It is true, he revels in dissipation; he splashes the
passers-by; his own dignity and that of human nature are lowered a
little; but what of that? He does good with his fortune, if not with
himself. He causes money to circulate; he always sends the tradespeople
away satisfied. Is not money made round that it may roll?"
Aristus has adopted a very different plan of life. If he is not an
egotist, he is, at any rate, an _individualist_, for he considers
expense, seeks only moderate and reasonable enjoyments, thinks of his
children's prospects, and, in fact, he _economises_.
And what do people say of him? "What is the good of a rich fellow like
him? He is a skinflint. There is something imposing, perhaps, in the
simplicity of his life; and he is humane, too, and benevolent, and
generous, but he _calculates_. He does not spend his income; his house
is neither brilliant nor bustling. What good does he do to the
paper-hangers, the carriage makers, the horse dealers, and the
confectioners?"
These opinions, which are fatal to morality, are founded upon what
strikes the eye:--the expenditure of the prodigal; and another, which is
out of sight, the equal and even superior expenditure of the economist.
But things have been so admirably arranged by the Divine inventor of
social order, that in this, as in everything else, political economy and
morality, far from clashing, agree; and the wisdom of Aristus is not
only more dignified, but still more _profitable_, than the folly of
Mondor.
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