Herman Melville: Monied Heaven
on Friday, April 1, 2022Herman Melville Money Quote saying a monied man can not get into heaven because his money is the root of all evil. Herman Melville said:
“The urbane activity with which a man receives money is really marvelous, considering that we so earnestly believe money to be the root of all earthly ills, and that on no account can a monied man enter heaven” — Herman Melville
Share the Herman Melville Money quote image above on your site:
Short Link to this Quote:
In this quote, Herman Melville is commenting on the paradoxical relationship humans have with money. The best interpretation is:
- Melville notes that despite widespread beliefs that money is “the root of all earthly ills” and a barrier to entering heaven, people still eagerly and skillfully pursue wealth.
- There is a contradiction between seeing money as corrupting yet showing great “urbane activity” or sophistication when it comes to acquiring it.
- Melville suggests people are very adept at obtaining money even while believing deep down it only brings problems and worldly temptation that distances one from salvation.
Overall, Melville appears to be pointing out the cognitive dissonance in strongly condemning money as spiritually damaging but showing expert worldliness in amassing it anyway. He highlights the inconsistency between beliefs about money’s effects and the energetic behaviors used to accumulate it.
Birthday: August 1, 1819 – Death: September 28, 1891