The Genius of Money Ch. 6 & 14

Chapter 6

In Chapter 6 of The Genius of Money, the author displays an artwork by Quentin Metsys of The Money Lender and His Wife. Within the painting there are several symbols of the social and religious realm of the time. It is mentioned that the painting is from the renaissance era, and it perfectly portrays many different social features of its time. In the portrait, the man is seen folding the money and the woman is seen with a religious piece. This reflects the societal view of women’s incapability to control money and finances during this time. The reading then explains the lessons that are meant to be shown throughout the painting. This artwork symbolizes a common Christian man and his wife with a representation of their daily lives. The details in the painting, such as the crucifix window reflection, show both the author’s creativity and reason for the painting.

One vital lesson behind the painting is that each exchange of coin had a story to tell about the “issuer, provenance, and value system.” For the money lender and his wife, money represented judgment. Their devotions, however, fell to the church. The author uses this example to show how times have changed and people now see banks as the new high priesthood. The fact that the woman’s attention is with the man and not her religious book shows the lust for wealth and the material world over the desire for devotion and the holy. The painting seems like a warning that the society is in danger with such values in place. The chapter ends with the explanation of the old man and child in the background. This is a representation of wisdom and acculturation being passed on to the next generation. Overall, this chapter helps us think about our own values and morals as well as how we are the example to our younger generations.

Chapter 14

The Touchstone and the Labyrinth takes a step into understanding the mystery of money through spiritual and materialistic ideas coming together to form a larger picture. As John Bloom describes, money can be recognized “as a medium of expression, as a social technology, and one that makes the invisible visible by bringing together value with material goods.” We know that America abandoned the Gold Standard long ago under Nixon. Now what does this mean for money? Money is an abstract and non-material form that earns is value solely based on governmental decree (or more simply put, on faith). The touchstone and the labyrinth are two symbols that lead to the understanding of what we choose to give outer value, what provides us inner worth, and the alignment between the inner and outer.

The touchstone shows use some of the earliest stages of our materialistic ways. In using this you would mark the stone with gold of a known purity and compare that to the mark of a material of unknown contents. The material will be refined through acid testing to attain the likeness of the known marker. This shows how we compare what we have to the treasures of others and often become filled with desire to have the most of the best we can acquire. The labyrinth takes us on another journey entirely traversing a horizontal plane to arrive at a location of vertical enlightenment. This symbol represents the journey one takes to reflect upon their life’s path. Stones are the currency here; they represent the field of energy coursing through the veins of the labyrinth. This idea is akin to the way we see money as the provider of energy to the economy and the only thing that can form walls to an individual’s journey to a higher state. These ideas show the destruction of spirituality and connection we had with our money and materials. Now in the materialistic age we exist, the outer value of desires trumps the inner worth we see in our possessions and our lives.