Edgar Allan Poe: A Dollar Tenfold
on Tuesday, March 22, 2022Edgar Allan Poe Money Quote saying Romans thought highly of their eagle, which is ten times our standard dollar in value, with devotion. Edgar Allan Poe said:
“The Romans worshipped their standard; and the Roman standard happened to be an eagle. Our standard is only one tenth of an eagle — a dollar, but we make all even by adoring it with tenfold devotion” — Edgar Allan Poe
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In this quote, Edgar Allan Poe is making a critical comparison between the Roman worship of their military standard symbolized by an eagle, and the American worship of the dollar bill as a national symbol.
He suggests that while the Roman standard represented strength and power, the American dollar represents monetary values alone. Poe appears to be arguing that Americans of his time placed too much importance, reverence and faith in the dollar over other values, with a “tenfold devotion” that exceeded what the Romans felt for their eagle image.
The quote conveys Poe’s view that the pursuit and worship of wealth, as embodied by the dollar, had become the new national standard and religion in America, which he was implicitly criticizing.
Birthday: January 19, 1809 – Death: October 7, 1849