--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To me avarice seems not so much a vice as…" description: "\"To me avarice seems not so much a vice as a deplorable piece of madness.\" — Thomas Browne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/thomas-browne-2006_avarice_to-me-avarice-seems-not-so-much-a-vice-a_2457965.png" --- # To me avarice seems not so much a vice as a deplorable… ![“To me avarice seems not so much a vice as a deplorable piece of madness.” quote by Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/thomas-browne-2006_avarice_to-me-avarice-seems-not-so-much-a-vice-a_2457965.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/thomas-browne-2006_avarice_to-me-avarice-seems-not-so-much-a-vice-a_2457965.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/thomas-browne-2006_avarice_to-me-avarice-seems-not-so-much-a-vice-a_2457965.png) > “To me avarice seems not so much a vice as a deplorable piece of madness.” [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avarice is portrayed as irrational madness rather than a simple moral failing. **In simple terms:** Greed is seen as madness. Key Takeaway Recognize and curb irrational greed. Themes greed madness morality psychology Mood critical reflective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - financial decisions - personal relationships - political policy Key Concepts irrationality self‑control Questions to Reflect On - How does labeling greed as madness change your response? - Can irrational greed be fully controlled? A Different Perspective Greed can be rationalized, making it harder to address. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avarice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avarice/) [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) [Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) ## Related quotes > [Avarice is the vice of declining years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bancroft/avarice-is-the-vice-of-declining-years/) [George Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bancroft/) > [So for a good old-gentlemanly vice, I think I must take up with avarice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/so-for-a-good-old-gentlemanly-vice-i-think-i-must-take-up-with-avarice/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [I can cure the gout or stone in some, sooner than Divinity, Pride, or Avarice in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/i-can-cure-the-gout-or-stone-in-some-sooner-than-divinity-pride-or/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [There is no vice which humankind carries to such wild extremes as that of avarice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/there-is-no-vice-which-humankind-carries-to-such-wild-extremes-as/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [He who feels that the vice of avarice has got hold of him, should not wish to observe fasts of supererogation, but to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-neri/he-who-feels-that-the-vice-of-avarice-has-got-hold-of-him-should-not/) [Philip Neri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-neri/) > [Avarice is rarely the vice of youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-lee/avarice-is-rarely-the-vice-of-youth/) [Sophia Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-lee/) > [Pride is a vice, which pride itself inclines every man to find in others, and to overlook in himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pride-is-a-vice-which-pride-itself-inclines-every-man-to-find-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [He, who practices right, but in the hope of acquiring great renown, is very near to vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/he-who-practices-right-but-in-the-hope-of-acquiring-great-renown-is/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Virtue, thou in rags, may challenge more than vice set off with all the trim of greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/virtue-thou-in-rags-may-challenge-more-than-vice-set-off-with-all-the/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [Drunkenness does not create vice; it merely brings it into view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/drunkenness-does-not-create-vice-it-merely-brings-it-into-view/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/vice-is-its-own-reward-it-is-virtue-which-if-it-is-to-be-marketed/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [...virtue is attended by more peace of mind than vice, and meets with a more favourable reception from the world. I am sensible, that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/virtue-is-attended-by-more-peace-of-mind-than-vice-and-meets-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Thomas Browne > [Be substantially great in thyself, and more than thou appearest unto others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/be-substantially-great-in-thyself-and-more-than-thou-appearest-unto/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/man-is-a-noble-animal-splendid-in-ashes-and-pompous-in-the-grave/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Not to be content with Life is the unsatisfactory state of those which destroy themselves; who being afraid to live, run blindly upon their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/not-to-be-content-with-life-is-the-unsatisfactory-state-of-those/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“It is we that are blind, not Fortune: because our eye is too dim to discover the mystery of her effects, we foolishly paint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/it-is-we-that-are-blind-not-fortune-because-our-eye-is-too-dim-to/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“That there must be heresies is true, not onely in our Church, but also in any other; even in Doctrines hereticall there will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/that-there-must-be-heresies-is-true-not-onely-in-our-church-but-also/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Think it more satisfactory to live richly than die rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/think-it-more-satisfactory-to-live-richly-than-die-rich/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Think not thy time short in this world, since the world itself is not long. The created world is but a small parenthesis in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/think-not-thy-time-short-in-this-world-since-the-world-itself-is-not/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Let him have the key of thy heart, who hath the lock of his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/let-him-have-the-key-of-thy-heart-who-hath-the-lock-of-his-own/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“There is a musicke where-ever there is a harmony, order or proportion; and thus farre we may maintain the musick of the spheares; for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/there-is-a-musicke-where-ever-there-is-a-harmony-order-or-proportion/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Death is the cure for all diseases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/death-is-the-cure-for-all-diseases/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Lord deliver me from myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/lord-deliver-me-from-myself/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [The mortalist enemy unto knowledge, and that which hath done the greatest execution unto truth, has been a preemptory adhesion unto authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/the-mortalist-enemy-unto-knowledge-and-that-which-hath-done-the/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [To ruminate upon evils, to make critical notes upon injuries, and be too acute in their apprehensions, is to add unto our own tortures,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/to-ruminate-upon-evils-to-make-critical-notes-upon-injuries-and-be/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [That miracles have been, I do believe; that they may yet be wrought by the living, I do not deny; but I have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/that-miracles-have-been-i-do-believe-that-they-may-yet-be-wrought-by/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [We all labour against our own cure, for death is the cure of all diseases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/we-all-labour-against-our-own-cure-for-death-is-the-cure-of-all/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) [Explore all 192 Thomas Browne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) ## More Avarice quotes > [In our own time the whole of Greece has been subject to a low birth rate and a general decrease of the population, owing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/in-our-own-time-the-whole-of-greece-has-been-subject-to-a-low-birth/) [Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [The man who worships mere wealth is a snob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-man-who-worships-mere-wealth-is-a-snob/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pcanet, and other powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tecumseh/where-today-are-the-pequot-where-are-the-narragansett-the-mohican-the/) [Tecumseh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tecumseh/) > [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Where poverty ceases, avarice begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/where-poverty-ceases-avarice-begins/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Five enemies of peace inhabit with us - avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/five-enemies-of-peace-inhabit-with-us-avarice-ambition-envy-anger-and/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > ['Maneater' is about N.Y.C. in the '80s. It's about greed, avarice, and spoiled riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oates/maneater-is-about-n-y-c-in-the-80s-it-s-about-greed-avarice-and/) [John Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oates/) > [A woman's whole life is a history of the affections. The heart is her world: it is there her ambition strives for empire; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-whole-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections-the-heart-is-her/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Gluttony should be destroyed by self-control; unchastity by desire for God and longing for the blessings held in store; avarice by compassion for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-damascus/gluttony-should-be-destroyed-by-self-control-unchastity-by-desire-for/) [John of Damascus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-damascus/) > [Riches with their wicked inducements increase; nevertheless, avarice is never satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/riches-with-their-wicked-inducements-increase-nevertheless-avarice-is/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Poverty wants much; but avarice, everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/poverty-wants-much-but-avarice-everything/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [When virtue is banished, ambition invades the minds of those who are disposed to receive it and avarice possesses the whole community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/when-virtue-is-banished-ambition-invades-the-minds-of-those-who-are/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [He who is always in a hurry to be wealthy and immersed in the study of augmenting his fortune has lost the arms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/he-who-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-wealthy-and-immersed-in-the-study/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Goodness is weakness, pleasantness is poisonous, serenity is mediocrity and kindness is for losers. The best reason for committing loathsome and detestable acts –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/goodness-is-weakness-pleasantness-is-poisonous-serenity-is-mediocrity/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) [Browse all 318 Avarice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avarice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To me avarice seems not so much a vice as a deplorable piece of madness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Browne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/to-me-avarice-seems-not-so-much-a-vice-as-a-deplorable-piece-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Avarice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/to-me-avarice-seems-not-so-much-a-vice-as-a-deplorable-piece-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/thomas-browne-2006_avarice_to-me-avarice-seems-not-so-much-a-vice-a_2457965.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/thomas-browne-2006_avarice_to-me-avarice-seems-not-so-much-a-vice-a_2457965.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/thomas-browne-2006_avarice_to-me-avarice-seems-not-so-much-a-vice-a_2457965.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To me avarice seems not so much a vice as a deplorable piece of madness.” — Thomas Browne", "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": "Thomas Browne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To me avarice seems not so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/to-me-avarice-seems-not-so-much-a-vice-as-a-deplorable-piece-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/to-me-avarice-seems-not-so-much-a-vice-as-a-deplorable-piece-of/#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 } } ] } ```