work, unquestionably practical in its whole character, and of unequivocal utility; one which operated with palpable benefit on the general habits of the community, extended his own reputation and influence, and contributed materially to his pecuniary advantage. This was the publication, under the name of Richard Saunders, of the almanac, which afterward became so celebrated and popular as "Poor Richard's Almanac." He issued the first one of the annual series on the 19th of December, 1732, when he was drawing near the end of the twenty-seventh year of his age; and he continued the publication for about twenty-five years: the number of copies for each year, during most of that period, amounting to nearly ten thousand.

The character which he gave to this publication presents conclusive proof of his desire to do good, and of his fidelity to the principles of sound morality and the maxims of an honest life. Passing as it did, year after year, into many thousand families, very many of them being exceedingly limited in their pecuniary means, having few or none of the advantages of education, and engaged in occupations too full of labor to allow more than occasional and scanty opportunity for obtaining information from books, such a publication as Franklin furnished them was undoubedly valuable to them as a vehicle of instruction; and he availed himself of it for that purpose with such benevolent assiduity, so judiciously, and with such marked success, that in the course of four or five weeks after the first issue, it became necessary to print three editions of the very first number. And although, in subsequent years, the first edition for the year was greatly enlarged, yet still further issues became frequently necessary to supply the demand for it.

One of the features of this almanac which rendered it at that day most attractive and useful, was the great num

ber of maxims of practical, proverbial wisdom, with which its pages were richly stored. "I filled," says he, "all the little spaces that occurred between the remarkable days in the calendar, with proverbial sentences; chiefly such as inculcated industry and frugality as the means of procuring wealth, and thereby securing virtue; it being more difficult for a man in want to act always honestly, as, to use here one of those proverbs, "It is hard for an empty sack to stand upright.”

When about to relinquish the publication of his almanac, he gathered these scattered maxims together, and in order to render them more permanently useful, he wove them into a regular discourse, supposed to have been delivered by an aged man to a company of both sexes at a public auction. This discourse he entitled "The Way to Wealth," and prefixed it to the last number of his almanac, published for the year 1757. It soon appeared in all the colonial newspapers; and on reaching England, it was printed on one large sheet, to be hung against the wall of a room, that "the way to wealth" might always be in sight, and spread all over the British islands. It was, moreover, translated into French twice (in 1773 and 1778) during Franklin's life, and once at least after his death. Of each of these translations several editions were issued, and the clergy and gentry distributed the copies gratuitously in great numbers among the poorer classes.

Besides all this, in 1823, when the Greeks had entered into their struggle for national independence, "The Way to Wealth" was published at Paris for distribution among them, with a brief account of the author, in Romaic, or modern Greek.

The performance in question is so celebrated, contains so much of the common sense and practical wisdom of past ages, and its maxims are so well fitted for the daily guidance of common life, that it is transcribed here, in

THE WAY TO WEALTH.

209

full, as being essential to one of the leading purposes of this book.

THE WAY TO WEALTH,

As clearly shown in the Preface of an old Pennsylvania Almanac, entitled, Poor Richard Improved."

COURTEOUS READER: I have heard that nothing gives an author so great pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by others. Judge, then, how much I must have been gratified by an incident I am going to relate to you. I stopped my horse lately where a great number of people were collected at an auction of merchants' goods. The hour of the sale not being come, they were conversing on the badness of the times; and one of the company called to a plain, clean old man, with white locks- 66 Pray, Father Abraham, what think you of the times? Will not these heavy taxes quite ruin the country? How shall we ever be able to pay them? What would you advise us to?" Father Abraham stood up and replied, “If you would have my advice, I will give it you in short; for A word to the wise is enough, as Poor Richard says." They joined in desiring him to speak his mind, and gathering round him, he proceeded as follows::

66

Friends," said he, "the taxes are indeed very heavy, and if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly; and from these taxes the commissioners can not ease or deliver us, by allowing an abatement. However, let us hearken to good advice, and something may be done for us; for God helps them that help themselves, as Poor Richard says.