"Imagination
and art," says Madame de Stael, "have need to look after their own
comfort and happiness in this world." The world ought to help them
generously; all good men ought to help them; but what is better than
all, they ought to help themselves.
CHAPTER XIV.
RICHES AND CHARITY.
"Who--who--who's here
I, Robert of Doncaster.
That I spent, that I had;
That I gave, that I have;
That I left, that I lost."
_Epitaph_, A.D. 1579.
"If thou art rich, thou art poor;
For, like an ass, whose back with ingots bows
Thou bear'st thy heavy riches but a journey
And death unloads thee."--_Shakespeare_.
"II est bon d'etre charitable,
Mais envers qui? C'est la le point."--_La Fontaine_.
"There are many idlers to whom a penny begged is sweeter than a shilling
earned."--_Douglas Jerrold_.
"He stole a pig, and in God's name gave the trotters to the
poor."--_From the Spanish._
Man must be thrifty in order to be generous. Thrift does not end with
itself, but extends its benefits to others. It founds hospitals, endows
charities, establishes colleges, and extends educational influences.
Benevolence springs from the best qualities of the mind and heart. Its
divine spirit elevates the benefactors of the world--the Howards,
Clarksons, and Naviers--to the highest pedestals of moral genius and of
national worship.
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