John Adams: Wealth Penurious
on Monday, February 28, 2022John Adams Money Quote saying the wealthy are made selfish by riches and lose their humanity. John Adams said:
“The rich are seldom remarkable for modesty, ingenuity or humanity. Their wealth has rather a tendency to make them penurious and selfish” — John Adams
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In this quote, John Adams is making an observation about how wealth and riches often influence people’s character and behaviors. The best interpretation is:
- Adams suggests that those who are rich or wealthy tend not to exhibit virtues like humility, creativity or compassion for others.
- He implies that affluence frequently makes people develop negative traits such as stinginess (“penurious”) and self-centeredness (“selfish”) as their wealth becomes a higher priority.
- Adams appears to believe that accumulating significant material riches can corrupt individuals’ personalities by fostering arrogance, lack of innovation, and disregard for those less fortunate.
Overall, the quote conveys Adams’ perspective that wealth tends to diminish admirable qualities in most of those who possess it. From his view, affluence commonly warps priorities and attitudes and leads the rich to care more for their fortunes than humanistic values like empathy, modesty or coming up with novel solutions according to their means.
Birthday: October 30, 1735 – Death: July 4, 1826