Whoso that halt hym payd of his poverte,
I holde hym riche, al hadde he nat a sherte.
He that coveiteth is a povre wight,
For he wolde han that is nat in his myght;
But he that noght hath, ne coveiteth have,
Is riche, although ye holde hym but a knave.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Tale. Whoever is content with his poverty, the old lady considers him rich, even if he doesn’t have a shirt. Whereas the person who covets things is the poor person, because he wants what he cannot have. But a person with nothing who covets nothing is rich, although you consider him a knave, the Loathly Lady tells her husband.