Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Canons for life

I was reading the works of Thomas Jefferson, and was struck by a letter he wrote in 1825 to a son of an old friend. In the letter he wrote the following:

A Decalogue of Canons for Observations in Practical Life

1.   Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today
2.   Never trouble another for what you can do yourself
3.   Never spend your money before you have it
4.   Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap; it will be dear to you
5.   Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold
6.   We never repent of having eaten too little
7.   Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly
8.   How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened
9.   Take things always by their smooth handle
10. When angry count ten before you speak; if very angry , a hundred.

Advice to help us live even today.

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