“Do not waste any part of so precious a talent merely in gratifying the desire of the eye, by superfluous and expensive apparel, or by needless ornaments. Waste no part of it in curiously adorning your houses, in superfluous and expensive furniture; in costly pictures, painting, gilding, books: in elegant (rather than useful) gardens. Let your neighbors, who know nothing better, do this.”
John Wesley (1703-1791) from “The Use of Money” 53.3, in Sermons on Several Occasions, 562-563.