s the more
insatiable his greed becomes, and the less his enjoyment, by reason of
the redoubled efforts he makes to have and to hold.

But the miser is not the only one infected with the sin of avarice. His
is not an ordinary, but an extreme case. He is the incarnation of the
evil. He believes in, hopes in, and loves gold above all things; he
prays and sacrifices to it. Gold is his god, and gold will be his
reward, a miserable one.

This degree of the vice is rare; or, at least, is rarely suffered to
manifest itself to this extent; and although scarcely a man can be
found to confess to this failing, because it is universally regarded as
most loathsome and repulsive, still few there are who are not more or
less slaves to cupidity. Pride is the sin of the angels; lust is the
sin of the brute, and avarice is the sin of man. Scripture calls it the
universal evil. We are more prone to inveigh against it, and accuse
others of the vice than to admit it in ourselves.

Sometimes, it is "the pot calling the kettle black;" more often it is a
clear case of "sour grapes." Disdain for the dollars "that speak," "the
mighty dollars," in abundance and in superabundance, is rarely genuine.

There are, concerning the passion of covetousness, two notions as
common as they are false. It is thought that this vice is peculiar to
the rich, and is not to be met with among the poor. Now, avarice does
not necessarily suppose the possession of wealth, and does not consist
in the possession, but in the inordinate desire, or greed for, or the
lust of, riches. It may be, and is, difficult for one to possess much
wealth without setting one's heart on it. But it is also true that this
greed may possess one who has little or nothing. It may be found in
unrestrained excess under the rags of the pauper and beggar. They who
aspire to, or desire, riches with avidity are covetous whether they
have much, little, or nothing. Christ promised His kingdom to the poor
in spirit, not to the poor in fact. Spiritual poverty can associate
with abundant wealth, just as the most depraved cupidity may exist in
poverty.

Another prejudice, favorable to ourselves, is that only misers are
covetous, because they love money for itself and deprive themselves of
the necessaries of life to pile it up. But it is not necessary that the
diagnosis reveal these alarming symptoms to be sure of having a real
case of cupidity. They are covetous who strive after wealth with
passion