Let none admire that riches grow in hell; that soil may best deserve the precious bane.
Interpretation
Wealth can arise from undesirable circumstances, but it may not be truly valuable.
In this quote, John Milton suggests that riches can emerge even from the most unwholesome environments, implying that wealth derived from corruption or suffering lacks true worth. The phrase 'precious bane' encapsulates the idea that while such riches may be valued by some, they ultimately bring harm and do not foster genuine prosperity or happiness.
In practice
In a discussion about the ethics of wealth accumulation, one might reference this quote to highlight the moral implications of gaining riches from unethical means.
They, looking back, all the eastern side beheld Of Paradise, so late their happy seat, Waved over by that flaming brand, the gate With dreadful faces thronged and fiery arms: Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon; The world was all before them, where to choose Their place of rest, and Providence their guide; They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way.
The stars, that nature hung in heaven, and filled their lamps with everlasting oil, give due light to the misled and lonely traveller.
Ev'n them who kept thy truth so pure of old, When all our fathers worshipp'd stocks and stones.
Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss
The end of all learning is to know God, and out of that knowledge to love and imitate Him.
Apt words have power to suage the tumors of a troubled mind.
Don't run your life by what's legal or illegal. Run your life based on what's right or wrong.
No one in this country need go hungry, and alleviating the problem is primarily a matter of readjusting our priorities. In both the government and the private sector, self-interest has displaced the ideal of community that made this country great. The old world view of "us, we, our" has been replaced by "I, me, mine." The reasons for this are manifold and complex, but at the end of the day, we need to remember that, if one of us is suffering needlessly, all of us are diminished.
We do not move forward by curtailing people's liberty because we are afraid of what they may do or say.
Irresolution on the schemes of life which offer themselves to our choice, and inconstancy in pursuing them, are the greatest causes of all our unhappiness.
At a certain point, what people mean when they use a word becomes its meaning.
I think that all things, in their way, reflect heavenly truth, the imagination not least.
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