human
There is nothing beyond the reach of a man with twelve millions, Mr. Cassilis went on.
gpt
He may rule the world, so long as there are poor states with vast armies who want to borrow. Why, at the present moment a man with twelve millions at his command could undertake a loan with Russia, Austria, Turkey, Italy, or Egypt. He could absolutely govern the share market; he could rule the bank rate----
human
Wal, sir, I am not ambitious, and I leave Providence to manage the nations her own way. I might meddle and muss till I busted up the whole concern; play, after all, into the hands of the devil, and have the people praying to get back to their old original Providence.
gpt
Or suppose, Mr. Cassilis went on, his imagination fired with the contemplation of possibilities so far beyond his own reach--
human
I could have half a state, said Mr. Beck,
gpt
In your own lifetime you could control an election, make yourself President, carry your own principles, force your opinions on the country, and become the greatest man in it.
human
The greatest country in the world is the United States of America--that is a fact, said Mr. Beck, laughing;
gpt
Mr. Beck, cried Mr. Cassilis, rising to his feet in an irrepressible burst of genuine enthusiasm, and working his right hand round exactly as if he was really Father Time, whom he so much resembled--
human
Mr. Beck, I consider you the most fortunate man in the world. We slowly amass money--for our sons to dissipate. Save when a title or an ancient name entails a conservative tradition which keeps the property together, the process in this country and in yours is always the same. The strong men climb, and the weak men fall. And even to great houses like the Grosvenors, which have been carried upwards by a steady tide of fortune, there will surely one day come a fool, and then the tide will turn. But for you and yours, Mr. Beck, Nature pours out her inexhaustible treasures----
gpt
She does, sir--in Ile.
human
You may spend, but your income will always go on increasing.
gpt
To a certain limit, sir--to five thousand and fifty-three years. I have had it reckoned by one of our most distinguished mathematicians, Professor Hercules Willemott, of Cyprus University, Wisconsin. He made the calculations for me.
human
Limit or not, Mr. Beck, you are now a most fortunate man. And I shall be entirely at your service. I believe, he added modestly,
gpt
That is so, sir. And now let me put my case. Mr. Beck became once more animated and interested.
human
Suppose, sir, I was to say to you, 'I have more than enough money. I will take the Luck of the Golden Butterfly and make it the Luck of other people.'
gpt
I do not understand,
human
Sir, what do you do with your own money? You do not spend it all on yourself?
gpt
I use it to make more.
human
And when you have enough?
gpt
We look at things from a different point of view, Mr. Beck. _You_ have enough; but I, whatever be my success, can never approach the fourth part of your income. However, let me understand what you want to do, and I will give such advice as I can offer.
human
That's kind, sir, and what I expected of you. It is a foolish fancy, and perhaps you'll laugh; but I have heard day and night, ever since the Ile began to run, a voice which says to me always the same thing--I think it is the voice of my Golden Butterfly: 'What you can't spend, give.' 'What you can't spend, give.' That's my duty, Mr. Cassilis; that's the path marked out before me, plain and shinin' as the way to heaven. What I can't spend, I must give. I've given nothing as yet. And I am here in this country of giving to find out how to do it.
gpt
We--I mean the--the---- Mr. Cassilis was on the point of saying
human
but refrained in time.
gpt
The people who give money send it to charities and institutions.
human
I know that way, sir. It is like paying a priest to say your prayers for you.
gpt
When the secretaries get the money they pay themselves their own salaries first; then they pay for the rent, the clerks, and the advertising. What remains goes to the charity.
human
That is so, sir; and I do not like that method. I want to go right ahead; find out what to do, and then do it. But I must feel like giving, whatever I do.
gpt
Your countryman, Mr. Peabody, gave his money in trust for the London poor. Would you like to do the same?
human
No, sir; I should not like to imitate that example. Mr. Peabody was a great man, and he meant well; but I want to work for myself. Let a man do all the good and evil he has to do in his lifetime, not leave his work dragging on after he is dead. 'They that go down into the pit cannot hope for the truth.' Do you remember that text, Mr. Cassilis? It means that you must not wait till you are dead to do what you have to do.