“ We wish to become rich men, not in order to enjoy ease and comfort—all that any one man can taste of those may be purchased anywhere for 200 pounds per annum—but that our houses may be bigger and more gaudily furnished than our neighbors'; that our horses and servants may be more numerous; that we may dress our wives and daughters in absurd but expensive clothes ”
Jerome K. Jerome, Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1886). copy citation
| Author | Jerome K. Jerome |
|---|---|
| Source | Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow |
| Topic | comfort taste |
| Date | 1886 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/849/849-h/849-h.htm |
Context
“We want to win praise and admiration—or fame as we prefer to name it—and so we write great books, and paint grand pictures, and sing sweet songs; and toil with willing hands in study, loom, and laboratory.
We wish to become rich men, not in order to enjoy ease and comfort—all that any one man can taste of those may be purchased anywhere for 200 pounds per annum—but that our houses may be bigger and more gaudily furnished than our neighbors'; that our horses and servants may be more numerous; that we may dress our wives and daughters in absurd but expensive clothes; and that we may give costly dinners of which we ourselves individually do not eat a shilling's worth. And to do this we aid the world's work with clear and busy brain, spreading commerce among its peoples, carrying civilization to its remotest corners.”
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