--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To possess money is very well; it may be…" description: "\"To possess money is very well; it may be a valuable servant; to be possessed by it is to be possessed by the devil, and one of the meanest and worst ki..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/tryon-edwards-4992_devil_to-possess-money-is-very-well-it-may-be_663930.png" --- # To possess money is very well; it may be a valuable… ![“To possess money is very well; it may be a valuable servant; to be possessed by it is to be possessed by the devil, and one of the meanest and worst kind of devils.” quote by Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/tryon-edwards-4992_devil_to-possess-money-is-very-well-it-may-be_663930.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/tryon-edwards-4992_devil_to-possess-money-is-very-well-it-may-be_663930.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/tryon-edwards-4992_devil_to-possess-money-is-very-well-it-may-be_663930.png) > “To possess money is very well; it may be a valuable servant; to be possessed by it is to be possessed by the devil, and one of the meanest and worst kind of devils.” [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Money can serve us well, but becoming enslaved to it leads to moral ruin. **In simple terms:** Money is a tool; obsession is dangerous. Key Takeaway Treat money as a servant, not a master. Themes wealth morality power control Mood reflective cautionary Type philosophical advisory When to use this quote - budgeting - investing - financial planning - ethical consumption Key Concepts materialism ethical stewardship Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep money serving your values? - What habits prevent financial obsession? A Different Perspective Wealth can still corrupt if not checked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) ## Related quotes > [Oh, she doesn't belong to anybody now,' he said, and suddenly I saw her for what she was - a piece of refuse waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/oh-she-doesn-t-belong-to-anybody-now-he-said-and-suddenly-i-saw-her/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“When something is finished, it cannot be possessed. Nothing can be possessed but the struggle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/when-something-is-finished-it-cannot-be-possessed-nothing-can-be/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [The hand is man's most valuable servant; its dexterity enables it to respond to his slightest bidding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/the-hand-is-man-s-most-valuable-servant-its-dexterity-enables-it-to/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [You see, we need instruction on how to possess money without being possessed by money. We need help to learn how to own things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/you-see-we-need-instruction-on-how-to-possess-money-without-being/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [“He was a cat of double personality - or else, as Susan vowed, he was possessed by the devil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/he-was-a-cat-of-double-personality-or-else-as-susan-vowed-he-was/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Imagine that you're a gay man and you're spending all your time with people who believe you are possessed by the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/imagine-that-you-re-a-gay-man-and-you-re-spending-all-your-time-with/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“It's very easy to detect the possessed by the devil for they smile right after each evil action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sacredfire/it-s-very-easy-to-detect-the-possessed-by-the-devil-for-they-smile/) [Robin Sacredfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sacredfire/) > [My soul is possessed by this devil my new name is Rain Man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/my-soul-is-possessed-by-this-devil-my-new-name-is-rain-man/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [A young man had become possessed by a devil. The thing within him burst into loud lamentation and departed from the man. At once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/a-young-man-had-become-possessed-by-a-devil-the-thing-within-him/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [I used to watch a lot of documentaries about Satanic possession - and I don't know if this is racist or not - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/i-used-to-watch-a-lot-of-documentaries-about-satanic-possession-and-i/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The devil's spirit's trapped inside me. My soul is possessed by this devil my new name is Rain Man. So I keep conjuring (demons),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/the-devil-s-spirit-s-trapped-inside-me-my-soul-is-possessed-by-this/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [He that is possessed with a prejudice is possessed with a devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/he-that-is-possessed-with-a-prejudice-is-possessed-with-a-devil/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [He that is possessed with a prejudice is possessed with a devil, and one of the worst kinds of devils, for it shuts out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/he-that-is-possessed-with-a-prejudice-is-possessed-with-a-devil-and/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [“Life was taking its vengeance on me, and that vengeance consisted merely in coming back, nothing more. Every case of madness involves something coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/life-was-taking-its-vengeance-on-me-and-that-vengeance-consisted-2/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [Possessing what we still were unpossessed by, Possessed by what we now no more possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/possessing-what-we-still-were-unpossessed-by-possessed-by-what-we-now/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) ## More by Tryon Edwards > [Science has sometimes been said to be opposed to faith, and inconsistent with it. But all science, in fact, rests on a basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/science-has-sometimes-been-said-to-be-opposed-to-faith-and/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [Credulity is belief in slight evidence, with no evidence, or against evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/credulity-is-belief-in-slight-evidence-with-no-evidence-or-against/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [Mystery is another name for our ignorance; if we were omniscient, all would be perfectly plain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/mystery-is-another-name-for-our-ignorance-if-we-were-omniscient-all/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/every-parting-is-a-form-of-death-as-every-reunion-is-a-type-of-heaven/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [Anxiety is the poison of human life; the parent of many sins and of more miseries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/anxiety-is-the-poison-of-human-life-the-parent-of-many-sins-and-of/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [The first step to improvement, whether mental, moral, or religious, is to know ourselves - our weakness, errors, deficiencies, and sins, that, by divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/the-first-step-to-improvement-whether-mental-moral-or-religious-is-to/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [The leaves do not change color from the blighting touch of the frost, but from the process of natural decay. They fall when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/the-leaves-do-not-change-color-from-the-blighting-touch-of-the-frost/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [Indolence is the dry rot of even a good mind and a good character; the practical uselessness of both. It is the waste of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/indolence-is-the-dry-rot-of-even-a-good-mind-and-a-good-character-the/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [To rule one's anger is well; to prevent it is still better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/to-rule-one-s-anger-is-well-to-prevent-it-is-still-better/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [Mystery is but another name for ignorance; if we were omniscient, all would be perfectly plain!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/mystery-is-but-another-name-for-ignorance-if-we-were-omniscient-all/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [To rejoice in another prosperity, is to give content to your own lot: to mitigate another grief, is to alleviate or dispel your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/to-rejoice-in-another-prosperity-is-to-give-content-to-your-own-lot/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [Hell is truth seen too late - duty neglected in its season](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/hell-is-truth-seen-too-late-duty-neglected-in-its-season/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [No true civilization can be expected permanently to continue which is not based on the great principles of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/no-true-civilization-can-be-expected-permanently-to-continue-which-is/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [My books are my tools, and the greater their variety and perfection the greater the help to my literary work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/my-books-are-my-tools-and-the-greater-their-variety-and-perfection/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [Anxiety is the rust of life, destroying its brightness and weakening its power. A childlike and abiding trust in Providence is its best preventive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/anxiety-is-the-rust-of-life-destroying-its-brightness-and-weakening/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) [Explore all 104 Tryon Edwards quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) ## More Devil quotes > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) Michael Arnold > [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Beauty is not only a terrible thing, it is also a mysterious thing. There God and the Devil strive for mastery, and the battleground…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/beauty-is-not-only-a-terrible-thing-it-is-also-a-mysterious-thing/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [The devil has been defeated, stop trying to defeat him. What we have left is the fight of faith, and it's a good fight!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-oyakhilome/the-devil-has-been-defeated-stop-trying-to-defeat-him-what-we-have/) [Chris Oyakhilome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-oyakhilome/) > [You gonna take the case?" It's not a case. It's a missing person. Sort of." You're gonna have a devil of a time finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/you-gonna-take-the-case-it-s-not-a-case-it-s-a-missing-person-sort-of/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-so-it-is-that-both-the-devil-and-the-angelic-spirit-present-us/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than he was a Republican. As a whole, the Whigs looked upon banks and corporations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/remember-that-abraham-lincoln-was-a-whig-far-longer-than-he-was-a/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Wine is the first weapon that devils use in attacking the young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/wine-is-the-first-weapon-that-devils-use-in-attacking-the-young/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [“I tend to agree with that little devil more and more these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-casey/i-tend-to-agree-with-that-little-devil-more-and-more-these-days/) [Elle Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-casey/) > [This is the gift of your species and this is the danger, because you do not choose to control your imaginings. You imagine wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-is-the-gift-of-your-species-and-this-is-the-danger-because-you/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [God never talks. But the devil keeps advertising, Father. The devil does a lot of commercials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-peter-blatty/god-never-talks-but-the-devil-keeps-advertising-father-the-devil-does/) [William Peter Blatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-peter-blatty/) > [If it was a sin for you to choose me . . . then I would go to the Devil himself and bless him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/if-it-was-a-sin-for-you-to-choose-me-then-i-would-go-to-the-devil/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”—Charles Baudelaire “The second greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/the-greatest-trick-the-devil-ever-pulled-was-convincing-the-world-he/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) [Browse all 4,283 Devil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To possess money is very well; it may be a valuable servant; to be possessed by it is to be possessed by the devil, and one of the meanest and worst kind of devils.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tryon Edwards" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/to-possess-money-is-very-well-it-may-be-a-valuable-servant-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Devil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/to-possess-money-is-very-well-it-may-be-a-valuable-servant-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/tryon-edwards-4992_devil_to-possess-money-is-very-well-it-may-be_663930.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/tryon-edwards-4992_devil_to-possess-money-is-very-well-it-may-be_663930.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/tryon-edwards-4992_devil_to-possess-money-is-very-well-it-may-be_663930.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To possess money is very well; it may be a valuable servant; to be possessed by it is to be possessed by the…” — Tryon Edwards", "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": "Tryon Edwards", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To possess money is very well;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/to-possess-money-is-very-well-it-may-be-a-valuable-servant-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/to-possess-money-is-very-well-it-may-be-a-valuable-servant-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```