Love of Money

We constantly hear of the evils of wealth and of the sinfulness of loving money, although it is certain that, after the love of knowledge, there is no one passion that has done so much good to mankind as the love of money. It is to the love of money that we owe all trade and commerce, in other words, the possession of every comfort and luxury which our own country is unable to supply, Trade and other ideas have made us familiar with the production of money, have awakened curiosity, have widened our ideas by bringing us in contact with nations of various manners and thought, have supplied an outlet for energies which would otherwise have remained pent up. It has accustomed men to habits of enterprise, forethought, and calculations, it has communicated to us many arts of great utility and has put us in possession of some of the most valuable remedies with which we are acquainted, either to save life or lessen pain. These things we owe to the love of money. If theologians could succeed in their desire to destroy that love, all these things would cease and we should relapse into comparative barbarism.