Benjamin Franklin was, among other things, the publisher of Poor Richard’s Almanac in colonial America. The Almanack contained the annual calendar, weather, poetry, astronomical information, along with math exercises and various sayings and proverbs. Franklin himself said that a chief aim of the Almanack was to inculcate.
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.
That is, being an upright citizen at some level requires “industry and frugality.”
So, does that mean only rich people can be upright in conduct? Surely not. The Almanack itself was written principally for people who were not wealthy. What Franklin was saying, though, is that poverty not only can be the result of a lack of virtue (wastefulness and laziness), but it makes acting uprightly even more difficult.
When we fail to plant and harvest in season, we risk going hungry in the winter…and are more likely to steal someone else’s food when we are in dire need. When we fail to prepare for an exam, we will be unprepared on exam day, and are more tempted to cheat because we have not done the work beforehand.
Being upright in conduct is not just doing the right thing in the moment of consequence. It is doing the work that leads up to the moment as well, because “it is hard for an empty sack to stand upright.”
Have a wonderful day.
