The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-04-12

the lookout IOf Lne QeluBe.
"THB ACCURSED THIRST FOR Gold.
The sacro flames auri, or sacred thirst for
gold, r." to which the great Latin poet alluded two
thousand years ago, seems to be az rife at pre-
sent us when he first denounced it in the forum.
1t exists amongst n wider class of men, indeed;
for in modern days 1t has extended far beyond
the ranks of the clergy, to whom he was then
supposed to have alluded for their successors in
the early days of our Church were SO sensitive
that they conceived it necessary to escape the
imputaton by giving an entirely new translation
of the word s0cr0, and alleging that 1t meant
''cursed" as well as holy. They might have dis
pensed with this, for how dextrous soever some
of the fathers of the Church may have been in the
performance of certain polemical juggles, they
could by no means be compared and really were
far inferior artists, to their predecessors the
priests and augurs and soothsayers of ancient
Rome, who foretold future events from the flight
of pigeon, inculcated morality from the entrails
of a rooster, and recommended policy from the
cacklng of goose. All of our clergy can meet
each other in the"streets with serenity, if not
with solemnity, and few of them would perhaps
even raise q passing smile from passer-by if
they shook hands when they met; whereas
Horace declares that when two of his contem-
poraneous clerical worthless met each other in
public, not only he but the whole community
was astonished that they could do SO without
bursting out with laughter in each others faces
when meditating on, or recalling to mind
the gross deceptions they perpetrated for the
acquisition as he limited, of gold. But the desire
for the precious metal has now extended to
wider circle than the clergy. We do not mean
to hint that it exists at all in the breasts of any
H,,t; - IIx, s,.a,,
enced those of n very considerable number of
their hocks, and it is for the benefit of these
mainly that we make our present remarks.
We do not affect to indulge in the usual cant
about despsing riches. Wealth, it can neither
be concealed nor denied, is the prime mover of
modern society. 1t is the source of most of our
ioys and it alleviates many of our sorrows. The
outcries about the evil of money are generally
misplaced, and often wholly hypocritical. With
out money, nothing in the present day is to be
done. 1t is the source of all power in every
profession or vocation to which man can devote
himself. The possession of it facilitates gives
rise to the grandest enterprises; and the want of
even the smallest share OF it has often blighted
the fairest prospects or the best of fortunes. In
the profession of literature, it is equally
false and insulting TO declare that the greatest
works have been produced without money, or
that the best poetry had its birth in garret.
Lamartine and great English poet lately alike
proclaimed this to be heartless lie, and asserted
that many great composition, both in prose
and verse, was prevented from ever seeing the
light in consequence OF the poverty of the man
who otherwise would have both conceived
and produced them. The Almighty always
ranges himself on the side of strong battalions
said Napoleon the First with something of pro-
family, but assuredly, also, with no small share
of truth; and these are to be equipped and sup
ported by money alone. 1t was this which gave
strength to the ancient phalanxes of Greece and
the resistless legions of Rome. 1t was this which
| enabled Venice to acquire and maintain its vast
power during the middle ages; and-most morti'
| flying and embittering thought of all for him who
uttered it amid the agonies of ST. Helena-it was
wealth, and wealth alone, which enabled Britain
to organize that vast European confederacy
which ultimately subdued and destroyed him.
But In the present day we think that the desire
OF money Is inordinate, that in Europe II has
produced many evils, and that in this country il
threatens to given rise to still greater. On botl
sides OF the Atlantic alike, the outcry is heard
that the rich are every day becoming richer anc
the poor falling into still deeper poverty. II
the Old World we shall probably again so,r
hear the exclamation, first upraised in the o,rea
French Revolution of 1889, that ''the Door will
eat the rich when they have nothing else Il
eat;" and In this country 1t has already enven
dered thirst for luxury which, If unchecked
may endanger the existence of our Republic
|, DICKENS Aa A DIPIOMAT-No ona co, 40