It is common for religious preachers and mystical authors to condemn the effort to acquire money. It is uncommon to find one who defends it. But the correct attitude toward money ought to be determined by the way in which it is gained and by the use to which it is put. The young man who nourishes honest ambitions and puts them to work without injury to other men but rather in service of them, until he is able to command sufficient wealth, and who then retires and puts his wealth to work in a way which enables him to command the kind of surroundings and life conducive to spiritual ideals, has attained true balance. The processes of money-making can destroy those ideals or promote them. Ignorance and greed bring about the first result, but wisdom and balance the second.
-- Notebooks Category 2: Overview of Practices Involved > Chapter 7 : Discipline Desires > # 146
