The Miser who lost his Treasure

Only usage warrants possession. I ask this of people who have a passion for hoarding money on top of money: What advantage does a miser have over another man? Diogenes yonder is as rich as they, yet the miser over there lives as he always did—a beggar.

The man with the hidden treasure, as Aesop tells us, serves as an example. This miserly man waited to enjoy his wealth in another life or perhaps in a future time. He didn’t truly possess gold; rather, gold possessed him. He had buried a sum in the earth along with his heart, having nothing else in mind except to think about it day and night and to turn his loot into something sacred.

Whether he went or came, drank or ate, one would have underestimated him, unless he thought of the place where his coins were buried. He roamed around it so often that a grave digger noticed him, guessed the deposit, and took it without saying a word.

One day, our miser found the hole empty. Overcome with despair, he moaned and sighed, worried and tearing himself apart. A passerby, curious about his anguish, asked, “Why are you in such distress?”

“My treasure has been stolen.”

“Your treasure? Stolen? Where? Near this rock?” the passerby replied. “Are we still in a time of war that you had to hide it so far away? Wouldn't you have done better to keep it at home in the cupboard? You could have used it anytime without trouble.”

“Anytime? Good grief! Just like that? Does money come and go? I never touched it!” the miser exclaimed.

“Tell me then, for pity's sake,” replied the other man, “why are you so sorrowful since you never used this money? Put a rock in its place; it will be worth as much to you.”