Damned money! Alas! How many religious did it blind! How many cloistered religious did it deceive! Money is the 'droppings of birds' that blinded the eyes of Tobit.
Interpretation
This quote criticizes the corrupting influence of money on religious individuals and institutions.
Anthony of Padua reflects on the negative impact of money on those who are meant to uphold moral and spiritual values. He suggests that the pursuit of wealth can blind people to their principles and lead to deception, comparing money to 'droppings of birds,' which emphasizes its insignificance and the folly of prioritizing it over spirituality.
In practice
In a discussion about the moral implications of wealth, this quote can be referenced to highlight the dangers of materialism.
The creator of the heavens obeys a carpenter; the God of eternal glory listens to a poor virgin. Has anyone ever witnessed anything comparable to this? Let the philosopher no longer disdain from listening to the common laborer; the wise, to the simple; the educated, to the illiterate; a child of a prince, to a peasant.
Men will surrender to the spirit of the age. They will say that if they had lived in our day, faith would be simple and easy. But in their day, they will say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and made meaningful to the day's problems.
The spirit of humility is sweeter than honey, and those who nourish themselves with this honey produce sweet fruit.
Christians must lean on the Cross of Christ just as travelers lean on a staff when they begin a long journey.
The life of the body is the soul; the life of the soul is God.
Earthly riches are like the reed. Its roots are sunk in the swamp, and its exterior is fair to behold; but inside it is hollow. If a man leans on such a reed, it will snap off and pierce his soul.
The logic of the world is prior to all truth and falsehood.
I build no system. I ask an end to privilege, the abolition of slavery, equality of rights, and the reign of law. Justice, nothing else; that is the alpha and omega of my argument: to others I leave the business of governing the world.
But as an adult working in the fashion industry, I struggle with materialism. And I'm one of the least materialistic people that exist, because material possessions don't mean much to me. They're beautiful, I enjoy them, they can enhance your life to a certain degree, but they're ultimately not important.
The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by Infinity is to contemplate the extent of human stupidity.
How gladly would I meet mortality, my sentence, and be earth in sensible! How glad would lay me down, as in my mother's lap! There I should rest, and sleep secure.
When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.
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