"If Heaven had looked upon riches to be a valuable thing, it would not have given them to such a scoundrel"

Jonathan Swift’s words challenge common assumptions about the nature of wealth and virtue. He draws a deliberate contrast between what people often value, riches, and what might be valuable from a higher, moral, or spiritual perspective. Swift suggests that if material wealth were truly admirable or a blessing in the eyes of a benevolent power (“Heaven”), then it would naturally be reserved for the deserving and virtuous. The fact that riches often fall into the hands of “scoundrels”, those who behave immorally or unethically, calls into question the moral value society assigns to wealth.

Swift’s statement serves as a critique of how riches are distributed in society, observing that wealth frequently accrues not by virtue, but, perhaps, through vice, cunning, or sheer luck. Through this provocative observation, he invites readers to reconsider equating material success with moral worth. Riches, then, might be arbitrary, indiscriminate, or even a test, rather than a sign of divine favor or personal merit.

Underlying the phrase is an implicit call for humility and discernment. Pursuing wealth for its own sake or venerating the wealthy as innately superior is, in Swift’s view, misguided and shallow. The presence of wealth among the “scoundrels” exposes the folly of such worship and unmasks the hollowness of societal values. If material fortune does not align with Heaven’s estimation of true worth, then other forms of virtue, integrity, kindness, wisdom, ought to be esteemed more highly.

The passage also points to a broader satire of social and religious hypocrisy. If humans believe that wealth signals moral greatness, but the evidence shows otherwise, then beliefs, institutions, and perhaps even theology demand reexamination. Swift ultimately pushes readers toward a deeper question: what should be considered truly valuable, and on whom should admiration and respect rest?