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relation left you a legacy, Diligence is the mother of good luck, as Poor Richard says, and God gives all things to industry.

Then plough deep while sluggards sleep,

And you shall have corn to sell and to keep,

says Poor Dick. Work while it is called to-day, for you know not how much you may be hindered to-morrow; which makes Poor Richard say, One to-day is worth two to-morrows; and farther, Have you somewhat to do to-morrow? Do it to-day!

If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good master should catch you idle? Are you then your own master? Be ashamed to catch yourself idle, as Poor Dick says. When there is so much to be done for yourself, your family, your country, and your gracious king, be up by peep of day! Let not the sun look down and say, "Inglorious here he lies!" Handle your tools without mittens! remember that The cat in gloves catches no mice! as Poor Richard says.

'Tis true there is much to be done, and perhaps you are weakhanded; but stick to it steadily, and you will see great effects; for Constant dropping wears away stones; and By diligence and patience the mouse ate in two the cable; and Little strokes fell great oaks; as Poor Richard says in his Almanac, the year I cannot just now remember.

Methinks I hear some of you say, "Must a man afford himself no leisure?" I will tell thee, my friend, what Poor Richard says, Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure, and Since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour Leisure is time for doing something useful; this leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy man never; so that, as Poor Richard says, A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. Do you imagine that sloth will afford you more comfort than labor? No! for, as Poor Richard says, Trouble springs from idleness, and grievous toil from needless ease. Many, without labor, would live by their wits only, but they'll break for want of stock; whereas industry gives comfort, and plenty, and respect. Fly pleasures, and they'll follow you. The diligent spinner has a large shift; and ·

Now I have a sheep and a cow,

Everybody bids me good morrow.

All which is well said by Poor Richard. But with our industry we must likewise be steady, settled, and careful, and over

see our own affairs with our own eyes, and not trust too much to others; for, as Poor Richard says

I never saw an oft-removed tree

Nor yet an oft-removed family

That throve so well as those that settled be.

And again, Three removes are as bad as a fire; and again, Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee; and again, If you would have your business done, go; if not, send. And again—

He that by the plough would thrive,
Himself must either hold or drive.

And again, The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands; and again, Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge; and again, Not to oversee workmen is to leave them your purse open.

Trusting too much to others' care is the ruin of many; for, as the Almanac says, In the affairs of this world men are saved, not by faith, but by the want of it; but a man's own care is profitable for saith Poor Dick, Learning is to the studious and Riches to the careful; as well as, Power to the bold and Heaven to the virtuous. And further, If you would have a faithful servant, and one that you like, serve yourself.

And again, he adviseth to circumspection and care, even in the smallest matters; because sometimes, A little neglect may breed great mischief; adding, for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost; being overtaken and slain by the enemy all for want of a little care about a horseshoe nail!

So much for industry, my friends, and attention to one's own business; but to these we must add frugality, if we would make our industry more certainly successful. A man may, if he knows not how to save as he gets, keep his nose all his life to the grindstone, and die not worth a groat at last. A fat kitchen makes a lean will, as Poor Richard says; and

If

Many estates are spent in the getting,

Since women for tea forsook spinning and knitting,
And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting.

you would be wealthy, says he in another Almanac, Think of saving as well as of getting. The Indies have not made Spain rich; because her outgoes are greater than her incomes.

Away, then, with your expensive follies, and you will not have so much cause to complain of hard times, heavy taxes, and chargeable families; for as Poor Dick says,—

Women and wine, game and deceit,

Make the wealth small and the wants great.

And further, What maintains one vice would bring up two children. You may think, perhaps, that a little tea, or a little punch now and then; a diet a little more costly; clothes a little finer; and a little more entertainment now and then, can be no great matter; but remember what Poor Richard says, Many a little makes a mickle; and further, Beware of little expenses; A small leak will sink a great ship; and again,

Who dainties love, shall beggars prove ;

and moreover, Fools make feasts, and wise men eat them.

Here are you all got together at this vendue of fineries and knick-knacks. You call them goods; but, if you do not take care, they will prove evils to some of you. You expect they will be sold cheap, and perhaps they may for less than they cost; but, if you have no occasion for them, they must be dear to you. Remember what Poor Richard says: Buy what thou hast no need of, and ere long thou shalt sell thy necessaries. And again, At a great pennyworth pause awhile. He means, that perhaps the cheapness is apparent only, and not real; or the bargain, by straitening thee in thy business, may do thee more harm than good. For in another place he says, Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths.

Again, Poor Richard says, 'Tis foolish to lay out money in a purchase of repentance; and yet this folly is practiced every day at vendues for want of minding the Almanac.

Wise men, as Poor Richard says, learn by others' harms: Fools, scarcely by their own; but Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum. Many a one, for the sake of finery on the back, has gone with a hungry belly, and half-starved their families. Silks and satins, scarlets and velvets, as Poor Richard says, put out the kitchen fire. These are not the necessaries of life; they can scarcely be called the conveniences; and yet, only because they look pretty, how many want to have them! The artificial

1 Fortunate he whom others' perils make cautious.

wants of mankind thus become more numerous than the natural; and, as Poor Dick says, For one poor person there are a hundred indigent.

By these, and other extravagances, the genteel are reduced to poverty, and forced to borrow of those whom they formerly despised, but who, through industry and frugality, have maintained their standing; in which case it appears plainly, that A ploughman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees, as Poor Richard says. Perhaps they have had a small estate left them, which they knew not the getting of; they think, 'Tis day, and will never be night; that a little to be spent out of so much is not worth minding; (A child and a fool, as Poor Richard says, imagine twenty shillings and twenty years can never be spent,) but Always taking out of the meal-tub, and never putting in, soon comes to the bottom. Then, as Poor Dick says, When the well's dry, they know the worth of water. But this they might have known before, if they had taken his advice. If you would know the value of money go and try to borrow some; for He that goes a borrowing, goes a sorrowing, and indeed so does he that lends to ruch people, when he goes to get it in again.

Poor Dick further advises, and says

Fond pride of dress is, sure, a very curse;
Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse.

And again, Pride is as loud a beggar as Want, and a great deal more saucy. When you have bought one fine thing, you must buy ten more, that your appearance may be all of a piece; but Poor Dick says, 'Tis easier to suppress the first desire, than to satisfy all that follow it. And 'tis as truly folly for the poor to ape the rich, as for the frog to swell in order to equal the ox.

Great estates may venture more,

But little boats should keep near shore.

'Tis, however, a folly soon punished; for, Pride that dines on vanity sups on contempt, as Poor Richard says. And in another place, Pride breakfasted with Plenty, dined with Poverty, and supped with Infamy.

And after all, of what use is this pride of appearance, for which so much is risked, so much is suffered? It cannot promote health or ease pain; it makes no increase of merit in the person; it creates envy; it hastens misfortune.

What is a butterfly? At best
He's but a caterpillar drest,
The gaudy fop's his picture just,

as poor Richard says.

But what madness must it be to run into debt for these superfluities! We are offered, by the terms of this vendue, six months' credit; and that, perhaps, has induced some of us to attend it, because we cannot spare the ready money, and hope now to be fine without it. But, ah! think what you do when you run in debt: You give to another power over your liberty. If you cannot pay at the time, you will be ashamed to see your creditor; you will be in fear when you speak to him; you will make poor, pitiful, sneaking excuses, and by degrees come to lose your veracity, and sink into base, downright lying; for, as Poor Richard says, The second vice is lying, the first is running into debt; and again, to the same purpose, lying rides upon debt's back; whereas a free-born Englishman ought not to be ashamed or afraid to see or speak to any man living. But poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue. 'Tis hard for an empty bag to stand upright! as Poor Richard truly says. What would you think of that prince, or the government, who should issue an edict forbidding you to dress like a gentleman or gentlewoman, on pain of imprisonment or servitude? Would you not say that you are free, have a right to dress as you please, and that such an edict would be a breach of your privileges, and such a government tyrannical? And yet you are about to put yourself under such tyranny, when you run in debt for such dress! Your creditor has authority, at his pleasure, to deprive you of your liberty, by confining you in jail for life, or to sell you for a servant, if you should not be able to pay him. When you have got your bargain, you may perhaps, think little of payment; but Creditors (Poor Richard tells us) have better memories than debtors; and in another place says, Creditors are a superstitious set, great observers of set days and times. The day comes round before you are aware, and the demand is made before you are prepared to satisfy it; or, if you bear your debt in mind, the term which at first seemed so long, will, as it lessens, appear extremely short. Time will seem to have added wings to his heels as well as his shoulders. Those have a short Lent, saith Poor Richard, who owe money to be paid at Easter. Then since, as he says, The borrower is a slave to the lender, and the debtor to the creditor, disdain the chain,

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