Money

"The simpler you can live, the more you are in control of life. Only a small shelter, daily bread and decent clothes should be provided, and the rest should not be your overwhelming concern. This is not to say that those who have money should throw it away, but only that they should not live for it. Wealth, after all, is a safeguard against many inconveniences: let us be thrifty and save in our ways, but not hamsters. I do not subscribe to the views of Diogenes and Epictetus. What a man has, if he has it, is precious. It almost belongs to his body. My furnitures, my paintings, my books, my garden, my house, are as if they were part of my body. But I never forget that, just as my body is my secondary value, my possessions are even more inferior. I am sure that when I die, I will not regret the destruction of my body, nor will I regret the loss of my wealth. But as long as I live, I will take care of my body and value my wealth. Some wealth is also necessary to secure your independence. But draw the line of wealth at the point where you have a simple daily subsistence apart from your own shelter. More wealth should no longer be a sweating ambition."