Wit and Wisdom from Poor Richard's Almanack (Dover Thrift Editions: Speeches/Quotations) - Softcover

Benjamin Franklin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486408914 ISBN 13: 9780486408910

Publisher: Dover Publications, 1999

Synopsis

First published in 1732 by Benjamin Franklin when he was just 26, Poor Richard's Almanack was issued annually for the next 25 years. Extremely popular with readers of the day, the Almanack was a fascinating compilation of weather predictions, recipes, jokes, and delightful aphorisms — many representing Franklin's common-sense philosophy, and others, proverbs from the past.
This handy little volume presents hundreds of these charming maxims, carefully selected from a number of Franklin's "almanacks." Arranged in nearly 30 categories (eating and drinking; men, women, and marriage; friendships; money and frugality; religion; professions and occupations, etc.), they include such familiar phrases as:
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
Haste makes waste.
Love your Neighbour; yet don't pulldown your Hedge.
He that lies down with Dogs, shall rise up with fleas.
Hunger never saw bad bread.
He's a Fool that makes his Doctor his Heir.
He that has not got a Wife, is not yet a compleat Man.
An ideal sourcebook for writers, public speakers, and students, this practical and entertaining little book will also delight general readers with its rich store of time-honored folk wisdom.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack was first published in 1733. Facing heavy competition from similar publications, Franklin took the unusual and controversial approach of injecting witty, unexpected entries between standard tables of tides, planetary motion, weather predictions and other facts. In the debut edition, faithfully reproduced here, he included under the heading Principal Kings of Europe, ""Poor Richard, an American Prince, without subjects, his wife being Viceroy over him, born October 23, 1684, age 49."" The Almanack went on to become the most popular book of it's kind in colonial America and was published annually for the next 25 years. This facsimile offers a unique and entertaining look at 18th century American life and humor.

From the Inside Flap:

Franklin's Autobiography is one of the most famous works in American literature. He started it as a private collection of anecdotes for his son, but soon it was transformed into a work of history, both personal and national, revealing Franklin as the man who, as Herman Melville said, possessed "deep worldly wisdom and polished Italian tact, gleaming under an air of Arcadian unaffectedness.

"From the Hardcover edition.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0486408914
• ISBN 13: 9780486408910
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 64