--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The indiscriminate denunciation of the…" description: "\"The indiscriminate denunciation of the rich is mischievous… No poor man was ever made richer or happier by it. It is quite as illogical to despise a ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/benjamin-harrison-20766_can-not_the-indiscriminate-denunciation-of-the-r_958365.jpg" --- # The indiscriminate denunciation of the rich is… ![“The indiscriminate denunciation of the rich is mischievous… No poor man was ever made richer or happier by it. It is quite as illogical to despise a man because he is rich as because he is poor. Not what a man has, but what he is, settles his class. We can not right matters by taking from one what…” quote by Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/benjamin-harrison-20766_can-not_the-indiscriminate-denunciation-of-the-r_958365.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/benjamin-harrison-20766_can-not_the-indiscriminate-denunciation-of-the-r_958365.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/benjamin-harrison-20766_can-not_the-indiscriminate-denunciation-of-the-r_958365.jpg) > “The indiscriminate denunciation of the rich is mischievous… No poor man was ever made richer or happier by it. It is quite as illogical to despise a man because he is rich as because he is poor. Not what a man has, but what he is, settles his class. We can not right matters by taking from one what he has honestly acquired to bestow upon another what he has not earned.” [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Condemning the rich is illogical; wealth isn’t moral worth. Class is defined by character, not possessions. Redistribution of honest earnings is unjust. **In simple terms:** Richness isn’t moral; character matters. Key Takeaway Judge people by character, not wealth. Themes wealth class justice ethics Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political debate - economic policy - personal relationships Key Concepts meritocracy social inequality philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What defines a person's worth? - Can wealth be used responsibly? A Different Perspective Wealth can enable positive impact; redistribution can reduce inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Can not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-not/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Denunciation Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denunciation-rich-1755556/) [Despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despise/) [Honestly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honestly/) [Illogical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illogical/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Man Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-rich-458498/) [Man Richer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-richer-590014/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mischievous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mischievous/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Poor man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-man/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Rich Mischievous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-mischievous-1755557/) [Rich poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-poor/) [Settling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settling/) ## Related quotes > [To make a man richer, give him more money of curb his desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/to-make-a-man-richer-give-him-more-money-of-curb-his-desires/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Humility makes a man richer than other men, and it makes a man judge himself the poorest among men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/humility-makes-a-man-richer-than-other-men-and-it-makes-a-man-judge/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [No Man is richer for having his Estate all in Money, Plate, etc. lying by him, but on the contrary, he is for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dudley-north/no-man-is-richer-for-having-his-estate-all-in-money-plate-etc-lying/) [Dudley North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dudley-north/) > [I think if I had been a man, I would be richer. That hurts. But at the same time, I have to keep fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-coixet/i-think-if-i-had-been-a-man-i-would-be-richer-that-hurts-but-at-the/) [Isabel Coixet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-coixet/) > [Government cannot make man richer, but it can make him poorer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/government-cannot-make-man-richer-but-it-can-make-him-poorer/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Why is one man richer than another? Because he is more industrious, more persevering and more sagacious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/why-is-one-man-richer-than-another-because-he-is-more-industrious/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Only laughter makes a man rich, but the laughter has to be blissful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-laughter-makes-a-man-rich-but-the-laughter-has-to-be-blissful/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An inventor is someone who makes another man rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sarnoff/an-inventor-is-someone-who-makes-another-man-rich/) [David Sarnoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sarnoff/) > [Money never made any man rich, but his mind. He that can order himself to the law of nature, is not only without the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/money-never-made-any-man-rich-but-his-mind-he-that-can-order-himself/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The influential man is the successful man, whether he be rich or poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-influential-man-is-the-successful-man-whether-he-be-rich-or-poor/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is in the heart that makes a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/no-man-can-tell-whether-he-is-rich-or-poor-by-turning-to-his-ledger/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I have always believed that most large fortunes are made by men...who tumbled into a lucky opportunity. Hard work and attention to business are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-rosenwald/i-have-always-believed-that-most-large-fortunes-are-made-by-men-who/) [Julius Rosenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-rosenwald/) > [No man can Become Rich without enriching others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-miller/no-man-can-become-rich-without-enriching-others/) [Dan Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-miller/) > [It is a wise man that does know the contented man is never poor, whilst the discontented man is never rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/it-is-a-wise-man-that-does-know-the-contented-man-is-never-poor/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [The rich man in goal the poor man in filth. The rich man lay on his lazy boy leather couch. The poor man sits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/the-rich-man-in-goal-the-poor-man-in-filth-the-rich-man-lay-on-his/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) ## More by Benjamin Harrison > [When and under what conditions is the black man to have a free ballot? When is he in fact to have those full civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/when-and-under-what-conditions-is-the-black-man-to-have-a-free-ballot/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [The evil works from a bad center both ways. It demoralizes those who practice it and destroys the faith of those who suffer by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/the-evil-works-from-a-bad-center-both-ways-it-demoralizes-those-who/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [“What saddens me most is that some poor woman out there has to be Garth's wife. And his three children -- oh, his poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/what-saddens-me-most-is-that-some-poor-woman-out-there-has-to-be/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [Prayer steadies one when he is walking in slippery places - even if things asked for are not given.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/prayer-steadies-one-when-he-is-walking-in-slippery-places-even-if/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [There is no constitutional or legal requirement that the President shall take the oath of office in the presence of the People but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/there-is-no-constitutional-or-legal-requirement-that-the-president/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [If the educated and influential classes in a community either practice or connive at the systematic violation of laws that seem to them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/if-the-educated-and-influential-classes-in-a-community-either/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [God forbid that the day should ever come when, in the American mind, the thought of man as a consumer shall submerge the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/god-forbid-that-the-day-should-ever-come-when-in-the-american-mind/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [“If kittens turn into cats why don't puppies turn into paps?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/if-kittens-turn-into-cats-why-don-t-puppies-turn-into-paps/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [We Americans have no commission from God to police the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/we-americans-have-no-commission-from-god-to-police-the-world/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [Have you not learned that not stocks or bonds or stately houses, or products of the mill or field are our country? It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/have-you-not-learned-that-not-stocks-or-bonds-or-stately-houses-or/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [Will it not be wise to allow the friendship between nations to rest upon deep and permanent things? Irritations of the cuticle must not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/will-it-not-be-wise-to-allow-the-friendship-between-nations-to-rest/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [The bud of victory is always in the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/the-bud-of-victory-is-always-in-the-truth/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [If you take out of your statutes, your constitution, your family life all that is taken from the Sacred Book, what would there be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/if-you-take-out-of-your-statutes-your-constitution-your-family-life/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [“In the old Republican days the subject of slavery and of the saving of the Union made appeals to the consciences and liberty-loving instincts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/in-the-old-republican-days-the-subject-of-slavery-and-of-the-saving/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [I cannot always sympathize with that demand which we hear so frequently for cheap things. Things may be too cheap. They are too cheap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/i-cannot-always-sympathize-with-that-demand-which-we-hear-so/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) [Explore all 30 Benjamin Harrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) ## More Can not quotes > [Our beliefs are like the unquestioned commands, telling us how things are, what's possible and what's impossible, what we can and can not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/our-beliefs-are-like-the-unquestioned-commands-telling-us-how-things/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [… Our lives are made in these small hours, these little wonders, these twists & turns of fate. Time falls away, but these small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-thomas/our-lives-are-made-in-these-small-hours-these-little-wonders-these/) [Rob Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-thomas/) > [ He \[Moliere\] pleases all the world, but cannot please himself. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/he-moliere-pleases-all-the-world-but-cannot-please-himself/) [Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/) > [Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections-the-truths-of-our-life-never/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [You can not kill that which is already dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-undertaker/you-can-not-kill-that-which-is-already-dead/) [The Undertaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-undertaker/) > [Yes I try to do everything I can not to fail hideously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-balaban/yes-i-try-to-do-everything-i-can-not-to-fail-hideously/) [Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/) > [You can not have significance in this life if it is all about you. You get your significance, you find your joy in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/you-can-not-have-significance-in-this-life-if-it-is-all-about-you-you/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [If we are true to ourselves, we can not be false to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/if-we-are-true-to-ourselves-we-can-not-be-false-to-anyone/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If I can not dance, I shall die!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-pavlova/if-i-can-not-dance-i-shall-die/) [Anna Pavlova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-pavlova/) > [I have looked at so many photographs, I can not see them anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-heizer/i-have-looked-at-so-many-photographs-i-can-not-see-them-anymore/) [Michael Heizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-heizer/) > [I think that freely available software can not only keep up with the evolution of commercial software, but often exceed what you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/i-think-that-freely-available-software-can-not-only-keep-up-with-the/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [Hinduism is not just a faith. It is the union of reason and intuition that can not be defined but is only to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarvepalli-radhakrishnan/hinduism-is-not-just-a-faith-it-is-the-union-of-reason-and-intuition/) [Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarvepalli-radhakrishnan/) > [Whether or not storms come, we can not choose. But where we stare during a storm, that we can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/whether-or-not-storms-come-we-can-not-choose-but-where-we-stare/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [All earth's full rivers can not fillThe sea that drinking thirsteth still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/all-earth-s-full-rivers-can-not-fillthe-sea-that-drinking-thirsteth/) [Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/) > [Nations are beginning to look to some vague organization, some nebulous course of humanity, to pay their bills and tell them what to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/nations-are-beginning-to-look-to-some-vague-organization-some/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) [Browse all 567 Can not quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-not/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The indiscriminate denunciation of the rich is mischievous… No poor man was ever made richer or happier by it. It is quite as illogical to despise a man because he is rich as because he is poor. Not what a man has, but what he is, settles his class. We can not right matters by taking from one what he has honestly acquired to bestow upon another what he has not earned.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benjamin Harrison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/the-indiscriminate-denunciation-of-the-rich-is-mischievous-no-poor/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Can not" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/the-indiscriminate-denunciation-of-the-rich-is-mischievous-no-poor/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/benjamin-harrison-20766_can-not_the-indiscriminate-denunciation-of-the-r_958365.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/benjamin-harrison-20766_can-not_the-indiscriminate-denunciation-of-the-r_958365.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/benjamin-harrison-20766_can-not_the-indiscriminate-denunciation-of-the-r_958365.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The indiscriminate denunciation of the rich is mischievous… No poor man was ever made richer or happier by…” — Benjamin Harrison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Benjamin Harrison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The indiscriminate denunciation of the rich...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/the-indiscriminate-denunciation-of-the-rich-is-mischievous-no-poor/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/the-indiscriminate-denunciation-of-the-rich-is-mischievous-no-poor/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```