Spiritual Perfection A Dialogue By Thomas Clune (Arthur Ponsonby) Fscap. 8vo. 1s. nett. Post-free 1s. 2d. “There is sound reasoning and deep thought in this book.”— Dundee Advertiser. “A thoughtful dialogue.”— The Times. “No one can read it without gaining a broader outlook on the truths of religion.”— Methodist Times. “Many of the religious problems and difficulties always cropping up are skilfully and earnestly considered.”— Aberdeen Journal. LONDON: A. C. FIFIELD The Camel and the Needle’s Ey

My original intention was to collect together a number of essays on some of the most important bearings of the question of the expenditure of riches. After corresponding with those whom I had invited to join me in this undertaking, I became aware that in spite of our substantial agreement on main principles it would be difficult to secure uniformity in the treatment of the theme, and impossible to carry on any sustained argument through the varied contributions of different people writing from d

Extreme poverty a consequence of extreme wealth—Pity or contempt for the poor—Money ideal strong among the poor—The different phases in making a fortune—The general tendency of society—Relations between rich and poor—Dis-sympathy and class hatred—The social problem. Frederick the Great’s father, on the occasion of great court festivities used to lead his wife from the brilliant scene of gaiety to an adjoining chamber, where he made her lie down for a few moments in her own coffin, so as to give

Money as a supreme concern—Intensity of belief in money—Definition of Contention—The impulses which act as the motive power of money-making—The limitation of human capacities—Money and happiness—Money as responsibility—The national wealth and welfare. Religion is said to be one of the supreme concerns of the human race, and there can be no doubt that it forces itself into the calculations of every one of us. It is a matter about which we fight and differ, about which we interest ourselves in var

Definition of the limit—Those whose means are above the limit—Income translated into terms of subsistence—The case of the rich man—His establishments—His servants—His luxuries—Extravagance—Vanity—Sport—Racing—Yachting—Condemnation of excess. A more precise definition must be given of the limit of income referred to in the last chapter as “a definite amount of money which might be roughly described as a full competence.” Every man requires, though he by no means always gets a certain income to sa

The rich man’s charities—His generosity—His hospitality—His land—The Feudal System—His responsibilities—The agricultural problem. We must now turn from what the rich man spends on himself and consider what good and what harm he does by his subscriptions and donations to philanthropic and charitable objects. In so far as he himself is concerned these gifts do not involve any element of personal sacrifice; the moral benefit which is by way of falling on a giver is therefore nil. The exertion of wr

The rich man’s children—His sons’ education at school and university—His daughters—Love and marriage—Refinement of the aristocracy—Their alliance with the plutocracy—Smart society—Its general characteristics. The natural desire of every man is to do the best he can for his children, and in this respect the rich man feels that his money is of special advantage to him. But are healthy upbringing and good education superior in quality if they are expensive? The whole trouble with regard to these ch

The rich man as a business man—The conduct of a successful business—Money-making the incentive—Money no measure of merit or worth in men—Or in works of art—Financiers—The power of money—Imperialism—Political power—Experiments of millionaires—Gifts—Money administered by corporations or the State. So far the type chosen has been that of an aristocratic landed proprietor. But aristocrats and landowners are not all rich men, nor are all rich men aristocrats or landed proprietors. A large proportion

The deceptive process of the growth of riches—The relaxation of effort—The love of ease—The power of convention—The disadvantages of abundance—Surfeit—Difficulties in a rich man’s life—Waste of talent and capacity—England as a nation deeply infected with the belief in money. There is no more misleading and deceptive process than the gradual growth of riches. As a man’s income increases, fresh obligations arise which have all the appearance of necessities, and in satisfying these a still further

The problem of riches—Necessity for scientific investigation into the lives of the rich—Interdependence of riches and poverty—Analysis of expenditure on houses, servants, clothes, food, amusements—Impressions of a poor crowd and a rich crowd—Tragedies. On all sides it is admitted that there is a problem of Poverty, but it has never yet been suggested that just in the same way there is a problem of Riches. Not the problem of how to become rich and how to invest money and make more money, that is

Religion and money—Attitude of clergy—Emphatic condemnation of riches by Christ—Notable texts and sayings—Want of conviction—Importance attached to dogmatic religion—Necessity for stronger denunciation. “The religion we profess has for one of its most significant and salient features the denunciation of wealth as a trust or a pursuit: Christianity condemns riches as a snare, a danger, and almost a sin, and even Pagan-nurtured sages and statesmen are never weary of pointing out how this disastrou

Results of influence of money—No motive in lives of the rich—Money as our master—If money ideal could be discarded—Possibility of change of ideal for all classes. Only the surface of the subject has been touched, only a few of the many heads into which the discussion might be divided have been considered at all, and only some of the more patent dangers have been very briefly indicated. But enough has been said to support the original contention and to bring us fairly to the conclusion that in al