A clay piggy bank feeds coins along a wooden channel towards a small waterwheel among rocks and water.

Original artwork, not a still

Lombard Street

Walter Bagehot

The less money lying idle the greater is the dividend.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker links a larger dividend to keeping less money idle. In this view, unused funds limit what can be returned, while active use increases the reward. The compact statement presents a relationship between employment of money and profit without spelling out the risks or conditions.

Context reviewed

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