Greed - Literature

Literature

Thomas Aquinas wrote "Greed is a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things.". In Dante's Purgatory, the avaracious penitents were bound and laid face down on the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly thoughts.

From Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary, greed means "greedy for base gains." Gain itself is not a sin, but the gain of base things. Also, "given to greed" means literally, "given to filth." Thus, a moral concern, not a subjective economic one for which there is no equal. A very wealthy man, for example, may be considered "greedy" in error, if such wealth was planned for some great achievement or building project.

Ivan Boesky famously defended greed in a May 18, 1986, commencement address at the UC Berkeley's School of Business Administration, in which he said, "Greed is all right, by the way. I want you to know that. I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself". This speech inspired the 1987 film Wall Street, which features the famous line "greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind."

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