Quotation of the Day…
by Don Boudreaux
on March 6, 2021
… is from page 51 of the 2003 Barnes & Noble Collector’s Library edition of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter:
Why should he work for his living here, or go to dig gold in California, when he is so soon to be made happy, at monthly intervals, with a little pile of glittering coin out of his Uncle’s pocket? It is sadly curious to observe how slight a taste of office suffices to infect a poor fellow with this singular disease. Uncle Sam’s gold – meaning no disrespect to the worthy old gentleman – has, in this respect, a quality of enchantment like that of the devil’s wages. Whoever touches it should look well to himself, or he may find the bargain to go hard against him, involving, if not his soul, yet many of its better attributes; its sturdy force, its courage and constancy, its truth, its self-reliance, and all that gives the emphasis to manly character.
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