It is difficult to write a paradiso when all the superficial indications are that you ought to write an apocalypse.
Ezra PoundRead
With Usura With usura hath no man a house of good stone each block cut smooth and well fitting.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques usury, the practice of lending money at exorbitant interest rates, highlighting its destructive impact on society and craftsmanship.
Ezra Pound's quote emphasizes the detrimental effects of usury on the quality of human life and societal structures. By suggesting that no one can have a well-constructed home when usury prevails, Pound draws a connection between economic practices and the integrity of communal living spaces, symbolizing the broader consequences of greed and exploitation on culture and craftsmanship.
Themes
UsuraMoneySocietyCraftsmanshipGreed
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on economic ethics, one might reference this quote to discuss the impact of usury on community welfare.
More from Ezra Pound
All quotes βThe ant's a centaur in his dragon world. Pull down thy vanity, it is not man Made courage, or made order, or made grace, Pull down thy vanity, I say pull down. Learn of the green world what can be thy place In scaled invention or true artistry, Pull down thy vanity, Paquin pull down! The green casque has outdone your elegance.
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I desired my dust to be mingled with yours Forever and forever and forever.
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Literature does not exist in a vacuum. Writers as such have a definite social function exactly proportional to their ability as writers. This is their main use.
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In our time, the curse is monetary illiteracy, just as inability to read plain print was the curse of earlier centuries.
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The modern artist must live by craft and violence. His gods are violent gods. Those artists, so called, whose work does not show this strife, are uninteresting.
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