The Human Comedy - The Value of Greatness Beyond Wealth
Marcus Macauley: [to his fellow soldier Tobey, while they're on KP duty]
Oh, we're poor. Always have been. My father was a great man. Not a success. Didn't make any more money than what we needed, ever... He worked in the vineyards, in the packing houses and wineries. If you saw him in the street you'd think he was nobody. But he was a great man. The only thing he cared about was his family. Ma and his kids. He saved up and made a down payment on a harp. Ha! Yeah, nobody plays a harp anymore, but that's what ma wanted, so he got her one. Took him five years to pay for it. We used to think every house had a harp just because we had one. And I thought everybody was great like him, until I got out and met some of them. Oh, they're all right, but they're not great.
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