“The poor man must walk to get meat for his stomach, the rich man to get a stomach for his meat.”
This pamphlet was written by Benjamin Franklin under
the pseudonym of “Poor Richard”. A prototype of the Farmer’s Alamanac, it
contained a calendar, poems, a section on weather as well as astronomical and
astrological information.
The version I read contains ONLY the sayings. The majority
of them have fallen into obscurity and disuse but a few have survived intact
into modern times: “Haste makes waste” and “Well done is better than well said”
for example. On occasion the sayings are difficult to parse due to archaic
diction, religious references and the evolution of technology. Throughout the
book there are wood engravings, both pastoral and urban that break up the text.
The almanac was a popular work when it was published,
selling thousands of copies a year. Even Napoleon knew of the work as he had it
translated into Italian. As well a ship, gifted from Louis XVI to US naval
commander John Paul Jones, was renamed after Franklin, who happened to be serving
as Ambassador to France at the time.
It’s an interesting read but the full version of the almanac
may make for a more fulfilling read.
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