Anonymous

“ But before I leave this subject, of shewing the misery of wanting money, it is necessary. I should say something of the misery of borrowing money, or running in debt, which is a consequent of wanting money; for he that does not want, has no occasion to borrow, and is in that respect happy; for being out of debt he is out of danger, and therefore needs not seek for by-ways to avoid his creditors, but can walk in the open streets without fear, and whet his knife even at the gates of the prison. ”

“ And seeing without money a man can have nothing, they must be very miserable that are without it.
Charity, in this last and iron age of the world, is grown so cold, that there is scarce any thing to be got upon that account. If you are cold, charity will not warm you; neither, if you are hungry will it fill jour belly; but if you have money, you may do both. ”

“ But if a man has not a mind to purchase land with his penny, he may turn it several other ways to still greater advantage, in trade and commerce.
But there is more required in the art of thriving and turning the penny to advantage than most men imagine; it is true diligence is good ; but a man can never thrive as he should do, without he looks higher than all this. ”

“ We know indeed, that by the divine providence, in the body of a common-Wealth there must be both poor and rich, even as an human body cannot subsist without hands and feet to labour, and walk about to provide for the other members: so the rich being thebelly, which devour all, yet do no part of thework; but the cause of every man's poverty is not one and the same; some are poor by condition and content with their calling, and neither seek nor can work themselves into better condition ”

“ If you have money, you may become one of the Livery-men of London, an Assistant, a Warden, or a Master of a Company: but if you want money, you will never arrive to the honour of a beadle; for even for such an inferior employment you must make friends, and that cannot be done without bribes, nor can you bribe without money. If you have money, you may be an honest man, and a good man; but if you want money, you must be a knave by consequence.
Enquire of a rich man among his neighbours what he is, meaning only whether he be a substantial man, and one that is responsible ”

“ And this is the reason so many husbands travel beyond seas; or at home go from town to town, or from tavern to tavern, to look for company! and in a word, to spend any thing, to live any where, save at home, in their own houses, where they are sure to hear nothing but the brawlings of a scolding woman. ”

“ The times in no age was so hard as to deny industry and ingenuity a livelihood: and, in a word, rather to be in misery for want of money, let a man undertake any vocation and labour, and
Never think the labour coarse
That puts a penny in his purse.
The want of money is a great torment, and often puts men on unlawful shifts to procure it; therefore let every one who has got money, be careful to know its worth: for since we are born we must live, and it is hard to live upon a small share of it. ”

“ SINCE money is a thing so necessary and so useful, and the want of a competency of it, makes a man so very miserable, rendering him liable to all the scorn and contempt that an ill-natured world can throw upon him ”

“ Many also there are, who having been born to a good estate, have quite undone themselves by marriage, and that after a twofold manner; first, by matching themselves without advice of parents or friends, in heat of youth, unto proud, foolish, and light women, that one would better live on small allowance at a distance, than have a full meal at home, where he is always troubled with her never ceasing tongue. ”

“ So that in those times, considering the misery of wanting money is so great, we may say with the wise man, “My son, it is better to die than to be poor;" which saying was perhaps the oceasion of an old miser's mistake, who bid his son obscrve what Solomon said, “Always keep a penny in your pocket. ”

“ If of the inferior middle sort of tradesmen or artifieers, (for those are chiefly concerned in this unhappiness) let such,
First, be very diligent and industrious in their repective trades and callings, and not be slothful in business.
Secondly, Let him take heed of idleness, and all vain and idle companions, that loiter up and down, and squander away their time as if it were of no value, though it is the most precious thing in the world, there being nothing in the world that is a more certain indication of ruin and destruction, than the wasting and misimproving of our time. ”

“ And yet this is done by those that would take it ill to be charged therewith: as for instance, how many are there that spend a great deal of their time in Coffee-houses and Weekly- Clubs where, tho' but little money is pretended to be spent, yet a great deal of precious time is squandered away and lost! which many that frequent these places never think of, but measure their expenses only by what goes out of their pockets, not considering what they might have gained in the time by their labour, and what they might have saved by keeping at their shops. ”

“ Such was that extra-ordinary and surprising storm in November 1703, whereby many thousands were undone, as to their estates, besides the many lives that were lost: and such also was the dreadful fire in London, whereby some that had great estates the one week, had scarce bread to eat the next: and in the time of war many are unavoidably losers. But these must not be reekoned the common and ordinary ways that make and keep men poor. ”

“ I remember to have heard of a wealthy citizen of London, in Queen Elizabeths time, who left his son a great sum of money, who imagined he should never be able to spend it; would usually make ducks and drakes in the Thames with shil-lings, as boys were wont to do with tile sheards and oyster shells ”

“ The Esquire answered him very carelessly, Because the dog ran at him. Ran at you says Mr Justice. How did he run at you? To which Percy (being a comical sort of a man) replied, He ran at me thus, Bough! wough! wough! and therewith taking a little run at the Justice, threw him and his chair down together! Which Mr Justice locked upon as such affront to his worship, that nothing would atone for, but committing him to Newgate, aggravating the crime of killing the butchers dog, telling him. His dog was his servant, and that for ought he knew, himself or some of his gang, designed to rob his shop ”

“ As one observed, “be a good husband, and thou wilt soon get a penny to spend, a penny to lend, and a penny for thy friend." For I would have none to be such misers as to gain money only to keep, and not make use of it; for to such, money is the greatest curse, of which the world has bcen furnished with many instances. ”

“ Be sure not to keep company with drunkards and busy bodies, and all snch as are apt to talk much to little purpose; for no man can be provident of his time, that is not prudent in the choice of his company.
4. Beware of idleness, and fill up the empty spaces of your time in useful employments; for vice creeps in, when the soul is unemployed, and the body at ease. ”

“ The poor man had but little money, and less credit, and how to put himself in a way to live he knew not, his trade being none of the best for journeymen. However, picking up a little credit at one place, and a little at another, he addressed himself to the company he was free of and would fain have borrowed £50 of them ”

“ ASSURE yourself there can be no honest thriving without the fear of GOD, and the exercise of a good conscience and therefore, above all things, disengage yourself from that business and those diversions that stand in opposition with that godly fear, that ought to be a guide to you in all your actions. ”

“ Others have had great estates left unto them by their friends, and who never knew the pain and care of getting them, have, as one said truly, galloped through them in a very short time: these are such as Solomon speaketh of “who having riches have no hearts, or rather the wit, to use them. ”

“ Some again live in perpetual want, being naturally wholly given to idleness. These are thedrones of a common-wealth, who deserve not to live. “He that laboureth not, should not eat.- Labour night and day, rather than be burthensome," saith the Apostle Paul: both country and city swarm with this kind of people; "The diligent hand," saith Solomon, "shall make rich ”

“ When want comes, he that was profuse before, easily grows rapacious. It is extreme unhappiness to be thus composed of extremes, to be impatient both in plenty and want. And therefore let every man, for the better ordering of his expenses observe the following rules. ”

“ Thus we may see the misery of wanting money. The butcher could ccrtainly have punished Percy for killing his dog in such an unprovoked manner, and would have obtained it, had not the Justice discovered Percy's family, and let justice wink rather than offend the brother of a favourite of His Majesty's. The poor butcher must not only content himself with the loss of his dog, but be glad he escaped so well. It is just so, generally speaking, in every state of life ”

“ Both the English, Dutch, and French trending to the Indians with it, above six hundred miles north and south from England; which is sufficient to shew, that the use of money is very ancient, and is made use of by all nations in treading with each other ”

“ And if he keeps servants, the want of his presence at home may have occasioned his losing as much as he could have gained himself; so that his spending a groat morning and night, (which is twopenee each time) cannot be accounted less than the loss of 2s 8d a-day, which comes to 14s a week, and £36 10s a-year. which sum if saved, until his eldest son arrived at 21 years of age, and so fit for marriage, and to set up in trade, would have amounted to £750 10s. They who would live so as not to want money, must avoid all such idle and needless expenses, and unnecessary loss of time. ”