Upton Sinclair, ed. (1878–1968). rn The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest. 1915.

The Vanity of Human Wishes

Johnson, Samuel

Samuel Johnson

(English essayist and poet, 1709–1784. The poem from which these lines are taken is a paraphrase of the Roman poet Juvenal)

BUT, scarce observed, the knowing and the bold

Fall in the general massacre of gold;

Wide wasting pest! that rages unconfined,

And crowds with crimes the records of mankind;

For gold his sword the hireling ruffian draws,

For gold the hireling judge distorts the laws;

Wealth heaped on wealth, nor truth nor safety buys,

The dangers gather as the treasures rise.