The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-19 00:00:00

ENORIVIOLIS WEALTH.

(From the Liverpool Mercury.)

DESULTORY OBSERVATIONS ON ENORMOUS INDIVIDUAL
WEALTII---.ITS TENDENCY-MEMORABLE INSTANCES
OF ITS UTTER INEFFICIENCY TO CONFER HAPPI-
NESS ON THE POSSESSOR.

" The wretch, concentred all in self,
Despite his honours, power, and pelf,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung."
" Les ceonomistes ont fait de notre societe un grand
corps sans ame, dans lesquel circule de l'arithmetiquc au
lieu de sang."—Anon.
',44L
fi

In present dearth of political intelligence for cdi
torial comment, we are about to volunteer a short chap-
ter on a subject not often selected for newspaper specu-
lation, but by no means destitute of interest,—a subject
well worthy of the consideration of all those who, profit-
ing by the lessons of experience, would learn properly
to appreciate the intrinsic value of that object, in pur-
suit of which tneu too often peril their health, their
peace of mind, and their reputation. That object, we
need scarcely add, is Wealth, to the attainment of
which all other considerations are too frequently re-
garded as secondary or subsidiary. In choosing such a sub-
ject for comment, we may perhaps be reminded of the
old maxim, " sutor ultra crepidant ;" and the
purse proud, if such there should chance to he amongst
our readers, may hint, with a supercilious sneer, that
we should not meddle with matters beyond our limited
comprehension, and of which we can have had no per-
sonal experience. In excuse for the imputed presump-
tion, while we freely admit that practically we never
had, nor probably ever shall have, much experience of
the effects of wealth upon our habits, feelings, and cha-
racter, we must at the same time observe, that as the
looker-on at a game frequently detects gross mistakes
overlooked by those engaged in the speculation—so
even we fancy we have long ago discovered that the
imaginary prize, which is so eagerly contended for, gc-
narally turns out a blank—that as the French perti-
nently say, "Le feu etc vaut pas le chandelle." We
do not absolutely deny that wealth, when attained, is
sometimes a blessing to the possessor ; but the conclu-
sion at which we have long since arrived is, that it is
only a blessing to the very small minority, who have dis-
covered the secret of ie proper appropriation ; while
the number of those who have made that discovery is
so infinitely small, compared with the whole body of
fortune-hunters, that it may be almost received as a
moral axiom, that great wealth is almost invariably a
great evil.
The learned and philosophic reasoner, Bacon, treating
on the subject, declared that "of great riches there is
no real use, except it be in the distribution—the rest
is but conceit." "As the baggage to an army, (ac-
cording. to the same high authority,) so is excessive
wealth to virtue ; it cannot be spared, but it hindreth
the march,—yea, and the care of it sometimes loseth or

disturheth the victory." It is obvious from this profound
remark, that Bacon regarded great riches as incompa-
tible with the moral excellence of man ; and our opinion
is, that the history of those who have acquired almost
unbounded wealth would fully establish the justice of
the conclusion.

It has with many persons been a question whether
those individuals who have amassed enormous fortunes,
can have uniformly adhered to the rigid maxims of
honesty, and to the spirit of the Divine precept, which
enjoins us " to do unto others as we would they should
do unto us." The humorous and satirical author of
Crotchet Lodge, with a happy mixture of truth and
irony, contends that strict honesty is not to be looked
for amongst the money-changers:—
" As to honesty (says this humorist), he made his
fortune, Sir, in the City of London, and if that com-
modity be of any value there, you will find it in the
Prices Current."

There is something so original and so whimsical in
the notion of classing honesty with cotton, coffee, and
mercantile sundries, that we could not resist the tempta-
tion of quoting the passage, although it must be regarded
as broad caricature.

Before we proceed further, we shall here, by way of
illustrating what we deem inordinate individual wealth,
call the attention of our readers to a few remarkable
cases, take❑ indiscriminately from a much more copious
collection, with which our note books would furnish us,
if we did not deem the specimens we have adduced suf-
ficient for our purpose.

. .
INORDINATE WEALTH.—He (Mr. Howitt) says that
Wolsey exceeded Xinuenes, Richelieu, Maurine, and De
Retz, in wealth,..&c. He did not much surpass De
Retz, but did Ole exceed .Mazarine ? We have our
doubts on the, subject. Mazarine died worth nearly
eight millions sterling, probably the largest pro-
perty possessed by any individual in modern times.*—
Gentleman's Magazine for May, 1840. p. 43.5 ; Re-
view of Howitt's Visit to Remarkable Places.
It is stated on good authority that Wolsey kept no
fewer than five hundred servants in his establishment,
of whom nine or tea were lords, fifteen knights, and
forty were esquires. He was a Royal favourite, once
regarded as the arbiter of Europe, whose yearly income
equalled, if it did not exceed the revenues of the Crown.
ON THE TREASURES OF THE KINGS OF PERSIA.

—We see, by what is said in the text, the reason why
Alexander found such vast sums acCumulated in the
treasures of Persepolis, Susa, Pasvgarda, &c. I doubt,
notwithstanding, whether we should give credit to
Justin, when he says, that after the conquest of Persia,
Alexander annually drew three hundred thousand
talents from his new subjects, which would make about
sixteen hundred and twenty millions of French boxes, or
sixty-seven millions and a half sterling.—Note to Vol. I.
Ville Travels gie Anacharsis.
" A RUSSIAN CMESUS.—M. de Tiszkiewies, the
richest landholder in Russian Lithuania, died a short
time since. The St. Petersburgh papers inform us,
that he has left to his three sons 2,000 villages, con-
taininf, more than 60,000 serfs, and in ready money,
10,000,000 of crowns, and that it was this gentleman
who was said to have refused the hand of his daughter
to Duke Alexander of Wirtembcrg, who afterwards
married the Princess Marie d'Orleans. His daughter
since married Prince Sapicha, and had 2,000,000
crowns for her dowry. A letter from St. Petersburgh
says--' This gentleman's property comprised 46 exten-
sive domains, on which there are 20,000 families of
peasantry, reckoning in them 60 000 males. In money,
he possessed 56,000,000 Polish florins, equal, in French
money, to 21,600,000 f. He had had six children, of
whom three sons, beside his daughter, survive him. The
eldest, according the laws of Lithuania, inherits the
whole of this immense wealth. He, however, has as-
signed one-fourth to be equally divided between his two
brothers.' "

We shall translate the following passage from " Une
Annce in Espagne,"par Charles Didier
IMMENSE POSSESSIONS OF THE DUKE DE ME-
DINA CELl.—There is not a town or village in which
he (the Marquis de Medina Cell) has not some Palace,
and he might almost make the tour of Spain, as the
Prince of Butera made the tour of Sicily, sleeping
every night at home."—Vol, 1., p. 24.
The Prince Esterhazy ought not to be overlooked
in our enumeration of men of prodigious wealth. On
the eva of the Coronation of our Queen, the following
notice of this Prince appeared in some of the continental
papers _

A letter from Vienna, of the 15th, says—' It is
affirmed that the Hungarian dress, ordered by Prince
Esterhazy ,for the Coronation of Queen Victoria, will
cost half a million of Dutch florins. I can believe this,
since the Brandebourgs alone, adorned with silver and
diamonds, cost 80,000 florins."
We believe it is related of this Prince that when he
visited Mr. Coke, of Norfolk, or some of our great
agriculturists, who had what is regarded in England an
immense stock of sheep, he (the Prince) simply ob-
served that " he had on his estates as many shepherds
as our countryman had sheep!"
" PRIVATE FORTUNE OF SOME OF THE GREAT PER-
SONAGES OF ANCIENT TlMES.—Crcesus possessed, i❑
landed property, a fortune equal to 1,700,0001., be-
sides a large sum of money, slaves, and furniture, which
amounted to an equal sum ; he used to say that a citizen
who had not a fortune sufficient to support an army or
a legion, did not deserve the title of a rich man. The
philosopher Seneca had a fortune of 3,500,0001. Len-
tullus, the soothsayer, had 3,500,0001. Tiberius, at his
death, left 23,625,0001., which Caligula spent in less
than twelve months. Vespasiau, on ascending the throne,
estimated all the expenses of the state at 35,000,0001.
The debts of Milo amounted to 600,0001. Caesar,
before he entered upon any office, owed 2,995 000/.
He purchased the friendship of Curio for 500,0001.,
and that of Lucius Paulus for 300,0001. At the time
of the assassination of Julius Caesar, Antony was in
debt to the amount of 300,000/. ; he owed this sum in
the Ides of March, and it was paid before the Kalends
of April ; he squandered 147,000,0001. of the public
treasures. Appicius expended, in debauchery, 500,0001.,
and finding, on examination of the state of his affairs,
he had no more than 80,0001. left, he poisoned himself,
because he considered that sum insufficient for his
maintenance. Julius Caesar gave Servilla, the mother
of Brutus, a pearl of the value of 40,0001. Cleopatra,
at an entertainment, gave to Antony, dissolved in vine-
gar, who swallowed it, a pearl worth 80,000/. Claudius,
the son of Esopus, the comedialc swallowed one worth
8,000/. One single dish cost Esopus 50,000/. Cali-

4We confine our observations to Europe. What trea-
sures have been accumulated in Asia we cannot ascertain.
After the sac4i. of Delhi, Nadir Shah's spoils were calculated
at seventy-eight millions.—Bid.