Oscar Wilde: Gold Merchants Silver

Oscar Wilde Money Quote saying religious figures value the soul at an infinitely higher rate than do business people. Oscar Wilde said:
 

 

“How strange a thing this is! The Priest telleth me that the soul is worth all the gold in the world, and the merchants say that it is not worth a clipped piece of silver” — Oscar Wilde

This Oscar Wilde quote reflects on the differing views of the soul’s value between religious figures and businessmen. The “Priest” sees the soul as infinitely precious, worth more than all the gold on earth. In contrast, the “merchants” view the soul in purely monetary terms, seeing it as worthless compared to even a small coin.

Wilde seems to be highlighting the irony that while priests preach the soul’s immeasurable worth, merchants consider it a commodity with little financial significance. The quote presents a critique of a profit-driven mindset that reduces human worth and spirituality to cold economic calculations rather than profound spiritual significance.

It conveys Wilde’s perspective that religious and commercial views of human value are often diametrically opposed.

Birthday: October 16, 1854 – Death: November 30, 1900

Adam Smith: High Wages, High Profits

Adam Smith Money Quote saying business owners fully blame wages for increasing the cost of goods, but rarely believe profits have any deleterious effect. Adam Smith said:
 

 

“Our merchants and masters complain much of the bad effects of high wages in raising the price and lessening the sale of goods. They say nothing concerning the bad effects of high profits” — Adam Smith

In this quote, Adam Smith is critiquing how merchants and business owners complain about the negative effects of “high wages” on goods prices and sales. However, Smith notes that they fail to acknowledge or mention the negative impacts of their own “high profits”. By “high profits”, Smith is referring to large profit margins that businesses earn by paying workers relatively low wages.

He is suggesting that high profits also contribute to increasing the prices consumers pay for goods. Overall, Smith is pointing out a double standard where employers blame only high labor costs and not their own profit-seeking behaviors for any economic issues. The quote aims to show that business owners should not scapegoat high wages alone and ignore the role of profits in determining overall production and pricing.

Birthday: c. 16 June – Death: July 17, 1790

John Andrew Holmes: Gift-Giving to Retailers

John Andrew Holmes Money Quotation saying that we give without restraint in the short time between black Friday and Christmas Eve – our biggest gift to retail stores. John Andrew Holmes said:
 

 

“The Christmas season has come to mean the period when the public plays Santa Claus to the merchants” — John Andrew Holmes

The quote is from John Andrew Holmes and is about holiday shopping and gift giving during the Christmas season. He says that during the short period between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, people give a lot to retailers and merchants without restraint in their shopping and spending.

Essentially, the quote is pointing out that the Christmas season is very profitable for stores and businesses because consumers spend a lot and “play Santa Claus” by giving gifts to the merchants through their purchases.