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第14章 致富之道 1（第1页）

eWaytoWealth

本杰明·富兰克林

BenjaminFranklin

本杰明·富兰克林（1706—1790），18世纪美国最伟大的科学家、著名的政治家和文学家。他生于波士顿，幼年家境贫穷，一生只受过两年正式教育。1726年，他出版了《穷查理历书》，当时被译成12种文字，畅销欧美各国，也奠定了他在文学上的地位。独立战争爆发后，他参加了第二届大陆会议和《独立宣言》的起草工作。

PracticingforBetterLearning

Listentothefollowingarticletwice，andfillintheblankswitharoriatewords。

2。Iftimebeofallthingsthemost________，wastingtimemustbe，asPoorRichardsays，thegreatest________；since，asheelsewheretellsus，losttimeisneverfoundagain；andwhatwecalltimeenough，alwaysroveslittleenough。

3。Whereasindustrygivescomfort，andlenty，andresect：fly________，andthey’llfollowyou；The________________hasalargeshift；andnowIhaveasheeandacow，everybodybidsme____________；allofwhichiswellsaidbyPoorRichard。

CourteousReader，

Ihaveheardthatnothinggivesanauthorsogreatleasure，astofindhisworksresectfullyquotedbyotherlearnedauthors。ThisleasureIhaveseldomenjoyed；forthoughIhavebeen，ifImaysayitwithoutvanity，aneminentauthorofalmanacsannuallynowafullquarterofacentury，mybrotherauthorsinthesameway，forwhatreasonIknownot，haveeverbeenverysaringintheiralause，andnootherauthorhastakentheleastnoticeofme，sothatdidnotmywritingsroducemesomesolidudding，thegreatdeficiencyofraisewouldhavequitediscouragedme。

Iconcludedatlength，thattheeolewerethebestjudgesofmymerit；fortheybuymyworks；andbesides，inmyrambles，whereIamnotersonallyknown，Ihavefrequentlyheardoneorotherofmyadagesreeatedwith“asPoorRichardsays”attheendon’t；thisgavemesomesatisfaction，asitshowednotonlythatmyinstructionswereregarded，butdiscoveredlikewisesomeresectformyauthority；andIown，thattoencouragetheracticeofrememberingandreeatingthosewisesentences，Ihavesometimesquotedmyselfwithgreatgravity。

Judge，then，howmuchImusthavebeengratifiedbyanincidentIamgoingtorelatetoyou。Istoedmyhorselatelywhereagreatnumberofeolewerecollectedatavendueofmerchantgoods。Thehourofsalenotbeingcome，theywereconversingonthebadnessofthetimesandoneofthecomanycalledtoalaincleanoldman，withwhitelocks，“Pray，FatherAbraham，whatthinkyouofthetimes？Won’ttheseheavytaxesquiteruinthecountry？Howshallwebeeverabletoaythem？Whatwouldyouadviseusto？”FatherAbrahamstoodu，andrelied，“Ifyou’dhavemyadvice，I’llgiveittoyouinshort，forawordtothewiseisenough，andmanywordswon’tfillabushel，asPoorRichardsays。”Theyjoinedindesiringhimtoseakhismind，andgatheringroundhim，heroceededasfollows：

“Friends，”sayshe，“andneighbors，thetaxesareindeedveryheavy，andifthoselaidonbythegovernmentweretheonlyoneswehadtoay，wemightmoreeasilydischargethem；butwehavemanyothers，andmuchmoregrievoustosomeofus。Wearetaxedtwiceasmuchbyouridleness，threetimesasmuchbyourride，andfourtimesasmuchbyourfolly；andfromthesetaxesthecommissionerscannoteaseordeliverusbyallowinganabatement。However，letushearkentogoodadvice，andsomethingmaybedoneforus；Godhelsthemthathelthemselves，asPoorRichardsays，inhisAlmanackof1733。”

“Itwouldbethoughtahardgovernmentthatshouldtaxitseoleone-tenthartoftheirtime，tobeemloyedinitsservice。Butidlenesstaxesmanyofusmuchmore，ifwereckonallthatissentinabsolutesloth，ordoingofnothing，withthatwhichissentinidleemloyments，oramusements，thatamounttonothing。Sloth，bybringingondiseases，absolutelyshortenslife。Sloth，likerust，consumesfasterthanlaborwears；whiletheusedkeyisalwaysbright，asPoorRichardsays。Butdostthoulovelife，thendonotsquandertime，forthat’sthestufflifeismadeof，asPoorRichardsays。Howmuchmorethanisnecessarydowesendinslee，forgettingthatthesleeingfoxcatchesnooultryandthattherewillbesleeingenoughinthegrave，asPoorRichardsays。”

“Iftimebeofallthingsthemostrecious，wastingtimemustbe，asPoorRichardsays，thegreatestrodigality；since，asheelsewheretellsus，losttimeisneverfoundagain；andwhatwecalltimeenough，alwaysroveslittleenough。Letusthenuandbedoing，anddoingtotheurose；sobydiligenceshallwedomorewithlesserlexity。Slothmakesallthingsdifficult，butindustryalleasy，asPoorRichardsays；andhethatrisethlatemusttrotallday，andshallscarceovertakehisbusinessatnight；whilelazinesstravelssoslowly，thatovertysoonovertakeshim，aswereadinPoorRichard，whoadds，drivethybusiness，letnotthatdrivethee，andearlytobed，andearlytorise，makesamanhealthy，wealthyandwise。”