Money means power, it means
leisure, it means self-indulgence, it means display; it means, in a
word, the thousand comforts and luxuries which, in their opinion,
constitute the good of life.

In aristocratic societies the young have had a passion for distinction.
They have held it to be an excellent thing to belong to a noble family,
to occupy an elevated position, to wear the glittering badges of birth
and of office. In ages of religious faith they have been smitten with
the love of divine ideals; they have yearned for God, and given all the
strength of their hearts to make his will prevail. But to our youth
distinction of birth is fictitious, and God is problematic; and so they
are left face to face with material aims and ends; and of such aims and
ends money is the universal equivalent.

Now, it could not ever occur to me to think of denying that the basis of
human life, individual and social, is material. Matter is part of our
nature; we are bedded in it, and by it are nourished. It is the
instrument we must use even when we think and love, when we hope and
pray. Upon this foundation our spiritual being is built; upon this
foundation our social welfare rests.

Concern for material interests is one of the chief causes of human
progress; since nothing else so stimulates to effort, and effort is the
law of growth. The savage who has no conception of money, but is
satisfied with what Nature provides, remains forever a savage. Habits
of industry, of order, of punctuality, of economy and thrift, are, to a
great extent, the result of our money-getting propensities. Our material
wants are more urgent, more irresistible; they press more constantly
upon us than any other; and those whom they fail to rouse to exertion
are, as a rule, hopelessly given over to indolence and sloth. In the
stimulus of these lower needs, then, is found the impulse which drives
men to labor; and without labor welfare is not possible.

The poor must work, if they would drink and eat;
The weak must work, if they in strength would grow;
The ignorant must work, if they would know;
The sad must work, if they sweet joy would meet.

The strong must work, if they would shun defeat;
The rich must work, if they would flee from woe;
The proud must work, if they would upward go;
The brave must work, if they would not retreat.

So for all men the law of work is plain;
It gives them food, strength, knowl