There is not such a mighty difference as some men imagine between the poor and the rich; in pomp, show, and opinion there is a great deal, but little as to the pleasures and satisfactions of life; they enjoy the same earth and air and heavens; hunger and thirst make the poor man’s meat and drink as pleasant and relishing as all the varieties which cover the rich man’s table; and the labor of a poor man is more healthful, and many times more pleasant, too, than the ease and softness of the rich.
To be ambitious of true honor, of the true glory and perfection of our natures, is the very principle and incentive of virtue; but to be ambitious of titles, of place, of ceremonial respects and civil pageantry, is as vain and little as the things are which we court.
