Contentment Defined for American Children in 1787

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 894-894
Author(s):  
T. E. C.
Keyword(s):  
School Children ◽  
Benjamin Franklin ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Probability Of Success ◽  
The Rich ◽  
American Children

In 1787 a Philadelphia printer published a book for school children entitled "Miscellanies in Prose and Verse for the Improvement of Young Persons of Both Sexes." Benjamin Franklin expressed his approval of this book in these words: "A book containing so many well chosed sentiments and excellent instructions, put into the hands of our children cannot but be highly useful to the rising generation." The following is a lesson from this book: Forget not that thy station on earth is appointed by the wisdom of the eternal; who knoweth thy heart, who seeth the vanity of all thy wishes, and who in mercy often denieth thy requests; yet for all reasonable desires, for all honest endeavours, his benevolence hath appointed, in the nature of things, a probability of success. The uneasiness thou feelest, the misfortunes thou bewailest, behold the root from whence they spring, even thine own folly, thine own pride, thine own distempered fancy; murmur not therefore at the dispensations of God, but correct thine own heart; neither say within thyself, if I had wealth or power, or leisure, I should be happy; for know, they all of them bring of their several possessors their peculiar inconveniencies. The poor man seeth not the vexations and anxieties of the rich; he feeleth not the difficulties and perplexities of power, neither the wearisomeness of leisure, and therefore it is that he repineth at his own lot. But envy not the appearance of happiness in any man, for thou knowest not his griefs.

A SHORT ESSAY ON CONTENTMENT READ BY AMERICAN CHILDREN IN THE 1780'S

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 845-845
Author(s):  
T. E. C.
Keyword(s):  
American Revolution ◽  
Social Order ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
Probability Of Success ◽  
The Rich ◽  
American Children ◽  
Short Essay ◽  
Divine Law

Early children's schoolbooks in this country leaned heavily On the belief that Divine Law foreordained a man's station in life. Not to accept this tenet led to discontentment and-even worse-pride and arrogance. The "contentment" that comes from accepting one's place in the social order is clearly described in a passage from one of the first children's readers written just after the American Revolution. Contentment Forget not that thy station on earth is appointed by the wisdom of the eternal; who knoweth thy heart, who seeth the vanity of all thy wishes, and who in mercy often denieth thy request; yet for all reasonable desires, for all honest endeavors, his benevolence hath appointed, in the nature of things, a probability of success. The uneasiness thou feelest, the misfortunes thou bewailest, behold the root from whence they spring, even thine own folly, thine own pride, thine own distempered fancy; murmur not therefore at the dispensations of God, but correct thine own heart; neither say within thyself, if I had wealth or power, or leisure, I should be happy; for know, they all of them bring to their several possessors their peculiar inconveniences. The poor man seeth not the vexations and anxieties of the rich; he feeleth not the difficulties and perplexities of power, neither the wearisomeness of leisure, and therefore it is that he repineth at his own lot. But envy not the appearance of happiness in any man, for thou knowest not his griefs. To be satisfied with a little, is the greatest wisdom; and he that encreaseth his riches, encreaseth his cares; but a contented mind is a hidden treasure, and trouble findeth it not.

Editor's Note

2004 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. i-iii
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Education ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Ethnic Origin ◽  
Fair Use ◽  
Good Education ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich

In this election year, 2004, people are grappling with the various forces that make up these United States. What forces encourage inclusion and which exclusion? Who is to be included and who excluded? Is this to be a country with wide discrepancies between the rich and the poor? Is this to be a country where public education is poorly funded and a good education depends upon private resources? Are we going to forget that discrimination on the basis of gender, race, ethnic origin, and economic status still exists and needs to be perpetually, vigilantly addressed? There is a deep division in the country over the proper and fair use of our resources that constitutes concern in all our citizens

A Final Muse

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wendell Moller
Keyword(s):  
Human Beings ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich

Why are kings without pity for their subjects? Because they count on never being common human beings. Why are the rich so hard toward the poor? It is because they have no fear of being poor. . . .—Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Émile; or, On Education1In Shakespeare’s ...

“One law for the rich and one law for the poor.”

1890 ◽  
Vol s7-IX (224) ◽  
pp. 288-288
Author(s):  
H. Fishwick
Keyword(s):  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich

THE FINANCIAL RETURN OF CEREAL FARMING FOR SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF ETHIOPIA

2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
LALISA ALEMAYEHU DUGUMA ◽  
IKA DARNHOFER ◽  
HERBERT HAGER
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Labour Productivity ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Financial Return ◽  
Net Return ◽  
Net Returns ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Central Highlands ◽  
The Rich

SUMMARYA study was conducted in Suba area, central highlands of Ethiopia, to assess the net return, land and labour productivity, and the return to scale of cereal farming practice. Seventy-five farmers belonging to three local wealth classes (poor, medium and rich) were randomly selected and interviewed about inputs and outputs related to cereal farming for the production year 2007/2008. Farm soil properties were investigated to check the variability in soil quality among the wealth classes. Benefit:cost ratio (BCR), net returns and annual profit were used to indicate the worthiness of the cereal farming activity. The return to scale was estimated by using the Cobb–Douglas production function. The results show that cereal farming is a rewarding practice, with the rich households gaining more profit than the poor. Farm size was the most important variable that affects the net return. There is an increasing return to scale. However, it is unlikely that farmers will have more land than they own at present because of the land shortage problem in the country caused by the increasing human population. Thus, attention should be given to minimizing the costs of production through proper regulation of domestic fertilizer costs and increasing labour productivity especially for the poor and medium households. The use of manure and compost as an additional fertilizer should also be promoted.

scholarly journals Vertical position can affect categorization of the rich and the poor in Chinese culture

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 183449092110257
Author(s):  
Qiong Li ◽  
Chen Deng ◽  
Bin Zuo ◽  
Xiaobin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Social Categorization ◽  
High Income ◽  
Vertical Position ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Rich

This study explored whether vertical position affects social categorization of the rich and the poor. Experiment 1 used high- and low-income occupations as stimuli, and found participants categorized high-income occupations faster when they were presented in the top vertical position compared to the bottom vertical position. In Experiment 2, participants responded using either the “up” or “down” key to categorize high- and low-income occupations, and responded faster to high-income occupations with the “up” key and low-income occupations with the “down” key. In Experiment 3, names identified as belonging to either rich or poor individuals were presented at the top or bottom of a screen, and the results were the same as in Experiments 1 and 2. These findings suggest that social categorization based on wealth involved perceptual simulations of vertical position, and that vertical position affects the social categorization of the rich and the poor.

The effects of debt restructurings on income inequality in the developing world

2021 ◽  
pp. 135406612110014
Author(s):  
Glen Biglaiser ◽  
Ronald J. McGauvran
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Government Spending ◽  
Tax Reform ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Impact

Developing countries, saddled with debts, often prefer investors absorb losses through debt restructurings. By not making full repayments, debtor governments could increase social spending, serving poorer constituents, and, in turn, lowering income inequality. Alternatively, debtor governments could reduce taxes and cut government spending, bolstering the assets of the rich at the expense of the poor. Using panel data for 71 developing countries from 1986 to 2016, we assess the effects of debt restructurings on societal income distribution. Specifically, we study the impact of debt restructurings on social spending, tax reform, and income inequality. We find that countries receiving debt restructurings tend to use their newly acquired economic flexibility to reduce taxes and lower social spending, worsening income inequality. The results are also robust to different model specifications. Our study contributes to the globalization and the poor debate, suggesting the economic harm caused to the less well-off following debt restructurings.

The Relative Fertility of the Rich and the Poor

BMJ ◽  
1904 ◽  
Vol 2 (2286) ◽  
pp. 1116-1116
Author(s):  
W. R. Williams
Keyword(s):  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Relative Fertility
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