The odour of gain is sweet, from whatever source it may he produced. To the miser, whatever is profitable, and to the voluptuous, whatever contributes to their pleasure, is deemed to be good, however impure the source of it may happen to be. Vespasian, who, but for his inordinate love of money, was one of the best of the Roman emperors, made use of this apothegm, in answer to his son, who had reproved him for laying a tax on certain vessels set in the streets, for the reception of urine, for the use of the dyers*. Taking a piece of money from his pocket, which he had received from that impost, and applying it to the nostrils of his son, he demanded, «Ecquid ea pecunia puteret», whether he perceived any ill savour in it? The same, however, might be asked of money obtained by robbery, murder, or any other unjustifiable means, and unfortunately we too easily excuse ourselves.

«O cives, cives, quærenda pecunia primum,
Virtus post nummos».
>(Horace, Epistularum liber I, v. 55)

O citizens, let money be your first care. Unde habeas curat nemo; sed oportet habere, no one will inquire how you get your wealth, but if you would be respected, you must have it.


* That the vessels were placed for the benefit of the dyers, seems proved by the following, taken from a note to p. 175, of the second volume of Rabelais.
Parisiis quando purpura præparatur, tune artifices invitant Germanicos milites, et studiosos, qui libenter bibunt, et eis præbent largiter optimum vinum, ea conditione, ut postea urinam reddant in illam Ianam. Sic enim audivi à studioso Parisiensi. Joan. Manlii Libellus Medicus.

Gain gotten by unfair means is no better than a loss; what is ill gotten rarely thrives. Those who are in too much haste to acquire riches, generally commit some error in the process which defeats their purpose; or, if they obtain what they sought for, they have rarely the discretion to use it properly. Hasty climbers have sudden falls. The wealth that is ill-gotten becomes a canker, and corrodes and destroys what it is put in contact with. Una pecora rognosa, ne guasta cento, one bad sheep spoils the flock. The too eager pursuit of any thing, Feltham says, «hinders the enjoyment; for it makes men take indirect ways, which though they prosper sometimes, are blessed never. Wealth snatched up by unjust and injurious ways, like a rotten sheep, will infect thy healthful flock».