When Tucker, Dean of Gloucester, asserted in the presence of Sir
Joshua Reynolds that a pin-maker was more valuable to society
than a Raphael, that ardent lover of his profession replied with
some asperity: “That is an observation of a very narrow mind, a
mind that is confined to the mere object of commerce. Commerce
is the means, not the end of happiness. The end is a rational
enjoyment by means of art and sciences. It is, therefore, the
highest degree of folly to set the means in a higher rank
of esteem than the end. It is as much as to say that the
brick-maker is superior to the architect.”
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