“ In reality, money losses are the hardest to bear of any by those who are old enough to comprehend them.
A man can stand being told that he must submit to a severe surgical operation, or that he has some disease which will shortly kill him, or that he will be a cripple or blind for the rest of his life; dreadful as such tidings must be, we do not find that they unnerve the greater number of mankind ”
Samuel Butler, The Way of All Flesh (1903). copy citation
Author | Samuel Butler |
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Source | The Way of All Flesh |
Topic | loss reality |
Date | 1903 |
Language | English |
Reference | |
Note | |
Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2084/2084-h/2084-h.htm |
Context
“Ernest was terribly shocked when he heard of the loss of his money, but his ignorance of the world prevented him from seeing the full extent of the mischief. He had never been in serious want of money yet, and did not know what it meant. In reality, money losses are the hardest to bear of any by those who are old enough to comprehend them.
A man can stand being told that he must submit to a severe surgical operation, or that he has some disease which will shortly kill him, or that he will be a cripple or blind for the rest of his life; dreadful as such tidings must be, we do not find that they unnerve the greater number of mankind; most men, indeed, go coolly enough even to be hanged, but the strongest quail before financial ruin, and the better men they are, the more complete, as a general rule, is their prostration. Suicide is a common consequence of money losses;”
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