Part 7 (2/2)

There is no religion which does not thunder against pomp and luxury.

This is as it should be; but, on the other hand, how frequently do we hear the following remarks:--

”To h.o.a.rd, is to drain the veins of the people.”

”The luxury of the great is the comfort of the little.”

”Prodigals ruin themselves, but they enrich the State.”

”It is the superfluity of the rich which makes bread for the poor.”

Here, certainly, is a striking contradiction between the moral and the social idea. How many eminent spirits, after having made the a.s.sertion, repose in peace. It is a thing I never could understand, for it seems to me that nothing can be more distressing than to discover two opposite tendencies in mankind. Why, it comes to degradation at each of the extremes: economy brings it to misery; prodigality plunges it into moral degradation. Happily, these vulgar maxims exhibit economy and luxury in a false light, taking account, as they do, of those immediate consequences _which are seen_, and not of the remote ones, _which are not seen_. Let us see if we can rectify this incomplete view of the case.

Mondor and his brother Aristus, after dividing the parental inheritance, have each an income of 50,000 francs. Mondor practises the fas.h.i.+onable philanthropy. He is what is called a squanderer of money. He renews his furniture several times a year; changes his equipages every month.

People talk of his ingenious contrivances to bring them sooner to an end: in short, he surpa.s.ses the fast livers of Balzac and Alexander Dumas.

Thus everybody is singing his praises. It is, ”Tell us about Mondor!

Mondor for ever! He is the benefactor of the workman; a blessing to the people. It is true, he revels in dissipation; he splashes the pa.s.sers-by; his own dignity and that of human nature are lowered a little; but what of that? He does good with his fortune, if not with himself. He causes money to circulate; he always sends the tradespeople away satisfied. Is not money made round that it may roll?”

Aristus has adopted a very different plan of life. If he is not an egotist, he is, at any rate, an _individualist_, for he considers expense, seeks only moderate and reasonable enjoyments, thinks of his children's prospects, and, in fact, he _economises_.

And what do people say of him? ”What is the good of a rich fellow like him? He is a skinflint. There is something imposing, perhaps, in the simplicity of his life; and he is humane, too, and benevolent, and generous, but he _calculates_. He does not spend his income; his house is neither brilliant nor bustling. What good does he do to the paper-hangers, the carriage makers, the horse dealers, and the confectioners?”

These opinions, which are fatal to morality, are founded upon what strikes the eye:--the expenditure of the prodigal; and another, which is out of sight, the equal and even superior expenditure of the economist.

But things have been so admirably arranged by the Divine inventor of social order, that in this, as in everything else, political economy and morality, far from clas.h.i.+ng, agree; and the wisdom of Aristus is not only more dignified, but still more _profitable_, than the folly of Mondor. And when I say profitable, I do not mean only profitable to Aristus, or even to society in general, but more profitable to the workmen themselves--to the trade of the time.

To prove it, it is only necessary to turn the mind's eye to those hidden consequences of human actions, which the bodily eye does not see.

Yes, the prodigality of Mondor has visible effects in every point of view. Everybody can see his landaus, his phaetons, his berlins, the delicate paintings on his ceilings, his rich carpets, the brilliant effects of his house. Every one knows that his horses run upon the turf.

The dinners which he gives at the Hotel de Paris attract the attention of the crowds on the Boulevards; and it is said, ”That is a generous man; far from saving his income, he is very likely breaking into his capital.” That is _what is seen_.

It is not so easy to see, with regard to the interest of workers, what becomes of the income of Aristus. If we were to trace it carefully, however, we should see that the whole of it, down to the last farthing, affords work to the labourers, as certainly as the fortune of Mondor.

Only there is this difference: the wanton extravagance of Mondor is doomed to be constantly decreasing, and to come to an end without fail; whilst the wise expenditure of Aristus will go on increasing from year to year. And if this is the case, then, most a.s.suredly, the public interest will be in unison with morality.

Aristus spends upon himself and his household 20,000 francs a year. If that is not sufficient to content him, he does not deserve to be called a wise man. He is touched by the miseries which oppress the poorer cla.s.ses; he thinks he is bound in conscience to afford them some relief, and therefore he devotes 10,000 francs to acts of benevolence. Amongst the merchants, the manufacturers, and the agriculturists, he has friends who are suffering under temporary difficulties; he makes himself acquainted with their situation, that he may a.s.sist them with prudence and efficiency, and to this work he devotes 10,000 francs more. Then he does not forget that he has daughters to portion, and sons for whose prospects it is his duty to provide, and therefore he considers it a duty to lay by and put out to interest 10,000 francs every year.

The following is a list of his expenses:--

1st, Personal expenses 20,000 fr.

2nd, Benevolent objects 10,000 3rd, Offices of friends.h.i.+p 10,000 4th, Saving 10,000

Let us examine each of these items, and we shall see that not a single farthing escapes the national labour.

1st. Personal expenses.--These, as far as workpeople and tradesmen are concerned, have precisely the same effect as an equal sum spent by Mondor. This is self-evident, therefore we shall say no more about it.

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