It may be that there is nothing more demoralizing than a small but adequate income.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Wilson argues that a meager income can be more damaging to morale than poverty itself.
- In plain terms
- Having just enough money can be demoralizing.
- What can you take from it?
- Comfort without challenge can dull ambition.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What drives human motivation?
- Is security worth the cost of ambition?
Another view
This perspective privileges struggle over security.
More from Edmund Wilson
Education, the last hope of the liberal in all periods.
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Permalink to quote #4 In a sense, one can never read the book that the author originally wrote, and one can never read the same book twice.
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