---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is far more easy to acquire a fortune…"
description: "\"It is far more easy to acquire a fortune like a knave, than to expend it, like a gentleman.\" — Charles Caleb Colton"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/charles-caleb-colton-270_easy_it-is-far-more-easy-to-acquire-a-fortune_2293555.png"
---

#  It is far more easy to acquire a fortune like a knave…

![“It is far more easy to acquire a fortune like a knave, than to expend it, like a gentleman.” quote by Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/charles-caleb-colton-270_easy_it-is-far-more-easy-to-acquire-a-fortune_2293555.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/charles-caleb-colton-270_easy_it-is-far-more-easy-to-acquire-a-fortune_2293555.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/charles-caleb-colton-270_easy_it-is-far-more-easy-to-acquire-a-fortune_2293555.png)

> “It is far more easy to acquire a fortune like a knave, than to expend it, like a gentleman.”

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Acquiring wealth dishonestly is easy, but using it responsibly requires virtue and effort.

**In simple terms:** Easy wealth, hard to spend wisely.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate disciplined generosity.

Themes

wealth ethics virtue economics

Mood

thoughtful pragmatic

Type

moral practical

When to use this quote

- financial planning
- philanthropy
- personal budgeting
- career choices

Key Concepts

honesty self‑control social responsibility

Questions to Reflect On

- What ethical principles guide your spending?
- How can you turn wealth into positive impact?

A Different Perspective

Wealth gained unethically often leads to wasteful habits.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Gentleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentleman/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/)

## Related quotes

> [I will always prefer a hardback book, but I'm drawn to digital because it's so easy to acquire them when I'm having a need-to-read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-saget/i-will-always-prefer-a-hardback-book-but-i-m-drawn-to-digital-because/)

[Bob Saget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-saget/)

> [The methods that help a man acquire a fortune are the very ones that keep him from enjoying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-rivarol/the-methods-that-help-a-man-acquire-a-fortune-are-the-very-ones-that/)

[Antoine Rivarol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-rivarol/)

> [It is not, after all, so very hard to acquire a fortune; the real difficulty is to deserve one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chapman-cohen/it-is-not-after-all-so-very-hard-to-acquire-a-fortune-the-real/)

[Chapman Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chapman-cohen/)

> [There are three difficulties in authorship;-to write any thing worth the publishing-to find honest men to publish it -and to get sensible men to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/there-are-three-difficulties-in-authorship-to-write-any-thing-worth-2/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [A fool is often as dangerous to deal with as a knave, and always more incorrigible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-fool-is-often-as-dangerous-to-deal-with-as-a-knave-and-always-more/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [He that dies a martyr proves that he was not a knave, but by no means that he was not a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/he-that-dies-a-martyr-proves-that-he-was-not-a-knave-but-by-no-means-2/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [Nothing more completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity than straigthforward and simple integrity in another. A knave would rather quarrel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/nothing-more-completely-baffles-one-who-is-full-of-trick-and-3/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [A thorough-paced knave will rarely quarrel with one whom he can cheat: his revenge is plunder; therefore he is usually the most forgiving of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-thorough-paced-knave-will-rarely-quarrel-with-one-whom-he-can-cheat/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [Revenge is a debt, in the paying of which the greatest knave is honest and sincere, and, so far as he is able, punctual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/revenge-is-a-debt-in-the-paying-of-which-the-greatest-knave-is-honest/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [Alas! how has the social spirit of Christianity been perverted by fools at one time, and by knaves and bigots at another; by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/alas-how-has-the-social-spirit-of-christianity-been-perverted-by/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [He that dies a martyr proves that he was not a knave, but by no means that he was not a fool; since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/he-that-dies-a-martyr-proves-that-he-was-not-a-knave-but-by-no-means/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [The soul and body are joint-sharers in every thing they get: A man cannot dress, but his ideas get cloath'd at the same time;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-soul-and-body-are-joint-sharers-in-every-thing-they-get-a-man/)

[Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/)

> [How to Drink Like a Gentleman: The Things to Do and the Things Not To, as Learned in 30 Years' Extensive Research.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/how-to-drink-like-a-gentleman-the-things-to-do-and-the-things-not-to/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [McLaggen makes Grawp look like a gentleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mclaggen-makes-grawp-look-like-a-gentleman/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If you can imagine photography in the guise of a woman and you’d ask her what she thought of Stieglitz, she’d say: He always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/if-you-can-imagine-photography-in-the-guise-of-a-woman-and-you-d-ask/)

[Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/)

## More by Charles Caleb Colton

> [Villainy that is vigilant will be an overmatch for virtue, if she slumber at her post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/villainy-that-is-vigilant-will-be-an-overmatch-for-virtue-if-she/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/to-dare-to-live-alone-is-the-rarest-courage-since-there-are-many-who/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [It is doubtful whether mankind are most indebted to those who like Bacon and Butler dig the gold from the mine of literature, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-doubtful-whether-mankind-are-most-indebted-to-those-who-like/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/none-are-so-fond-of-secrets-as-those-who-do-not-mean-to-keep-them/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [Mental pleasures never cloy; unlike those of the body, they are increased by reputation, approved by reflection, and strengthened by enjoyment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/mental-pleasures-never-cloy-unlike-those-of-the-body-they-are/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [Ignorance lies at the bottom of all human knowledge, and the deeper we penetrate, the nearer we arrive unto it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/ignorance-lies-at-the-bottom-of-all-human-knowledge-and-the-deeper-we/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [Heroism, self-denial, and magnanimity, in all instances where they do not spring from a principle of religion, are but splendid altars on which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/heroism-self-denial-and-magnanimity-in-all-instances-where-they-do/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [We ought not to be over-anxious to encourage innovation in cases of doubtful improvement, for an old system must ever have two advantages over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-ought-not-to-be-over-anxious-to-encourage-innovation-in-cases-of/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [We owe almost all our knowledge not to those who have agreed, but to those who have differed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-owe-almost-all-our-knowledge-not-to-those-who-have-agreed-but-to/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [Metaphysicians have been learning their lessons for the last four thousand years, and it is high time that they should now begin to teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/metaphysicians-have-been-learning-their-lessons-for-the-last-four/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [Faith and works are necessary to our spiritual life as Christians, as soul and body are to our natural life as men; for faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/faith-and-works-are-necessary-to-our-spiritual-life-as-christians-as/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [When all moves equally (says Pascal), nothing seems to move as in a vessel under sail; and when all run by common consent into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/when-all-moves-equally-says-pascal-nothing-seems-to-move-as-in-a/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

[Explore all 778 Charles Caleb Colton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

## More Easy quotes

> [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/)

[Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/)

> [I don't want easy success. It's boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudeep/i-don-t-want-easy-success-it-s-boring/)

[Sudeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudeep/)

> [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/)

[Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/)

> [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/)

[Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/)

> [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/)

[Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/)

> [People think that the Club World Cup is an easy competition, but it's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keylor-navas/people-think-that-the-club-world-cup-is-an-easy-competition-but-it-s/)

[Keylor Navas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keylor-navas/)

> [New York is large, glamorous, easy-going, kindly and incurious, but above all it is a crucible - because it is large enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/new-york-is-large-glamorous-easy-going-kindly-and-incurious-but-above/)

[Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/)

> [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/)

[Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/)

> [Sometimes life can suck and not be fair ,but we have to deal with it,because we feel we cant do anything but,we can.We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-life-can-suck-and-not-be-fair-but-we-have-to-deal-with-it/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Mortals are such fragile things. Just tender feelings walking around exposed in their delicate shells...Easy to crush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/mortals-are-such-fragile-things-just-tender-feelings-walking-around/)

[Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/)

> [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/)

[Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/)

> [I don't know why, but I'm an easy target. And I don't do anything to dispel it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-mcginley/i-don-t-know-why-but-i-m-an-easy-target-and-i-don-t-do-anything-to/)

[Ted McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-mcginley/)

> [I know that I'm going to have to work hard, keep working hard, and not because of this victory think, "I'm back." I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-clijsters/i-know-that-i-m-going-to-have-to-work-hard-keep-working-hard-and-not/)

[Kim Clijsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-clijsters/)

> [It's easy to make mistakes. It's living with the consequences of them that's the hardest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/it-s-easy-to-make-mistakes-it-s-living-with-the-consequences-of-them/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [In business, as in politics, it is never easy to go against the beliefs and attitudes held by the majority. The businessman who moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/in-business-as-in-politics-it-is-never-easy-to-go-against-the-beliefs/)

[J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/)

Browse all 14,306 Easy quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It is far more easy to acquire a fortune like a knave, than to expend it, like a gentleman.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Caleb Colton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-far-more-easy-to-acquire-a-fortune-like-a-knave-than-to-expend/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Easy"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-far-more-easy-to-acquire-a-fortune-like-a-knave-than-to-expend/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/charles-caleb-colton-270_easy_it-is-far-more-easy-to-acquire-a-fortune_2293555.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/charles-caleb-colton-270_easy_it-is-far-more-easy-to-acquire-a-fortune_2293555.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/charles-caleb-colton-270_easy_it-is-far-more-easy-to-acquire-a-fortune_2293555.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is far more easy to acquire a fortune like a knave, than to expend it, like a gentleman.” — Charles Caleb Colton",
                "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": "Charles Caleb Colton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It is far more easy to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-far-more-easy-to-acquire-a-fortune-like-a-knave-than-to-expend/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-far-more-easy-to-acquire-a-fortune-like-a-knave-than-to-expend/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
