The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-05-11
The Worship Of Gold.

1hcEc - tut nlSHcst autuOhtLy iOf the
sentiment that athe love Of money is the
root of all evil While this may not be
true, in a literal aud restricted sense, it
doubtless is in a fgurative and general
sense. The gross idolatry Of Israel took
the form Of worship Of the golden calf.
But, "they we're not all Israel who were
Of Israel So it is to-day. There are
men who practice an idolatry as gross and
degrading as that which caused the great
leader Of the peculiar people, to dash in
pieces the tables of the law. They are
lovers and worshipers Of gold, which, in
this sense, stands for the representative Of
gain, or wealth. The germ Of avarice,
when once implanted in the human breast,
feeds on its acquisitions, and grows and
strengthens with its possessions, until it
thoroughly roots out all the finer feelings
of our nature and absorbs the entire man.
1t IS not the purpose Of this article, how
ever, to treat Of this phase of gold-worship,
but Of the universal Difference paid to
wealth by the mass of mankind. The apt
coupIet, which embodics the following
tru;sm, that
"Worth makes the man,
Want Of it the fellow
Might well be paraphrased, to suit the
popular idea, by the change of a single
word, thus
.'Wealth makes the man,
Want Of it the fellow
1t is one of the very strongest evidences
Of human depravity, this universal defer
ence to wealth. "Charity covers multi
tude Of sins" but wealth covers many
more. Plate sin with gold, it is no longer
sin. And yet, one of the most pitiable
sights on earth is the man of wealth who
has nothing else but wealth,---no brains,
no culture,-nothing but a purse-proud
swagger and an obtrusive self-consequence
that make his rude vulgarity the more dis
gushing. But such men are not without
their fatterers aud fawning sycophants,
ever ready to pay them court with wordy
adulation, cap in hand, and great obsequi-
BUSINESS Of manner The toadying para
sites Of men of wealth minister to their
vanity and self-inaation, though they
grovel upon the earth and crawl as worms
TO do it. The most commonplace express
sions of the rich man are words of wisdom.
His wit is always keen, his jokes are never
pointless, and always sure to create a laugh.
His opinions have great weight; are re-
ceived without being questioned, and are
generally Dramatically and oracularIy ut
tered We speak, now, of the common
herd of mankind. There are honorable
exceptions among the poor and the rich,
who do not come within the scope or pur-
view Of these structures. Rich men, who
are not pulled up by their riches; poor
men who have not belittled themselves or
parted with their manly bearing because
they are poor Rich men who are not OBJ
trusive, but modest, and unassuming.
Poor men, with intelligence and self-re-
spect sufficient to value themselves and
those around them, however wealthy they
may be, only at their true moral and intel
lectual worth. Men who do not obsequi-
Ously bow down TO gold or make haste to
do the wealthy honor But the number
Of such is out of all proportion to the other
class which comprise the great mass of
mank ind. That community enjoys but a
low state of civilization where men bow
down to wealth alone, or give to the wealthy
undue importance. People of culture and
true moral and intellectual refinement held
in contempt the man who plumes himself
upon the depth of his mon ey-bags, as well
as the men of grOsser mould and baser
clay who can pay obsequious court to such
merely on account of their money. And
yet, wealth itself is not to be despised
If rightly used, it gives to its fortunate
possessor many advantages; enables him
not only to enjoy life himself, but gives to
him the means Of ministering to the en-
joyment Of others. Only the abuse of
wealth is to be condemned, not wealth it
self Unfortunately for poor frail human
ity, few persons are capable of using it
without abusing it. It is in the nature of
wealth to turn the heads of its possessors;
or rather, few heads are strong enough not
to be turned by it. The golden mean Of
Agur-"Give me neither poverty nor
riches, lis, perhaps, after all, the acme
Of human wisdom, and that condition in
life most conducive to human happiness.
There are few, however, very few, who do
not eovet riches, or who would not grasp
them If within their reach The number
is not greater who would make proper
use Of them if they had them.