Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Rich people rarely give of themselves even if they give money. Achieving wealth often requires a dull desire for it.
In plain terms
Money doesn't equal generosity, and wanting it too much makes you less interesting.
What can you take from it?
Generosity involves giving yourself, not just cash.

Where it applies

  • philanthropy discussions
  • wealth critique
  • charity events

Putting it to work

  • evaluate giving habits
  • assess personal motives

Questions to consider

  • How often do you give your time versus money?
  • What does generosity look like to you?

Another view

Some wealthy people do volunteer time and share their lives generously.

More from Gilbert Keith Chesterton

  1. What embitters the world is not excess of criticism, but an absence of self-criticism.

    Permalink to quote #45
  2. The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man.

    Permalink to quote #47
  3. A change of opinions is almost unknown in an elderly military man.

    Permalink to quote #44

Related quotes

  1. Money doesn't change men, it merely unmasks them. If a man is naturally selfish or arrogant or greedy, the money brings that out, that's all.

    Henry FordHenry Ford quote #41
  2. Money is only useful when you get rid of it. It is like the odd card in 'Old Maid'; the player who is finally left with it has lost.

    Evelyn WaughEvelyn Waugh quote #61
  3. The man who leaves money to charity in his will is only giving away what no longer belongs to him.

    VoltaireVoltaire quote #89