You have it!
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Can some one explain this passage
I do not understand it
it is by hazlitt
it is called "on the want of money"
The only reason why I cam disposed to envy the professions of the church or army is, that men can afford to be poor in them without being subjected to insult. A girl with a handsome fortune in a country town may marry a poor lieutenant without degrading herself. An officer is always a gentleman; a clergyman is something more. Echard's book On the Contempt of the Clergy is unfounded. It is surely sufficient for any set of individuals, raised above actual want, that their characters are nor merely respectable, but sacred. Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but taken an heroical aspect. What are the begging friars? Have they not put their base feet upon the necks of princes? Money as a luxury is valuable only as a passport to respect. It is one instrument of power. Where there are other admitted and ostensible claims to this, it becomes superfluous, and the neglect of it is even admired and looked up to as a mark of superiority over it. Even a strolling beggar is a popular character, who makes an open profession of his craft and calling, and who is neither worth a doit nor in want of one. The Scotch are proverbially poor and proud: we know they can remedy their poverty when they set about it. No one is sorry for them. The French emigrants were formerly peculiarly situated in England. The priests were obnoxious to the common people on account of their religion; both they and the nobles, for their politics. Their poverty and dirt subjected them to many rebuffs; but their privations being voluntarily incurred, and also borne with the characteristic patience and good-humour of the nation, screened them from contempt. I little thought, when I used to meet them walking out in the summer's-evenings at Somers' Town, in their long great coats, their beards covered with snuff, and their eyes gleaming with mingled hope and regret in the rays of the setting sun, and regarded them with pity bordering on respect, as the last filmy vestige of the ancien regime, as shadows of loyalty and superstition still flitting about the earth and shortly to disappear from it for ever, that they would one day return over the bleeding corpse of their country, and sit like harpies, a polluted triumph, over the tomb of human liberty! To be a lord, a papist, and poor, is perhaps to some temperaments a consummation devoutly to be wished. There is all the subdued splendour of external rank, the pride of self-opinion, irritated and goaded on by petty privations and vulgar obloquy to a degree of morbid acuteness. Private and public annoyances must perpetually remind him of what he is, of what his ancestors were (a circumstance which might otherwise be forgotten); must narrow the circle of conscious dignity more and more, and the sense of personal worth and pretension must be exalted by habit and contrast into a refined abstraction - "pure in the last recesses of the mind" - unmixed with, or unalloyed by "baser matter!" - It was an hypothesis of the late Mr. Thomas Wedgewood, that there is a principle of compensation in the human mind which equalizes all situations, and by which the absence of anything only gives us a more intense and intimate perception of the reality; that insult adds to pride, that pain looks forward to ease with delight, that hunger already enjoys the unsavoury morsel that is to save it from perishing; that want is surrounded with imaginary riches, like the poor poet in Hogarth, who has a map of the monies of Peru hanging on his garret walls; in short, that "we can hold a fire in our hand by thinking on the frosty Caucasus" - but this hypothesis, though ingenious and to a certain point true, is to be admitted only in a limited and qualified sense.
Please do not address this as simply "help." This has been posted before; wasn't it under English?
People that can be poor(no need of money)not insulting
Is jealous of processions of church(like clergy) and army because they can be poor.(with out judgement)
A women that is left with a fortune by her husband can marry a poor man.
Echards book On the Contempt of the Clergy
When poverty is voluntary it is not look down on but heroic( clergy0
Money seek by many for
respect
money
admired
feel superior
Beggar( beg for money)
Ex Scotch are poor and proud That can get money if they try
The french went to England and priest worried of their religion. They were poor but then but when he saw them walking he knew one day return to their country better.
Most wished profession papist or lord
poor
has self opinion ,external pride
public remind him what he is and what his ancestors were.
Have mor personal worth
The passage you provided is an excerpt from an essay by William Hazlitt called "On the Want of Money," in which he discusses the perception and implications of poverty.
Hazlitt starts by expressing his envy towards professions like the church or army because people in these professions can be poor without facing insult or judgment from others. He gives an example of a girl with a handsome fortune who can marry a poor lieutenant without degrading herself, suggesting that officers are always seen as gentlemen and clergy members are even more respected.
He then mentions a book by Echard called "On the Contempt of the Clergy" and disagrees with its premise. Hazlitt argues that it should be enough for people who are not in dire need of money to have respectable and sacred characters. He believes that when poverty is voluntary, it takes on a heroic aspect and is not looked down upon.
Hazlitt points out that money, as a luxury, is valuable only as a means to gain respect. When there are other qualities or attributes that one possesses that gain them respect and power, money becomes unnecessary. In fact, the neglect of money can even be admired and seen as a mark of superiority over it. He gives an example of a strolling beggar who openly professes his craft and calling, suggesting that even though the beggar may lack money, he is respected for his honesty and self-sufficiency.
Hazlitt also mentions the Scotch as being notoriously poor and proud but notes that they can improve their poverty through effort. He believes that the Scotch being poor does not evoke sympathy because they have the means to remedy their poverty if they choose to.
He then discusses the French emigrants who were once in a peculiar situation in England. The priests were disliked by the common people due to their religion, and both the priests and nobles faced political challenges. However, their poverty and dirt did not subject them to contempt because their privations were voluntary and borne with patience and good humor. Hazlitt recounts seeing them walking in Somers' Town, observing them with pity bordering on respect as remnants of a bygone era, loyal to their beliefs even as their country underwent significant changes. He did not anticipate that they would one day return to their country and sit as harpies over the tomb of human liberty.
Finally, Hazlitt suggests that to some temperaments, being a poor lord and papist may be a desirable state. He describes the satisfaction derived from external rank and the pride of self-opinion that intensifies due to petty privations and vulgar obloquy, leading to a refined sense of personal worth and pretension.
Overall, Hazlitt's passage highlights the complexities and different perspectives surrounding poverty, respect, and the perception of social status.