- end_line
- 1997
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:05.590Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 1955
- text
-
“But he drank a bottle of wine; he did not eat seventy-two two-penny
rolls, Doctor.”
“He drank the money worth of seventy-two loaves, which is drinking the
loaves themselves; for money is bread.”
“But he has plenty of money to spare, Doctor.”
“To have to spare, is to have to give away. Does the gentleman give
much away?”
“Not that I know of, Doctor.”
“Then he thinks he has nothing to spare; and thinking he has nothing to
spare, and yet prodigally drinking down his money as he does every day,
it seems to me that that gentleman stands self- contradicted, and
therefore is no good example for plain sensible folks like you and me
to follow. My honest friend, if you are poor, avoid wine as a costly
luxury; if you are rich, shun it as a fatal indulgence. Stick to plain
water. And now, my good friend, if you are through with your meal, we
will rise. There is no pastry coming. Pastry is poisoned bread. Never
eat pastry. Be a plain man, and stick to plain things. Now, my friend,
I shall have to be private until nine o’clock in the evening, when I
shall be again at your service. Meantime you may go to your room. I
have ordered the one next to this to be prepared for you. But you must
not be idle. Here is Poor Richard’s Almanac, which, in view of our late
conversation, I commend to your earnest perusal. And here, too, is a
Guide to Paris, an English one, which you can read. Study it well, so
that when you come back from England, if you should then have an
opportunity to travel about Paris, to see its wonders, you will have
all the chief places made historically familiar to you. In this world,
men must provide knowledge before it is wanted, just as our countrymen
in New England get in their winter’s fuel one season, to serve them the
next.”
So saying, this homely sage, and household Plato, showed his humble
guest to the door, and standing in the hall, pointed out to him the one
which opened into his allotted apartment.
- title
- Chunk 5