but--he is worth five hundred thousand dollars!

"And we say a man is 'ruined.' Are his wife and children dead? O, no.
Have they had a quarrel, and are they separated from him? O, no. Has he
lost his reputation through crime? No. Is his reason gone? O, no; it is
as sound as ever. Is he struck through with disease? No. He has lost his
property, and he is ruined. The _man_ ruined! When shall we learn that
'a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth?'"

"How is it possible," asks an ancient philosopher, "that a man who has
nothing, who is naked, houseless, without a hearth, squalid, without a
slave, without a city, can pass a life that flows easily? See, God has
sent you a man to show you that it is possible. Look at me who am
without a city, without a house, without possessions, without a slave;
I sleep on the ground; I have no wife, no children, no praetorium, but
only the earth and heavens, and one poor cloak. And what do I want? Am I
not without sorrow? Am I not without fear? Am I not free? When did any
of you see me failing in the object of my desire? or even falling into
that which I would avoid? Did I ever blame God or man? Did I ever accuse
any man? Did any of you ever see me with a sorrowful countenance?"

"You are a plebeian," said a patrician to Cicero. "I am a plebeian,"
replied the great Roman orator; "the nobility of my family begins with
me, that of yours will end with you." No man deserves to be crowned with
honor whose life is a failure, and he who lives only to eat and drink
and accumulate money is surely not successful. The world is no better
for his living in it. He never wiped a tear from a sad face, never
kindled a fire upon a frozen hearth. There is no flesh in his heart; he
worships no god but gold.

Why should I scramble and struggle to get possession of a little portion
of this earth? This is my world now; why should I envy others its mere
legal possession? It belongs to him who can see it, enjoy it. I need not
envy the so-called owners of estates in Boston and New York. They are
merely taking care of my property and keeping it in excellent condition
for me. For a few pennies for railroad fare whenever I wish I can see
and possess the best of it all. It has cost me no effort, it gives me no
care; yet the green grass, the shrubbery, and the statues on the lawns,
the finer sculptures and paintings within, are always ready for me
whenever I feel a desire to lo