Crescit avaritia quantum crescit tua gaza.
(Medieval)

Your greed increases as much as your bank account does.

(pron = KRES-kit ah-wah-RIH-tih-ah KWAHN-toom KRES-kit TOO-ah GAHD-zah)

Comment: I found a comment made by Juvenal in his Satires (14.139) that is
similar:
Crescit amor nummi, quantum ipsa pecunia crevit. “The love of the coin grows as
much as money itself has grown.”

Certainly this is a dynamic that is easy and prevalent enough to observe. We
have various American sayings that indicate that the more money one has, the
more one wants. The wealthiest nation in the world also carries the largest
debt, both collectively and per capita.

Still, I find myself wondering about this dynamic. Deep in the American psyche
there is another set of sayings that have been long and carefully planted.
“The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10—the Bible). And
then the very old theological teaching of the Puritans and others influenced by
John Calvin, in short, that financial and monetary success is one of the signs
of being a member of “the elect”, those predestined for eternal life, and
consequently, those who do not enjoy financial success are missing this sign,
and may be among the damned.

Those are pretty good pre-conditions for developing a collective neuroses about
money, and getting more stuff.

To what degree have I been taught, subtly or not so subtly these “lessons”? To
what degree do I associate the worth of my life with how much stuff I have, how
big my paycheck is? If I were to let go of that, what would I be left with?

These are not questions of greed, really. They are questions of true value.