THE 
 
 WAY TO WEALTH, 
 
 Written by the late 
 
 DR. FRANKLIN: 
 
 ^ 
 Eltraded from bis Political Works. 
 
 M For age and want fave wtik yn nay 
 M Ai> naming fwi lajis a whole day." 
 
 ^o'i RICHARD, 
 
 XOTT1XGBAM: 
 BY C. SVTTON. BRTFLl SMlTH-&ATft 
 
 Piice Oae Peunj.J 
 
J CHILDREN'S BOOK * 
 COLLECTION 
 
 i *> * 
 
 $ LIBRARY OF THE ^ 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA % 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 Pray keep this clean till call'd for. 
 
I * I 
 
 THE WAY TO WEALTH. 
 
 Courteous PtaSer, 
 
 I 
 
 Have heard that nothing gives an author fo great 
 pleafure as ti find his works refpe&fully quoted 
 by others. Judge, then, how much I muft have 
 been gratified by an incident I am going to reLte 
 to you. 1 flopped my horfe lately, where a great 
 nurab r of pecple were colJecled at an auction of 
 mei chants goods. The hour ot fale not being come, 
 they were converting on the badnefs or the times, 
 and one ot the company called to a plain, clean old 
 man, with white locks, * Pray, Father Abraham, what 
 think you of the <imes ? What would you advife us 
 to? - Father Abraham flood up, and replied, ' If 
 you would have my advice, I will give it you in 
 fti-.rt, *' tor a. word to the wife is enough," as Poor 
 Richard fays.* They joined in deiiring him to fpeafc 
 his mird, and gatheiing round him he proceeded as 
 foliovvs :* 
 
 A a * Friend 
 
 f* Dr. FranfcHn, wifblng to collect into one piece all the 
 fayings upon the following fubjeds, which he dropped ir\ 
 the courfe oi publifliing an Almanack, called Pooa RICHARD, 
 introduced Father Abraham for this purpofe. Hence it if, 
 tUi Poor Richard is fo often quoted.] 
 
VI i 
 
 Father ABRAHAM'S Advice 
 
 TO HIS 
 
 NEIGHBOURS. 
 
 JC RIE\ T D, fays he, the taxes are indeed very heavy ; 
 and if thofe laid on by the govonmcrit wen* the only 
 ones we had to pay, we might more eafily d'fcharge 
 ihem ; but we have manv" other?, and much more 
 grievous to fome of us. We are ta-xed twice as much 
 by our idlenefs, three times as much by our pride, 
 and four times as ranch by our tolly ; and from 
 thefe taxes the coramiflioners cianot cafe or deliver 
 us, by alloxving an abatement. However, let us 
 hearken to good advice, and forjhethin^ may be done 
 for us; ' God helps them that helps themfeives," as 
 Poor Richard fays. 
 
 * I. It would be thought a hard government that 
 Aould tax its people one-tenth part of their. time to 
 be employed in its fervice : but idlenefs taxes many 
 of us much more: floth, by bringing on difeafes, 
 abfcluteiy fhor tens life. " Sloth, like ruft, confumes 
 fader than labour wear*, while the ufed key is al- 
 ways bright/' as Poor Richard fays. " But doft thou 
 love life, then do not fquander rime, for that is the 
 ftufF life is made of," as Poor Richard fays. Hovr 
 much more than is neceflary do we fpend in deep; 
 forgetting that, "The fleeping fox catches no poul- 
 try, and that there will be fleeping enough in the 
 grave," as Poor Richard fays. 
 
5 ) 
 
 '' Loft time is never found again ; and what we ca?( 
 ;ime enough, always proves little enough," Let us 
 then up and be doing, and doing to the purpofe : 
 for by diligence we fhal! do more with lefs perplexity. 
 ' Sloth makes all things difficult, but induftry all 
 esfy : and, he that rifeth late, muft trot all day, and 
 fhall fcarce overtake his bulinefs at night ; while la- 
 zinefs^ travels fo fiowly, that poverty Toon overtakes 
 him. Drive thy bufinefs, let not that drive tfoee ; 
 and early to bed, and early to rife, makes a man 
 healthy, wealthy, and wife," as Poor Richard fays. 
 
 * So what fignifies wifhing and hoping for better 
 times ; we may make the jimes better, if we beftir 
 ourfelves. " Induftry need not wifh, and he that lives 
 upon hope will die fading. There are no gains wich- 
 put pains; then help hands, for I have no lands," or 
 it I have they are fsnartly taxed, " He that hath a 
 trade, hath an eftate; and he that hath a calling, 
 hath an office of profit and honour," as Poor Richard 
 fays; but then the trade muft be worked at, and the 
 calling well followed, or neither the eflate nor the 
 office will enable us to pay our taxes ; for " at the 
 working man's houfe hunger looks in, but dares not 
 enter." Nor will the balifF or the conftable enter, 
 tor, " Induftry pays debts, while defpair increafeth 
 them." What tho* vou have found no treafure, nor 
 has any rich relation left you a legacy, " Diligence is 
 the mother of good luck, and God gives all things to 
 induftry, then plough deep while fluggards ileep, and 
 you fhall have corn to fell and to keep.'* Work: 
 while it is called to-day, for you know rot how much 
 you may be hindred to-morrow. ' One to-day is 
 worth two to-morrows," as Poor Richard fays; and 
 farther, " Never leave that till to-morrow, which 
 you can do to-day." If you were a fervant, fhould 
 you not be alhamed that a good mafter would catch 
 you idle ? Are you then your own mafter ? Be 
 afliamed to catch yourfelf idle, when there is fo much 
 to be done for yourfelf, your family, your country, 
 and your kin^. Handle your tools, without mittens ; 
 remember "That the cat in gloves catches no mice/* 
 as Poor Richard fays. It is true there is much to be 
 
aone, and perhaps you are weak handed, but fticfc to 
 it (readily, and you will fee great effects ; for ' Con- 
 ftant dropping wears* away ftones ; and by diligence 
 and patience the rooufe eat in two the cable ; and 
 little ftrokes fell great oaks." 
 
 ' Methinks I hear feme of you fay, " Muft a man 
 afford hirafelf no leifure ?" I will tell thce, my 
 frienH, what Poor Richard fays, "Employ thy time 
 well, if thou meaneft to gain leifure ; and, fince 
 thou art not fure of a minute, th:ow net away an 
 hour." Leifure is time for doing fometbing ufelul ; 
 this leifure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy 
 man never ; for, " A life of leifure, and a life of la- 
 zinefs are two things. Many without labour would 
 live by their wits only, but they break for want of 
 flock; whereas induftry giveth comfort, and plenty, 
 and rfpe<5l, " Fly pleasures and they will follow 
 you. The diligent fpinncr has a large fhift, and 
 now 1 have a fheep and a cow, every body bids rne 
 good morrow/' " 
 
 II. ' But with our induftry we muft likewife be 
 fteady, fettled, and careful, and overfee our own af- 
 fairs with our own eyes, and not rruft too much to 
 others ; for, as Poor Richard fays, 
 
 *' \ never faw an oft-removed tree, 
 Nor yet an oft-removed family, 
 " That throve fo well as thofe that fettled be." 
 
 * And again, " Three removes are as bad a? a 
 fire;" and again, " Keep* thy Ihop, and thv (hop 
 will keep thee ;** and again, *' it you would have 
 your bulincfs dene, go; it not, fend." And again, 
 
 He that by the plough would thrive. 
 11 Himfelf muft either hold or drive." 
 
 Ard again, " the eye of a mailer will do more 
 tvork than both his hands ;" and again, '* Want of 
 care does us more damage tnan want or' know ledge ;" 
 and again, *' Not to overfee workmen, is to leave 
 
 your 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 jour purfe open.** Trufting too much to other* care 
 is the ruin of many ; tor, ' In the affairs of this 
 xvorld, men are faved not by faith, but by the want 
 of it :" Buf-a man-s own caie is profitable; for, "If 
 you would have a faithful fervat, and one that you 
 like, ferve yourfeif. A little neglcdl may breed mif- 
 chief, for want of a nail the fhoe was loft ; for want 
 or. a fhoe the horfe was loft ; and for want of a horfe 
 the rider was loft," being overtaken and flain by the 
 enemy ; all for want of a little care about a horfe- 
 ihoe nail.' 
 
 1H. * So much for intluftry, my friends, and at- 
 tention to one's own bufinefs ; but 'to thefe we muft 
 add frugality, if we would make our induftry more 
 certainly fuccefsr'ul. A man may, if he knows not 
 how to Cave as he gets, * k keep his nofe all his life to 
 the grindftone, and die, not worth a groat at laft. ** A 
 tat kitchen makes a lean will," and 
 
 Many eftates are fpent in getting, 
 
 " Since women for tea foHook fpinning and knitting. 
 
 " A tod men for punch forlbok hewing and iplitting." 
 
 " If you \vould be wealthy, think of faving, as 
 well as of getting. The Indies have not made Spain 
 rich, bccaufe her out-goes are greater than her in- 
 comes." 
 
 ' Away/then w?th you expcnfive follies, and yo 14 
 will nt't then have fo much caufe to con plain > : 
 hard times, heavy taxes, and chargeable' families; 
 ior 
 
 " Women and wine, game and deceit, 
 
 ' Makes the wealth fmail, aud the want great,'* 
 
 And Farther, ".What maintains one vice would 
 bring up two children." You may think, perhaps, 
 that a lirtie tea, or a lif.tle punch now and then, diet 
 a little more coftly. deaths a little finer; and a little 
 enteitainment now and then, can be no great mat- 
 ter; but remember, " Many a little make a vrnc- 
 
 kle." 
 
kle." Bewsre of Hide expences ; A fmall leak wil] 
 ii:ik a great fhip.*' as Poor Richard fays ; and again, 
 " Who dainties love, fhall beggars prove . and more- 
 over, Fools make feafts, and wife mt:: eat them." 
 Here you are all got together to this fale ot fineries 
 and nick-nacks. You call them gcc<ls; but it' you do 
 not take care, they will prove nils to fonie of you. 
 You expect they will be fold cheap, and, perhaps, 
 they may for lefs than they coft ; but if you have no 
 occafion for them they muft be dear to you. Re- 
 member what Poor Richard fays, *' Buy what thou 
 haft no need of, and ere lon< thou (halt fell thy ne- 
 ceiTaries." And again, '* At a great penny-worth 
 psufeawhile." We means, tftar, perhaps the cheapnefs 
 is apparent only and not real; or the bargain, by 
 ftraiehtening thee in thy btiiinefs, may do ihee more 
 harm than good. For in another place he fays, 
 " Many have been ruined by buying good penny- 
 worths." Again, " It is foolHh to lay out money in 
 a purchafe of repentance ?" and vet this folly is prac- 
 ti'i'ed every day at auctions, for want of minding the 
 Almanack. Many a one, for the fake or. finery on 
 the brurk, have gone with an hungry belly, and half 
 ftarved their families; "Silks and farins, fcnrlets 
 arid velvets, put out the kitchen fire," as Poor Rich- 
 ard fays. Thefr ar* not the'iieo ifaries of life, they 
 can fcarcely be called the conveniences ; and ytt only 
 becaufe thev look prettv, how many want to hnye 
 them ? By thefe and other extravn-^3ncies, the en- 
 t^e! are reduced to poverty and forced to bonow of 
 thofe whom they formerly defpifed, but who, thr(;ugh 
 induftrv and frugality, have m.-iinfatned their (land- 
 ing ; in which cafe it appears plainh, that ' A 
 plough-man on his legs, is hr.-hrr tSan a gentleman 
 on his knees," as Poor Richard inys; peihaps they 
 hv^ hod a fruall eflate leU them, whica they knew 
 Bot the getting of; thev tfii- k " It is day and will 
 never be' ni:ht ;" t!vt a liitl? to br fp---t r ont r.f 10 
 much is not w<<tth mindin. ; n .t ' Alwavs taking 
 out of the meal-t'ib, atid nrver pMtiing irj fcon c< mes 
 to the bo*fr-!/," as Por ' Rirhard fays; and therT, 
 f-n tr,e ue the worth of wa- 
 
 ter," But 'histhev rr. -.nown before, if they 
 
 had taken his aJvke : M li you would know the value 
 
 of 
 
F money, go and try to borrow Come ; far ft 
 goes a borrowing, goes a frr wir>g,*' as fuor R'ch* 
 aid fays ; and indeed fo docs he th,u lends 
 people, when he goes to get it in a^aiu. 
 farther advifes and fays* 
 
 " Fond pride of dref* Jg fare a vfir? curfe r 
 *' re fancy you confult, coaiult your 
 
 ' Ar?d again, <c Pride is as JoiH a beggar as want, 
 and a pjt-ar deal more faucv.'* Wnen you havo- 
 bought one fine thin^, vou rnuft buy ten rftore, that 
 your appeaiance may be all of a-ptece ; Bat 4Vjf 
 Dick fays, 4> It is eaiier to fupprefs the fiift delis c, t:>an 
 to fatisry all that t'oUow it :" An'l it is as truly full? 
 for the poor to ape the rich, as tor the frog to iwM 
 in order to equal the ox. 
 
 VefTels large may venture more, 
 
 ' But little boats Chould keep near fhore." 
 
 ' Ir. is, however, a folly fcon puniflied : for, as 
 Poor Richard fays, " P'ide thar dines on vanity, fups 
 on contempt ; Pride breakfafted with plenty, dined 
 with poverty, and fupped with iofaiuy/' And, after 
 all, of what ufe is this pride of appearancr, f.-r which 
 fo much is rifked, fo much is fuffered ? It eann t pro- 
 mote health, nor eafe pain ; it makes no increafe of 
 merit in the perfon, it creates envy, it haftens mif- 
 fortune. 
 
 1 But what madnefs mud it be to run in dtbl for 
 thefe fuperfluities ? We are offered by ihe tenus of 
 thisfale, (ix months credit ; and that peikaps has in- 
 duced fome of us to attend it, becaufe we cannot 
 fpare the ready mofiey, and hope, now to be fine 
 without it. But, ah i ! think what you do when you 
 run in debt, you give another power over ytu li- 
 berty. If you cannot pay at that lira*, you will be 
 aihamed to fc.e your creditor ; you will be in tonr 
 when you fpeak to him ; you will ma^.e p >or pitiruJ 
 fneakinj* excufes, and by degrees come to lufc your 
 veracity, Mid link into bafe dowuright lyi'ig ; tor, 
 
 the 
 
t to ) 
 
 ** rfce ferrnft vc^ is lying, the firft is running fa 
 debt." as ^o R^hard fays. And a^ain to the 
 lame purpofe. ' Lying rides on Dtbt's back : wheie- 
 as a free-bo'u Eielifhmen ought not to be adorned 
 cr ntnid to f-c or furak to any man living. But po 
 vertv often deprives a tuan cf alt ff irit and virtue." 
 " It i? haH for an erm tv ba to liai.d "prnhr." 
 What would you think rf that piince, or of th t go- 
 vernment, who fh -uld iflue an edi# foibiddinjj v u 
 to drefi liie a gentium -n or genf'evrrMnan, on p-nn 
 of imprifonnjent, or fervitude ? Wo-jfd vru nrt 
 fay that you wfrre free, have a right to d'fc as son 
 pleafe, and th^t ftich an editft w.^uld be a bre^"|j of 
 your privileges, an^ fuch a government tyan ic.-i! ? 
 And yet your are about to put yonrfeff un'l< r that 
 .tyanny, when you run in debt for iuch drcfs f Y ur 
 credit' r has autnorify, at hfs^le.ifure, t > depiivc. y, 
 of your liberty, by confining you in a jail for lite, or 
 by felling you for a fervant, it you fhould nut be able 
 to pay him. When von ha\eiiOt your bargain, vou 
 mav't perhaps, think little of payment ; but, as Poor 
 Richard fays, *' C edit' rs have much berter memo- 
 ries than debtors ; creoitors ae a fuperfiif.ous fed, 
 great obVvers ot fet days and times. The day 
 comes round before you are aware, and the demand 
 is made before you are prepared to fatisfy it ; or if 
 you bear your debt in mind, the term which at firft 
 fee tr ed fo long, viil, as it leflVns, appear extremely 
 ihort. Time will hive feem.-d to have added wings 
 to his heels as well as his fhoul :ers. Tfeofe have a 
 fhort Lent, who owe money to be paid at Ejfter." 
 At prefent f perhaps, you may think yourfelves in 
 thriving circum fiances, and that you can bear a little, 
 extravagance without injury, but 
 
 " For age and want fave wbijc you may, 
 No moininj-iun lafts a whole day." 
 
 4 Ga'n may be temporary and uncertain, but ever 
 while you live, expence is conftant and certain ; and, 
 " It is eafier to build two chim'ies, than fo keep one 
 fa fuel," as Poor Richard fays; fo " Raiher go to 
 bed fupperlefs, than rife in debt. 
 
 "Get 
 
I } 
 
 * S* Get what you car\ and what you get ho|d ? 
 " *rU the rtone thai will tarn all >oar ieaa int 
 
 * And when you have got the philosopher's 
 
 fure you will no longer complain of bad time?, or 
 
 the difficulty of paying taxes. 
 
 IV. ' This do&rine, ray friends, is reafon and 
 wifdoro. Bat, after all, do not depend too much 
 upon your own indufhy and frugality, and pru* 
 deoce, though excellent thinge ; f.<r they m.v b^ all 
 baited without fhe h'rffiug of heaven ; and there* 
 fore, afk that bleffing hu nblv, and be not uncharita- 
 ble to th f<- that at prefent feem to want ir, but com- 
 fort and help them. Remember Job fuffored and 
 was attcrwaras prof^erous. 
 
 ' And, now to conclude, Experience keeps t 
 nr fchtxil, but fools will learn in no other." as puef 
 Ri. hard fays, and fcarce in that; for, it is true, 
 We m.iy give advice, but we cannot give con- 
 duel: :'* However^ icm^rnber rhis, " They thit will 
 not be com. filed, cann.,t be helped ;'* and fa it he r 
 lhat * If yo-i will not h.^ar R:afon, Ihe will furely 
 tap ydur knuckles,'* as PoorR cnard fays.* 
 
 Thus the old gentlemen ended Msrnrargie. The 
 pef>ple heard it and approved the du&nne . and 
 imraediatelv praclifed the contrary, |'i^ HS it ir had 
 been a c -mmun fcttnon ; tor the au&i<;ri oj.>eneHl f 
 and they b. -an t buv ex'iavagai tlv I however re- 
 folved to b<" the bettei t >r it : at-d th'-uch 1 had at 
 6rft dererrtiMied. to buv Ouff rjr a new coat, I went 
 away refo ved to w at my >f^ one a li tie longer. 
 K-a^er, if rh:ui wilt do t;<e f'ne, thy piufit will be 
 as gteat as taiue.^i am, as ever, 
 
 Thine to fervc thee, 
 
 ^^ 
 
 RICHARD