We might make a public moan in the newspapers about the decay of conscience, but in private conversation, no matter what crimes a man may have committed or how cynically he may have debased his talent or his friends, variations on the answer Yes, but I did it for the money, satisfy all but the most tiresome objections.


Money and Class in America: Notes and Observations on the Civil Religion (ed. 1989)

Lewis H. Lapham Quotes

We might make a public moan in the newspapers about the decay of conscience, but in private conversation, no matter what crimes a man may have...

We might make a public moan in the newspapers about the decay of conscience, but in private conversation, no matter what crimes a man may have...

We might make a public moan in the newspapers about the decay of conscience, but in private conversation, no matter what crimes a man may have...

We might make a public moan in the newspapers about the decay of conscience, but in private conversation, no matter what crimes a man may have...