John Muir: Edward Harriman – Money Tool
on Friday, February 6, 2015
“John Muir Money Quotation saying of railroad executive Edward Henry Harriman that wealth was to him like any other powerful tool to get work done. Edward Henry Harriman said:
“For money he never cared except as a tool like a locomotive or ship” — John Muir
John Muir seems to be suggesting that he viewed money instrumentally rather than as something with intrinsic value. Specifically, he implies that, like a tool or machine, money was useful to him primarily as a means to an end (“a tool like a locomotive or ship”) rather than as something desirable for its own sake.
By stating he “never cared” about money except in this functional way, Muir appears to be conveying that he was not motivated by financial gain and saw monetary resources only as a mechanism to support his real goals and pursuits in life. Overall, the quote indicates Muir had a pragmatic attitude towards money and wealth, valuing it only as a utility rather than as a measure of personal worth or success.
Birthday: April 21, 1838 – Death: December 24, 1914