"Avarice often produces opposite results: there are..." - Quote by Francois De La Rochefoucauld

“Behind many acts that are thought ridiculous there lie wise and weighty motives.”

“Every one complains of a poor memory, no one of a weak judgment.”

“It is much better to learn to deal with the ills we have now than to speculate on those that may befall us.”

“You've read newspaper stories about elderly widows who die and leave their entire estates to their pet cats, right? Well, your cat reads those stories too, and has spent most of its skulking, devious little life dreaming about inheriting all your money.”

“Is it nice, my preciousss? Is it juicy? Is it scrumptiously crunchable?”

“You have found that you were more secure before you accumulated so much. See what greed has imposed on you: You have filled your house and now you fear burglars. You have hoarded money and lost sleep. See what greed has commanded you: "Do this!" And you did it.”

“It is not the nature of avarice to be satisfied with anything but money. Every passion that acts upon mankind has a peculiar mode of operation. Many of them are temporary and fluctuating; they admit of cessation and variety. But avarice is a fixed, uniform passion.”

“There is no vice which mankind carries to such wild extremes as that of avarice.”

“He who loves the bristle of bayonets only sees in the glitter what beforehand he feels in his heart. It is avarice and hatred; it is that quivering lip, that cold, hating eye, which built magazines and powder-houses.”