Tao Te Ching
1739 edition
Poor Richard's Almanack
Famous worldwide and written under Benjamin Franklin’s pseudonym, "Poor Richard" or "Richard Saunders”; this Almanack was hugely popular when written and the influence continues today. It mixed puzzles, serial “news” stories (many fictional), weather forecasts, and entertaining tidbits with practical wisdom in the tradition of (and often taken from) Aesop, Sakya Pandita, and Balthasar Gracian. Creatively mixing fact and fiction, current confusion and ancient wisdom, a fictional persona with contemporary politics; Franklin made one of the most lasting impacts on American culture.
Quotes from Poor Richard's Almanack
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“'Tis easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it... And, after all, of what use is this pride of appearance for which so much is risked so much suffered? It cannot promote health, or ease pain; it creates envy, it hastens misfortune.”
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“A ploughman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees.”
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“A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.”
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9. Know When to Stop
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“An old young man will be a young old man.”
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47. Effortless Success
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“Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.”
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“Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you’ll understand what little chance you have in changing others.”
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29. Not Doing
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“Constant complaint is the poorest sort of pay for all the comforts we enjoy.”
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“Good Sense is a thing all need, few have, and none think they lack.”
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33. Know Yourself
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“Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.”
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“Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activiites.”
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“He that falls in love with himself, will have no rivals.”
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67. Three Treasures
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“He wished to please everybody; and, having little to give, he gave expectations.”
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48. Unlearning
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“I have never seen the Philosopher’s Stone that turns lead into Gold, but I have known the pursuit of it turn a Man’s Gold into Lead.”
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53. Shameless Thieves
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“If everyone is thinking alike, no one is thinking.”
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“If you would have a faithful servant, and one that you like, serve yourself.”
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“In the affairs of this world, men are saved not by Faith,but by the lack of it.”
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“In the affairs of this world, men are saved, not by faith, but by the want of it...Not to oversee workmen is to leave them your purse open. Trusting too much to others' care is the ruin of many”
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“it being more difficult for a man in want to act honestly… ‘it is hard for an empty sack to stand upright.’”
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53. Shameless Thieves
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“Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards..”
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29. Not Doing
61. Lying Low
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“Neither trust, nor contend, lay wagers, nor lend; and you’ll have peace until your life's end.”
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57. Wu Wei
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“Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”
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3. Weak Wishes, Strong Bones
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“Silence is not always a sign of wisdom but babbling is ever a mark of folly.”
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37. Nameless Simplicity
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“Teach your child to hold his tongue, he’ll learn fast enough to speak.”
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60. Less is More
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“The artificial wants of mankind thus become more numerous than the natural... Buy what you have no need of, and before long you will have to sell the necessaries.”
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“The best way of doing good to the poor is not making poverty easy for them, but leading or driving them out of it.”
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“The poor have little,
Beggars none;
The rich too much,
Enough not one.”
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50. Claws and Swords
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“The used key is always bright.”
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“Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.”
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“Where there's marriage without love, there will be love without marriage.”
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“Who is wise? He that learns from everyone. Who is powerful? He that governs his passions. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.”
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63. Easy as Hard
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