“ The rich man’s enjoyment in his wealth, his power, and in the comparison of his importance with the poor. Charity corrupts giver and taker alike ”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Demons (1872). copy citation
| Author | Fyodor Dostoyevsky |
|---|---|
| Source | Demons |
| Topic | importance wealth |
| Date | 1872 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Constance Garnett in 1916 |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8117/8117-h/8117-h.htm |
Context
“This is what all our theories amount to, now that the first light of free investigation has dawned upon them.”
“Indeed, indeed.”
“You laugh ironically. And what used you to say to me about charity? Yet the enjoyment derived from charity is a haughty and immoral enjoyment. The rich man’s enjoyment in his wealth, his power, and in the comparison of his importance with the poor. Charity corrupts giver and taker alike; and, what’s more, does not attain its object, as it only increases poverty. Fathers who don’t want to work crowd round the charitable like gamblers round the gambling-table, hoping for gain, while the pitiful farthings that are flung them are a hundred times too little.”
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