I said, "You mightn't want money for yourself--but wisely directed, money may do a lot of interesting things. It can endow research, for example."
I had supposed that Clemency might be a fanatic about her work, but she merely said:
"I doubt if endowments ever do much good. They're usually spent in the wrong way. The things that are worth while are usually accomplished by someone with enthusiasm and drive--and with natural vision. Expensive equipment and training and experiment never does what you'd imagine it might do. The spending of it usually gets into the wrong hands."
(Agatha Christie, Crooked House [New York: Pocket Books, 1951], 131.)The copyright date on the book is 1948, but the sentiment sounds very modern.
Four years ago, Elder Dale G. Renlund shared an insight into why Agatha Christie's observation holds true:
“The greater the distance between the giver and the receiver, the more the receiver develops a sense of entitlement.”I have seen that his insight is true.
