The rich man in his castle, The poor man at his gate, God made them, high or lowly, And ordered their estate.

-Alexander, Cecil Frances
  'All Things Bright and Beautiful'.

It is a bad thing that many from being rich should become poor; for men of ruined fortunes are sure to stir up revolutions.

-Aristotle
c.330  BC  Politics, bk.4.

Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.

-Baldwin,James Arthur
Nobody Knows My Name,'Fifth  Avenue, Uptown'.

   Whose fault is it if poor Ireland still continues poor?

-Berkeley, George
  The Querist, pt.3.

   But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb

-Bible (Old Testament)
Samuel12:3.

Therichman'swealthishisstrongcity: thedestructionof the poor is their poverty.

-Bible (Old Testament)
Proverbs10:15.

The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.

-Bible (Old Testament)
Proverbs14:20.

He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the L; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

-Bible (Old Testament)
ORDProverbs19:17.

Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.

-Bible (Old Testament)
Ecclesiastes 4:13.

   What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord G of hosts.

-Bible (Old Testament)
ODIsaiah 3:15.

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs isthe kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessedarethepeacemakers: for theyshall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness'sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessedare ye, whenmenshall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

-Bible (NewTestament)
St Matthew 5:1^12.

Jesus answered and said unto them,Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

-Bible (NewTestament)
St Matthew11:4^5.

For yehavethepooralwayswithyou; but me yehavenot always.

-Bible (NewTestament)
St Matthew 26:11.

   For thepooralwaysyehave withyou; but meyehavenot always.

-Bible (NewTestament)
St  John12:8.

   Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and havenotcharity,Iam becomeassounding brass, ora tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all mygoodstofeed thepoor, and though Igivemy body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not herown, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

-Bible (NewTestament)
Corinthians13:1^13.

Asunknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

-Bible (NewTestament)
Corinthians 6:9^10.

   All things they have in common, being so poor, And their one fear, Death's shadow at the door. Each sundown makes them mournful, each sunrise Brings back the brightness in their failing eyes.

-Blunden, Edmund Charles
  'Almswomen'.

The modern novel has been many things, and functioned at many levels. It would keep D.H. Lawrence poor, and make Jilly Cooper and Jeffrey Archer rich.

-Bradbury, Malcolm Stanley
  The Modern British Novel, preface.

Old maids like the houseless and unemployed poor, should not ask for a place and an occupation in the world: the demand disturbs the happy and the rich.

-Bronte«  , Charlotte
  Shirley, ch.22.

Is there for honest Poverty That hings his head, and a'that; The coward-slave, we pass him by, We dare be poor for a'that! For a'that, and a'that, Our toils obscure, and a'that, The rank is but the guinea's stamp, The man's the gowd for a'that.

-Burns, Robert
  'For a' that and a' that', stanza1.