Materialism, Greed, Avarice Quotes
"The terrible, cold, cruel part is Wall Street. Rivers of gold flow there from all over the earth, and death comes with it. There, as nowhere else, you feel a total absence of the spirit: herds of men who cannot count past three, herds more who cannot get past six, scorn for pure science and demoniacal respect for the present. And the terrible thing is that the crowd that fills the street believes that the world will always be the same and that it is their duty to keep that huge machine running, day and night, forever." - Federico Garcia Lorca - Spanish Poet and Playwright
It is useless to shout to the drowning moneylender “ Give me your hand !” He does not know how to give. Instead, shout: “ Take my hand !” and he will clutch at it.
It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. --Thoreau
Any so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you want it not for itself, but because it will content your spirit for the moment. --Mark Twain
An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit. –Pliny the Younger
Much of our activity these days is nothing more than a cheap anesthetic to deaden the pain of an empty life.--Unknown
Purposeless activity may be a phase of death. --Pearl S. Buck
Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it. –Kierkegaard
Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.— Thoreau
There is something perverse about more than enough. When we have more, it is never enough. It is always somewhere out there, just out of reach. The more we acquire, the more elusive enough becomes. –Unknown
Possessions are usually diminished by possession. –Nietzsche
What a miserable thing life is: you're living in clover, only the clover isn't good enough. --Bertolt Brecht
The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury. --Charlie Chaplin
You cry over spilled champagne! Your complaints are not over the lack of necessities, but the abundance of benefits. You bellyache over the frills, not the basics. Over benefits not essentials. The source of your problem is your blessing. –Unknown
Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. --Thoreau
It is not good to be too free. It is not good to have everything one wants.-- Blaise Pascal
The man who pets a lion may tame it, but the man who coddles the body makes it ravenous.-- John Climacus
The most terrible thing about materialism, even more terrible than its proneness to violence, is its boredom, from which sex, alcohol, drugs, all devices for putting out the accusing light of reason and suppressing the unrealizable aspirations of love, offer a prospect of deliverance. --Malcolm Muggeridge
Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed. --Albert Einstein
The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. --Jesus
Nothing makes us more vulnerable than loneliness, except greed. --Thomas Harris
Lust is all GET—Love is all GIVE. –Unknown
All earthly joy begins pleasantly, but at the end it gnaws and kills. --Thomas a’Kempis
Let us treasure up in our soul some of those things which are permanent..., not of those which will forsake us and be destroyed, and which only tickle our senses for a little while... --Gregory of Nazianzus
Materialism is the only form of distraction from true bliss. --Doug Horton
Money doesn't talk, it swears. --Bob Dylan
The tighter you squeeze, the less you have. --Thomas Merton
You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.' You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled. --Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.--Mahatma Gandhi
Thousands upon thousands are yearly brought into a state of real poverty by their great anxiety not to be thought of as poor.—Robert Mallett
It’s a cultural disability in America that we worship pleasure, leisure, and affluence. I think the church is doubly damned when they use Jesus as a vehicle for achieving all of that. Like, if you give a tithe, He'll make you rich. Why? Are you hacking Him off or something? If you give a tithe, you get rid of ten percent of the root of all evil. You should be giving ninety percent. Cause God can handle money better than we can.—Rich Mullins
The future of civilization depends on our overcoming the meaninglessness and hopelessness that characterizes the thoughts of men today. --Albert Schweitzer
So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. --Morrie Schwartz
Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves. --Edwin Way Teale
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. --Jim Elliot
Do not think me mad. It is not to make money that I believe a Christian should live. The noblest thing a man can do is, just humbly to receive, and then go amongst others and give. --David Livingstone
The be-all and end-all of life should not be to get rich, but to enrich the world. -- B. C. Forbes
A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.--D. Elton Trueblood
Learn to live a life of honest poverty, if you must, and turn to more important matters than transporting gold to your grave. – Credenda
That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest. -- Thoreau
"Greed is good! Greed is right! Greed works! Greed will save the USA!" - From movie Wall Street - 1987
"Hell has three gates: lust, anger, and greed" - Bhagavad Gita
"The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it." - Joseph Conrad
"To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers, may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers, but extremely fit for a nation that is governed by shopkeepers." Adam Smith
"There will be, in the next generation or so, a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude, and producing dictatorship without tears, so to speak, producing a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them, but will rather enjoy it, because they will be distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda or brainwashing, or brainwashing enhanced by pharmacological methods. And this seems to be the final revolution." Aldous Huxley
"This focus on money and power may do wonders in the marketplace, but it creates a tremendous crisis in our society. People who have spent all day learning how to sell themselves and to manipulate others are in no position to form lasting friendships or intimate relationships... Many Americans hunger for a different kind of society -- one based on principles of caring, ethical and spiritual sensitivity, and communal solidarity. Their need for meaning is just as intense as their need for economic security."-- Michael Lerner, journalist
"Those who own much have much to fear." Tagore
"Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed."
Charlie Chaplin - 'The Great Dictator'
"The world says: "You have needs -- satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and the mighty. Don't hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more." This is the worldly doctrine of today. And they believe that this is freedom." Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
"He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have." Socrates
"We live in a system that espouses merit, equality, and a level playing field, but exalts those with wealth, power, and celebrity, however gained." - Derrick Bell, Ethical Ambition: Living a Life of Meaning and Worth
"Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem to stop the arms trade." Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church to the US Congress, 2015 right in front of American Generals.