The Rambler No. 198
Samuel Johnson
Johnson's pragmatic view of money as a benign pursuit contrasts with the moral suspicion many of his contemporaries held toward commerce. In an era when wealth was often seen as morally dubious or corrupting, he saw financial pursuits as one of the few activities that could be both productive and harmless. This letter to John Taylor shows his belief that the accumulation of wealth, when done honorably, provided both personal stability and societal benefits without compromising one's integrity.