Unto This Last

I've been reading 'Unto This Last' by John Ruskin. It's a very interesting book on the ideas of wealth. It's after reading this book that Gandhi was prompted to launch the Phoenix Settlement back in his days.

Look at a paragraph below from Essay IV of the book:
[I've added the bolding and underlining, hoping it will help you understand the paragraph]

The real science of political economy, which has yet to be distinguished from the bastard science, as medicine from witchcraft, and astronomy from astrology, is that which teaches nations to desire and labour for the things that lead to life: and which teaches them to scorn and destroy the things that lead to destruction. And if, in a state of infancy, they supposed indifferent things, such as excrescences of shell-fish, and pieces of blue and red stone, to be valuable, and spent large measures of the labour which ought to be employed for the extension and ennobling of life, in diving or digging for them, and cutting them into various shapes,or if, in the same state of infancy, they imagine precious and beneficent things, such as air, light, and cleanliness, to be valueless,-or if, finally, they imagine the conditions of their own existence, by which alone they can truly possess or use anything, such, for instance, as peace, trust, and love, to be prudently exchangeable, when the markets offer, for gold, iron, or excresrences of shells — the great and only science of Political Economy teaches them, in all these cases, what is vanity, and what substance; and how the service of Death, the lord of Waste, and of eternal emptiness, differs from the service of Wisdom, the lady of Saving, and of eternal fulness; she who has said, “I will cause those that love me to inherit SUBSTANCE; and I will FILL their treasures.”

What do you think?

I know it may take quite some time to digest. But do give it the thoughts necessary. You may then just see things in a whole different perspective.

Here's a link to download the full e-book*:
http://www.forget-me.net/Ruskin/

*there's quite a few spelling errors in the book, but nothing beyond bearing.

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Update on 20070115, another quote:

THERE IS NO WEALTH BUT LIFE. Life, including all its powers of love, of joy, and of admiration. That country is the richest which nourishes the greatest number of noble and happy human beings; that man is richest who, having perfected the functions of his own life to the utmost, has also the widest helpful influence, both personal, and by means of his possessions, over the lives of others.