wealth than to have nothing.