Every life a delight . new. No sooner had man acquired property than he began to issueliens upon it, and so mortgages, leases, and bonds were of old,as they are now, dominant features of industrial and com-mercial life, there being no limit to the extent of such covetedownership. The modern stock companies, with their gigantic capitaliza-tion, were, of course, unknown to the ancients, and perhapsthe moderns would have been almost as happy if such monopo-lies as some of them are had never been invented. Property is dear to man, not only because it assures him ofa sustenance while he lives, but
Every life a delight . new. No sooner had man acquired property than he began to issueliens upon it, and so mortgages, leases, and bonds were of old,as they are now, dominant features of industrial and com-mercial life, there being no limit to the extent of such covetedownership. The modern stock companies, with their gigantic capitaliza-tion, were, of course, unknown to the ancients, and perhapsthe moderns would have been almost as happy if such monopo-lies as some of them are had never been invented. Property is dear to man, not only because it assures him ofa sustenance while he lives, but also because it is a safeguard tothose he must leave behind him when he quits the earth. Often, too, a peculiar delight is found in so shaping propertyvalues that they become a monument as well as a blessing tooncoming generations. While the accumulation of property is in no sense a guar-antee of character, it has been asserted that there can be nodevelopment of character or any other good whatever, withoutproperty. 34. HIS FIRST PROFIT Life in Full Zest To so shape property rights and the ambition of men toaccumulate that the best interests of all may be in the highestdegree conserved, is one of the problems now engaging theattention of civilization everywhere. THE GRASPING MAN The word miser is rarely used in these days, but his char-acter is here in the person of the hard, greedy, grasping man wholives miserably for the sake of saving and increasing his hoard. Possibly there are more men to-day who strive to accumulatebig money than there are who merely seek to retain the smallamount they have; but in spirit they are the same. The grasping man is all around us, the gripping man isright among us; possibly thou art the man. Yet, why do men grip their money so tightly? Surely thereis no worse use to which it can be put. Money hidden away in an old stocking, or buried in a box,or even stored in a vault, is doing nobody any good; it is lostto circulation. Money is most useful whe
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