Francisco's speech:
Or did you say it’s the love of money that’s the root of all evil? To love a thing is to know and love its nature. To love money is to know and love the fact that money is the creation of the best power within you, and your passkey to trade your effort for the effort of the best among men. It’s the person who would sell his soul for a nickel, who is loudest in proclaiming his hatred of money–and he has good reason to hate it. The lovers of money are willing to work for it. They know they are able to deserve it.
My response:
Lawyers admit possession is nine-tenths of the law. There’s no rhyme or reason behind the distribution of wealth. As soon as you have conceded your mind will be ruled by money, you have abandoned all hope of guiding your life by a rational principle. Heirs and heiresses, retired dictators who flee to New York with their money, con artists and scam artists—are you really willing to use up your intellectual potential just to obtain what they have?
You have a choice. Will you devote yourself to cultivating and improving your mind? Or will you devote yourself to making money? You may imagine you can have both, but you can't. The world of money is a world of mindlessness. As soon as you devote yourself to money, you have forsaken mind. The symbols of wealth are often mistaken for symbols of excellence. In fact they are symbols admired only by mediocre minds that allow themselves to be ruled by a chaotic, irrational casino rather than reserving themselves for chaste service to logic and truth.
I sell my talents to an anonymous market. I never get the chance to meet my customers. Are they honest souls like you who believe a dollar not earned by honest work is not worth having? Or retired dictators and con-men? Money tells us nothing about where it comes from and how it's being used.
