Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Part 21 summary
Part 21 of 23 · 4 min to read the part
In The Way to Wealth, an unnamed speaker uses Poor Richard’s sayings to argue that diligence, careful business management, and thrift protect people from poverty. The argument moves from wasted time to neglected duties and unnecessary spending, then closes by warning that advice cannot force anyone to change.
What happens
- The speaker compares idleness to a heavy tax and urges readers to treat time as something they cannot recover.
- Sayings about work, trades, and persistence present diligence as the practical route to prosperity.
- The speaker distinguishes useful leisure from laziness and recommends personal attention to business.
- A rider’s death illustrates how neglecting one small detail can produce disastrous consequences.
- The argument adds thrift, warning that small expenses, unnecessary purchases, and borrowing lead toward poverty.
- The conclusion stresses that people must act on advice rather than depend on painful experience.
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How does the speaker distinguish leisure from laziness?
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