James Otis Quotes

All amassing of wealth or hoarding of wealth above and beyond one's legitimate needs is theft.

I am more and more convinced that man is a dangerous creature, and that power whether vested in many or few is ever grasping, and like the grave, cries, 'Give, give.'

A kingdom led by a royal family that can’t get out of the way of its own greed.

What is the inducement of these great States to put down the Bank of the United States? Their avarice combined with their love of domination …. The great commercial States are to monopolize the benefits which are to arise from the deposits of your public money.

For such is the disease of wealth, which knows no limit to its desire of more...

How unfortunate and how narrowing a thing it is for a man to have wealth who makes a god of it instead of a servant.

We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American Eagle in order to feather their own nests.

Once a man has begun to accumulate money, it is unnatural to stop. He actually gets in a state where he wants more and more..

… the mere money-making American, insensible to every duty, regardless of every principle, bent only on amassing a fortune.

The invention of money opened a new field to human avarice by giving rise to usury and the practice of lending money at interest while the owner passes a life of idleness.

As a young man, you're dazzled by the power of the White House and all that. But power tends to corrupt.

People like comfort; that's natural. But as for making money simply for the sake of making it, and giving yourself far more trouble and anxiety to gain it than you can ever get pleasure from it when it's gained, why, as for me, I'd rather sit still and cross my arms.

I was pretty much a warmonger and a pretty greedy guy. I always wanted to make as much money as I possibly could and felt the downtrodden didn't deserve a break.

The Clintons engage routinely in corrupt practices, mixing their political power with their nonprofit work to make themselves rich, while not standing up for the little guy.

It's man's nature to abuse knowledge and power, be it in the realm of science, government, or Wall Street. Take God out of the picture, and you have real trouble.

There aren't a lot of things that are extraordinary about Putin, but his greed is truly extraordinary.

You have to remove your human sentiment when it comes to greed and the accumulation of wealth.

Poverty wants much; but avarice, everything.

There are many definite methods, honest and dishonest, which make people rich; the only instinct I know of which does it is that instinct which theological Christianity crudely describes as the sin of avarice.

Oppression is often the consequence, but seldom or never the means of riches; and tho' avarice will preserve a man from being necessitously poor, it generally makes him too timorous to be wealthy.

I don't understand why very, very rich people want to have even more money than they've already got.

What in the rising man was industry and economy, becomes in the rich man parsimony and avarice.

Some men make fortunes, but not to enjoy them for, blinded by avarice, they live to make fortunes.

Being rich has never stopped anyone from being greedy.