--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poverty? Wealth? Seek neither -- / One…" description: "\"Poverty? Wealth? Seek neither -- / One causes swollen heads, / The other, swollen bellies.\" — Kassia" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6f/kassia-75707_belly_poverty-wealth-seek-neither-one-causes-s_2042645.jpg" --- # Poverty? Wealth? Seek neither -- / One causes swollen… ![“Poverty? Wealth? Seek neither -- / One causes swollen heads, / The other, swollen bellies.” quote by Kassia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6f/kassia-75707_belly_poverty-wealth-seek-neither-one-causes-s_2042645.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6f/kassia-75707_belly_poverty-wealth-seek-neither-one-causes-s_2042645.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6f/kassia-75707_belly_poverty-wealth-seek-neither-one-causes-s_2042645.jpg) > “Poverty? Wealth? Seek neither -- / One causes swollen heads, / The other, swollen bellies.” [Kassia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kassia/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wealth and poverty both corrupt, leading to ego or gluttony. **In simple terms:** Both extremes cause harm. Key Takeaway Avoid extremes, seek balance. Themes balance corruption moderation Mood reflective cautionary Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal finance - health - relationships Key Concepts philosophy ethics human nature Questions to Reflect On - How do you define true wealth? - What habits keep you grounded? A Different Perspective Neglecting moderation can still lead to other vices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bellies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bellies-575073/) [Belly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belly/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Causes Swollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes-swollen-3810017/) [Heads Swollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heads-swollen-3810019/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Swollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swollen/) [Swollen Bellies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swollen-bellies-3810016/) [Swollen Heads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swollen-heads-3810018/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [A committee is the only known form of life with a hundred bellies and no brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/a-committee-is-the-only-known-form-of-life-with-a-hundred-bellies-and/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Full bellies breed gentle manners. A pinch of famine makes monsters.(Bringing up the bodies,pg 36)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/full-bellies-breed-gentle-manners-a-pinch-of-famine-makes-monsters/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If your stomach blocks your view of your feet, cover it up! The only people who should be wearing belly shirts are people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-foxworthy/if-your-stomach-blocks-your-view-of-your-feet-cover-it-up-the-only/) [Jeff Foxworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-foxworthy/) > [Hungry bellies have no cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/hungry-bellies-have-no-cars/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Ethics is for people with full bellies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kessel/ethics-is-for-people-with-full-bellies/) [John Kessel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kessel/) > [Soldiers' bellies are not satisfied with empty promises and hopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-the-great/soldiers-bellies-are-not-satisfied-with-empty-promises-and-hopes/) [Peter the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-the-great/) > [“there have always been those who have filled their bellies because they had no sense of shame,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/there-have-always-been-those-who-have-filled-their-bellies-because/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [ Hungry bellies have no ears. \[Fr., La ventre affame n'point d'oreilles.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/hungry-bellies-have-no-ears-fr-la-ventre-affame-n-point-d-oreilles/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Catastrophes come when some dominant institution, swollen like a soap-bubble and still standing without foundations, suddenly crumbles at the touch of what may seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/catastrophes-come-when-some-dominant-institution-swollen-like-a-soap/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [We both gaze down at my swollen tummy for a while. I still can't quite get my head round the fact that there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/we-both-gaze-down-at-my-swollen-tummy-for-a-while-i-still-can-t-quite/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [Blessed be they as virtuous, who when they feel their virile members swollen with lust, visit a brothel rather than grind at some husband's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cato-the-younger/blessed-be-they-as-virtuous-who-when-they-feel-their-virile-members/) [Cato the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cato-the-younger/) > [The seed, swollen with moisture, burst asunder its covering of soil and out peers the blade of wheat, full of symbols. So faith, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ephrem-the-syrian/the-seed-swollen-with-moisture-burst-asunder-its-covering-of-soil-and/) [Ephrem the Syrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ephrem-the-syrian/) > [“There it is: the spoken admission that he was hers to lose. As soon as the words leave my mouth, I feel weirdly deflated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/there-it-is-the-spoken-admission-that-he-was-hers-to-lose-as-soon-as/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“No matter how it felt to be near him, she had to keep her swollen heart in check.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/no-matter-how-it-felt-to-be-near-him-she-had-to-keep-her-swollen/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [I was raised to stand up for myself, if I feel I'm in the right. Maybe it would have been best if I'd just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannen-doherty/i-was-raised-to-stand-up-for-myself-if-i-feel-i-m-in-the-right-maybe/) [Shannen Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannen-doherty/) ## More by Kassia > [You meet a friend - your face brightens. You have struck gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kassia/you-meet-a-friend-your-face-brightens-you-have-struck-gold/) [Kassia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kassia/) > [Wealth covers sin - the poor / Are naked as a pin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kassia/wealth-covers-sin-the-poor-are-naked-as-a-pin/) [Kassia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kassia/) [Explore all 3 Kassia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kassia/) ## More Belly quotes > [I'm bigger than you! I'm higher on the food chain - get in my belly!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/i-m-bigger-than-you-i-m-higher-on-the-food-chain-get-in-my-belly/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [I was the first to win a major with a belly putter, and I've spent hours practicing that way, so I hope they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keegan-bradley/i-was-the-first-to-win-a-major-with-a-belly-putter-and-i-ve-spent/) [Keegan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keegan-bradley/) > [That devilish Iron Horse, whose ear-rending neigh is heard throughout the town, has muddied the Boiling Spring with his foot, and he it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/that-devilish-iron-horse-whose-ear-rending-neigh-is-heard-throughout/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I liked the taste of beer, its live, white lather, its brass-bright depths, the sudden world through the wet-brown walls of the glass, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-liked-the-taste-of-beer-its-live-white-lather-its-brass-bright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [“Somewhere squidgy. Your belly, maybe?” “I can’t believe you called my belly ‘squidgy.’ It’s not squidgy, it’s pillowy. And sexy!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-peeler/somewhere-squidgy-your-belly-maybe-i-can-t-believe-you-called-my/) [Nicole Peeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-peeler/) > [“That man’s so low he has to reach up to rub the belly of a snake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-carson/that-man-s-so-low-he-has-to-reach-up-to-rub-the-belly-of-a-snake/) [Rae Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-carson/) > [We sat there, not talking, for a few minutes. He ate the Moon Pie; only skinny people can scarf down junk food like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/we-sat-there-not-talking-for-a-few-minutes-he-ate-the-moon-pie-only/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I get so nervous, I get belly pains before I go on stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ora/i-get-so-nervous-i-get-belly-pains-before-i-go-on-stage/) [Rita Ora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ora/) > [I can reason down or deny everything, except this perpetual Belly: feed he must and will, and I cannot make him respectable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-can-reason-down-or-deny-everything-except-this-perpetual-belly-feed/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I've learned ballet for seven years and Kathak and belly dancing for some time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nidhhi-agerwal/i-ve-learned-ballet-for-seven-years-and-kathak-and-belly-dancing-for/) [Nidhhi Agerwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nidhhi-agerwal/) > [It's very important to not repeat yourself. After 'Delhi Belly,' I was offered 40 'Delhi Belly's and you can't do that! So 'Revolver Rani'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vir-das/it-s-very-important-to-not-repeat-yourself-after-delhi-belly-i-was/) [Vir Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vir-das/) > [I asked these Indians: "Do men ever make Chicha?" My question was met with gales of laughter. The women howled. Bent over in hilarity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-d-eames/i-asked-these-indians-do-men-ever-make-chicha-my-question-was-met/) [Alan D. Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-d-eames/) > [Wit, like the Belly, if it be not fed, Will starve the Members, and distract the Head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wit-like-the-belly-if-it-be-not-fed-will-starve-the-members-and/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [After three years down here, I've not learned too much. But one thing I do know is that our bellies aren't big enough for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-three-years-down-here-i-ve-not-learned-too-much-but-one-thing-i/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [The City of New York is like an enormous citadel, a modern Carcassonne. Walking between the magnificent skyscrapers one feels the presence on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-city-of-new-york-is-like-an-enormous-citadel-a-modern-carcassonne/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) [Browse all 662 Belly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belly/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Poverty? Wealth? 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