Henry David Thoreau: Superfluous Wealth
on Thursday, August 20, 2015Henry David Thoreau Money Quotation saying we should be happy with whatever we have and don’t need more belongings to contribute to unnecessary wealth that fail to feed our soul. Henry David Thoreau said:
“Superfluous wealth can buy superfluities only. Money is not required to buy one necessary of the soul” — Henry David Thoreau
Share the Henry David Thoreau Money quote image above on your site:
Short Link to this Quote:
In this quote, Henry David Thoreau is contrasting wealth that is “superfluous” or excessive with what is truly necessary on a deeper human level. When he says “superfluous wealth can buy superfluities only,” Thoreau means that vast financial resources, beyond what is needed, can only be spent on frivolous luxuries rather than anything profoundly meaningful.
He then adds that “money is not required to buy one necessary of the soul,” suggesting there are important human needs related to inner growth, wisdom and fulfillment that cannot be purchased at all through monetary means alone.
Overall, the quote conveys Thoreau’s belief that while surplus wealth may procure superficial things, it cannot satisfy spiritual or intellectual requirements of human nature that must be attained through other non-financial means like philosophy, relationships and self-reflection.