Letters from a Father to His Son

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be,
For loans often lose both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of industry."
You will hear people say how riches are to be despised, that good
men ought to set their hearts on things of more importance, and
a great deal of apparently very good morality of a like nature.
There is a vast deal of truth in all this. Yet I never yet happened to
meet with the man who really despised riches. Property, honestly
and honorably acquired, is a credit; and the proper use of wealth
entitles its owner to consideration and respect, and he receives it.
You are not to make the acquisition of riches your sole or greatest
object in life. No one praises a miser or a greedy and stingy person.
That is the extreme on the one hand, as profligacy and idle
extravagance is on the other. Good sense points to a happy
medium.
Prudence also regulates our labors with reference to our health—
invites us to take proper air and exercise, prevents the
unrestrained indulgence of our appetites, and recommends to us
early rising and the avoidance of late hours, and unnatural and
harmful excitement.
In forming new friendships, and especially such as are likely to be
of a permanent character, it is requisite for us to be very prudent.
We should satisfy ourselves fully of the character of an associate,
that it is suitable to our own, and that there are no circumstances
attending the disposition, connections, or prospects of the party
which render it likely that at some future day we may have cause
to regret our engagement. This is particularly applicable as well
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