Property may be destroyed and money may lose its purchasing power but, character, health, knowledge and good judgement will always be in demand under all conditions.

Roger W. Babson (1875–1967) was an American statistician, business theorist, and founder of Babson College, best known for popularizing investment and economic advice for a mass audience in the early 20th century. The sentiment in this quotation aligns with Babson’s recurring themes during the volatile years surrounding World War I, the Roaring Twenties, and especially the Great Depression: material wealth can be wiped out by market crashes, inflation, or catastrophe, but personal “capital” such as character, health, education, and sound judgment remains broadly valuable. Babson frequently framed self-improvement and prudence as the most reliable hedge against economic uncertainty.

The quote contrasts fragile external assets with durable internal ones. Babson argues that property and money are contingent on circumstances—war, disaster, inflation, or financial panic can erase them—whereas virtues and capacities travel with the person and retain value across regimes and business cycles. “Character” and “good judgement” point to trustworthiness and decision-making, qualities that enable people to rebuild after loss; “health” and “knowledge” are productive foundations that make work possible and skills marketable. The broader significance is a moral-economic claim: the safest form of wealth is cultivated in the self, not stored in things.