What would Confucius, the Chinese philosopher who lived five hundred years before Christ, think about our inability to live within our means? What would Virgil, the Roman poet from the time of Christ, think about our domination by fear and greed in the markets? What would Benjamin Franklin, one of history's wisest and most prolific men on financial matters, think about our reluctance to plan for our future? What would Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President, think of our attempts to receive more while working less? What would Thoreau, Einstein, Socrates, Gandhi, Jesus and others have to say about our misunderstandings about the role of money, wealth, possessions, and work in our lives? Pearls Before Swine contains the words of more than two-hundred individuals, spanning more than twenty-five centuries. The three hundred quotes cited in this book are used by the author as starting points and guideposts on a journey to discover why, individually and collectively, we are in such desperate financial straits today.