“ Buy what thou hast no need of, and ere long thou shalt sell thy necessaries. ”
Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1791). copy citation
| Author | Benjamin Franklin |
|---|---|
| Source | The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin |
| Topic | need money sale |
| Date | 1791 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20203/20203-h/20203-h.htm |
Context
“You may think perhaps, that a little Tea, or a little Punch now and then, Diet a little more costly, Clothes a little finer, and a little Entertainment now and then, can be no great Matter; but remember what Poor Richard says, Many a Little makes a Mickle.
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. Buy what thou hast no Need of, and ere long thou shalt sell thy Necessaries. If you would know the Value of Money, go and try to borrow some; for, he that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing. The second Vice is Lying, the first is running in Debt. Lying rides upon Debt's Back. Poverty often deprives a Man of all Spirit and Virtue: 'Tis hard for an empty Bag to stand upright.” source
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. Buy what thou hast no Need of, and ere long thou shalt sell thy Necessaries. If you would know the Value of Money, go and try to borrow some; for, he that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing. The second Vice is Lying, the first is running in Debt. Lying rides upon Debt's Back. Poverty often deprives a Man of all Spirit and Virtue: 'Tis hard for an empty Bag to stand upright.” source
Meaning and analysis
