If you love reading biographies

If you love reading biographies, you will find a lot of good people are very poor during his lifetime.
To talk about the most famous Impressionist painter Van Gogh who right now has one of his paintings sold for several millions of dollars, but, when he was alive, he's a painting with a meal does not return for money and often suffer hungry, impoverished life, and finally insane, committed suicide at the age of 37 shot. To be on the family, his family is Europe's largest art dealer, control almost all the European art market. As a painter, he has unique facilities, like those mediocre artists can cater to fashion as to make money and become a rich man, but he bothered to do so, he said, he may be able to spend his life in the only very stupid people to draw very crappy picture above, do not mean that the artist serves decent price, but try to find an undiscovered New World. Indeed, Van Gogh's works for us with his discovery of a new world, one all things in accordance with the same rhythm in the sun dance in the world.
Another Dutch name go down in history Spinoza is the great philosopher, he in order to maintain freedom of thought, rather reliable grinding lenses to maintain the simplest life income, declined to not violate the University of Heidelberg as a precondition to his religionWhen the professor to hire.
I am not advocating an ascetic philosophy. The problem is, if a person is too much focus on material comforts, they are bound to pay a spiritual price. Person's physical needs are very limited, nothing more than food and clothing, here's is super-luxury, and who is not up to the luxury end. Is a natural need for food and clothing, luxury is the ever-growing desire to stimulate the market up. You have been accustomed to ride a bike, do not think there is regret, but, when you see a lot of people around the opening on the car, you will think you lack car, it is necessary also to buy one. Rich can always be more, in fact, than you must be rich people, so you will never meet, had to earn more money. In this way, money has become your sole purpose. Even if you are a painter, where you also spare some real artistic pursuit? Even if you are a scholar, where you will care about science and conscience?
Therefore, since ancient times, all the sages have advocated a simple lifestyle, physical desire for an improper purpose is a slave, to keep the spirit of freedom. Roman philosopher Seneca said it well: "free people to the hut for the bedroom, the slave was under the shelter in the marble and gold." Plato also said: "The chest of gold who is not living in the Golden Roof, the following . "or words of Confucius:" The gentleman, how ugly can that be? "I really like about Socrates, a legend, the title of" division in the army, "the wandering philosopher in Athens on the market, see After those amazing array of stalls: "There are many things I do not need Oh!" Indeed, a love of spiritual things, people must be indifferent to material luxury, but a person content with a simple life, even if he is not philosopher, pretty close up.