And again:
Charm, courage, eloquence, good looks,
And thorough mastery of books
(If money does not back the same)
Are useless in the social game.
"Better be dead than penniless. As the story goes:
A beggar to the graveyard hied
And there 'Friend corpse, arise,' he cried;
'One moment lift my heavy weight
Of poverty; for I of late
Grow weary, and desire instead
Your comfort: you are good and dead.'
The corpse was silent. He was sure
'Twas better to be dead than poor.
"So let us at any cost strive to make money. For the saying goes:
Money gets you anything,
Gets it in a flash:
Therefore let the prudent get
Cash, cash, cash.
"Now this cash comes to men in six ways. They are: (1) begging for charity, (2) flunkeyism at a court, (3) farmwork, (4) the learned professions, (5) usury, (6) trade.
"However, among all these methods of making money, trade is the only one without a hitch in it. For
Kings' favor is a thing unstable;
Crows peck at winnings charitable;
You make, in learning the professions,
Too many wearisome concessions
To teachers; farms are too much labor;
In usury you lend your neighbor
