The covetous man begins to be considered with complacence when he ceases to exist, or never does well until he dies; they are like swine, «which are never good until they come to the knife». The prodigal who dissipates his fortune by living voluptuously, easily conciliates to himself the friendship or kindness of the persons with whom he associates; he contributes to the support of those who furnish him with the means of enjoying his diversions and amusements; he shares his fortune with his friends, his servants, and his dependants: he is therefore usually spoken of with complacency. «He is a generous, liberal, open-hearted fellow, and no one's enemy but his own»; and when his fall is completed, even those who suffer mingle some regret for his misfortune, with the concern they feel for their own loss. But the covetous man neither meets with, nor is entitled to the same consideration from the world: even the most harmless of them, those who either came to their fortune by inheritance, or who have acquired it by fair dealing, as they use it exclusively for their own benefit, are hardly looked on as forming a part of the community in which they live; no one interests himself in their welfare; their success is not congratulated, nor their losses commiserated. The prodigal robs his heir, the miser himself.

«When all other sins are old in us, and go upon crutches,
Covetousness does but then lay in her cradle.
Lechery loves to dwell in the fairest lodgings,
And covetousness in the oldest buildings».