2022-11-03_Seven_Cures_for_a_Lean_Purse
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00:00:30.620 | The glory of Babylon endures.
00:00:34.160 | Down through the ages, its reputation comes to us
00:00:37.160 | as the richest of cities, its treasures as fabulous.
00:00:41.900 | Yet, it was not always so.
00:00:44.800 | The riches of Babylon were the results
00:00:46.980 | of the wisdom of its people.
00:00:48.940 | They first had to learn how to become wealthy.
00:00:52.380 | When the good king, Sargon, returned to Babylon
00:00:55.280 | after defeating his enemies, the Elamites,
00:00:58.020 | he was confronted with a serious situation.
00:01:01.120 | The royal chancellor explained it to the king thus,
00:01:04.760 | "After many years of great prosperity brought to our people
00:01:07.860 | because your majesty built the great irrigation canals
00:01:11.000 | and the mighty temples of the gods,
00:01:13.000 | now that these works are completed,
00:01:14.640 | the people seem unable to support themselves.
00:01:17.800 | The laborers are without employment.
00:01:20.300 | The merchants have few customers.
00:01:22.480 | The farmers are unable to sell their produce.
00:01:25.740 | The people have not enough gold to buy food."
00:01:29.280 | "But where has all the gold gone
00:01:30.680 | that we spent for these great improvements?"
00:01:32.760 | demanded the king.
00:01:34.380 | "It has found its way, I fear," responded the chancellor,
00:01:38.300 | "into the possession of a few very rich men of our city.
00:01:42.760 | It filtered through the fingers of most of our people
00:01:45.500 | as quickly as the goat's milk goes through the strainer.
00:01:48.740 | Now that the stream of gold has ceased to flow,
00:01:52.040 | most of our people have nothing to show for their earnings."
00:01:56.040 | The king was thoughtful for some time.
00:01:58.480 | Then he asked,
00:01:59.720 | "Why should so few men be able to acquire all the gold?"
00:02:04.360 | "Because they know how," replied the chancellor.
00:02:07.260 | "One may not condemn a man for succeeding
00:02:09.500 | because he knows how.
00:02:11.240 | Neither may one with justice take away from a man
00:02:14.540 | what he has fairly earned to give to men of less ability."
00:02:19.540 | "But why," demanded the king,
00:02:21.700 | "should not all the people learn how to accumulate gold
00:02:24.860 | and therefore become themselves rich and prosperous?"
00:02:29.100 | "Quite possible, your excellency.
00:02:31.100 | But who can teach them?
00:02:32.580 | Certainly not the priests
00:02:34.220 | because they know not of money-making."
00:02:37.040 | "Who knows best in all our city
00:02:38.600 | how to become wealthy, chancellor?" asked the king.
00:02:42.280 | "That question answers itself, your majesty.
00:02:44.860 | Who has amassed the greatest wealth in Babylon?"
00:02:48.960 | "Well said, my able chancellor.
00:02:51.040 | It is Arkad.
00:02:52.520 | He is the richest man in Babylon.
00:02:55.160 | Bring him before me on the morrow."
00:02:57.440 | Upon the following day, as the king had decreed,
00:03:00.760 | Arkad appeared before him, straight and sprightly,
00:03:04.260 | despite his three score years and 10.
00:03:07.120 | "Arkad," spoke the king,
00:03:08.960 | "is it true thou art the richest man in Babylon?"
00:03:13.460 | "So it is reported, your majesty, and no man disputes it."
00:03:17.780 | "How becamest thou so wealthy?"
00:03:20.920 | "By taking advantage of opportunities available
00:03:23.000 | to all citizens of our good city."
00:03:25.500 | "Thou hadst nothing to start with?"
00:03:27.640 | "Only a great desire for wealth.
00:03:30.160 | Besides this, nothing."
00:03:32.760 | "Arkad," continued the king,
00:03:34.620 | "our city is in a very unhappy state
00:03:38.160 | because a few men know how to acquire wealth
00:03:40.960 | and therefore monopolize it,
00:03:42.980 | while the mass of our citizens lack the knowledge
00:03:45.360 | of how to keep any part of the gold they receive.
00:03:48.760 | It is my desire that Babylon be the wealthiest city
00:03:51.820 | in the world.
00:03:52.840 | Therefore, it must be a city of many wealthy men.
00:03:56.640 | Therefore, we must teach all the people
00:03:58.880 | how to acquire riches.
00:04:00.820 | Tell me, Arkad, is there any secret to acquiring wealth?
00:04:05.020 | Can it be taught?"
00:04:06.140 | "It is practical, your majesty.
00:04:09.360 | That which one man knows can be taught to others."
00:04:13.460 | The king's eyes glowed.
00:04:15.680 | "Arkad, thou speakest the words I wish to hear.
00:04:19.360 | Wilt thou lend thyself to this great cause?
00:04:22.800 | Wilt thou teach thy knowledge to a school for teachers,
00:04:26.560 | each of whom shall teach others
00:04:28.280 | until there are enough trained to teach these truths
00:04:30.720 | to every worthy subject in my domain?"
00:04:32.980 | Arkad bowed and said,
00:04:35.900 | "I am thy humble servant to command.
00:04:38.040 | Whatever knowledge I possess,
00:04:39.400 | will I gladly give for the betterment of my fellow men
00:04:42.480 | and the glory of my king.
00:04:44.360 | Let your good chancellor arrange for me a class of 100 men,
00:04:48.160 | and I will teach to them those seven cures
00:04:51.800 | which did fatten my purse,
00:04:53.820 | then which there was none leaner in all Babylon."
00:04:58.280 | A fortnight later, in compliance with the king's command,
00:05:00.960 | the chosen hundred assembled in the great hall
00:05:03.480 | of the Temple of Learning,
00:05:04.800 | seated upon colorful rings in a semicircle.
00:05:08.080 | Arkad sat beside a small tabaret,
00:05:10.800 | upon which smoked a sacred lamp,
00:05:13.160 | sending forth a strange and pleasing odor.
00:05:16.720 | "Behold, the richest man in Babylon," whispered a student,
00:05:20.640 | nudging his neighbor as Arkad arose.
00:05:23.280 | "He is but a man, even as the rest of us."
00:05:26.580 | "As a dutiful subject of our great king," Arkad began,
00:05:30.580 | "I stand before you in his service,
00:05:33.120 | because once I was a poor youth who did greatly desire gold,
00:05:37.440 | and because I found knowledge that enabled me to acquire it,
00:05:40.800 | he asks that I impart unto you my knowledge.
00:05:44.520 | I started my fortune in the humblest way.
00:05:47.680 | I had no advantage, not enjoyed as fully by you
00:05:50.880 | and every citizen in Babylon.
00:05:53.160 | The first storehouse of my treasure was a well-worn purse.
00:05:57.680 | I loathed its useless emptiness.
00:06:00.800 | I desired that it be round and full,
00:06:03.460 | clinking with the sound of gold.
00:06:05.880 | Therefore, I sought every remedy for a lean purse.
00:06:09.640 | I found seven.
00:06:12.000 | To you who are assembled before me,
00:06:13.860 | shall I explain the seven cures for a lean purse,
00:06:17.320 | which I do recommend to all men who desire much gold.
00:06:21.320 | Each day for seven days,
00:06:23.080 | will I explain to you one of the seven remedies.
00:06:26.560 | Listen attentively to the knowledge that I will impart.
00:06:29.680 | Debate it with me.
00:06:31.360 | Discuss it among yourselves.
00:06:33.400 | Learn these lessons thoroughly,
00:06:35.680 | that ye may also plant in your own purse
00:06:38.280 | the seed of wealth.
00:06:40.200 | First, must each of you start wisely
00:06:42.720 | to build a fortune of his own.
00:06:44.800 | Then wilt thou be competent,
00:06:47.240 | and only then to teach these truths to others.
00:06:51.380 | I shall teach to you in simple ways
00:06:54.020 | how to fatten your purses.
00:06:56.120 | This is the first step leading to the temple of wealth.
00:06:59.480 | And no man may climb who cannot plant his feet firmly
00:07:03.200 | upon the first step.
00:07:05.480 | We shall now consider the first cure.
00:07:09.060 | The first cure.
00:07:14.520 | Start thy purse to fattening.
00:07:17.320 | Arkad addressed a thoughtful man in the second row.
00:07:22.080 | "My good friend, at what craft workest thou?"
00:07:25.760 | "I," replied the man,
00:07:27.200 | "am a scribe and carve records upon the clay tablets.
00:07:30.280 | Even at such labor did I myself earn my first coppers.
00:07:34.480 | Therefore thou hast the same opportunity
00:07:37.020 | to build a fortune."
00:07:38.600 | He spoke to a florid-faced man farther back.
00:07:41.740 | "Pray, tell also what dost thou to earn thy bread?"
00:07:45.740 | "I," responded this man,
00:07:47.560 | "am a meat butcher.
00:07:48.960 | I do buy the goats the farmers raise and kill them,
00:07:51.760 | and sell the meat to the housewives,
00:07:53.600 | and the hides to the sandal makers.
00:07:55.660 | Because thou dost also labor and earn,
00:07:59.300 | thou hast every advantage to succeed that I did possess.
00:08:03.780 | In this way did Arkad proceed to find out
00:08:06.160 | how much each man labored to earn his living.
00:08:09.280 | When he had done questioning them, he said,
00:08:11.700 | "Now, my students,
00:08:13.040 | ye can see that there are many trades and labors
00:08:15.460 | at which men may earn coins.
00:08:17.920 | Each of the ways of earning is a stream of gold
00:08:21.360 | from which the worker doth divert by his labors,
00:08:24.480 | a portion to his own purse.
00:08:26.720 | Therefore into the purse of each of you
00:08:29.400 | flows a stream of coins,
00:08:31.520 | large or small, according to his ability.
00:08:35.220 | Is it not so?"
00:08:37.080 | Thereupon they agreed that it was so.
00:08:40.340 | Then, continued Arkad,
00:08:42.300 | if each of you desireth to build for himself a fortune,
00:08:46.220 | is it not wise to start by utilizing that source of wealth
00:08:49.820 | which he already has established?
00:08:52.860 | To this they agreed.
00:08:54.940 | Then Arkad turned to a humble man
00:08:57.220 | who had declared himself an egg merchant.
00:08:59.860 | "If thou select one of thy baskets
00:09:01.920 | and put into it each morning 10 eggs
00:09:03.960 | and take out from it each evening nine eggs,
00:09:06.720 | what will eventually happen?"
00:09:08.480 | "It will become in time overflowing."
00:09:12.040 | "Why?"
00:09:13.360 | "Because each day I put in one more egg than I take out."
00:09:16.600 | Arkad turned to the class with a smile.
00:09:20.520 | "Does any man here have a lean purse?"
00:09:24.280 | First, they looked amused.
00:09:26.560 | Then they laughed.
00:09:27.920 | Lastly, they waved their purses in jest.
00:09:31.180 | "All right," he continued.
00:09:33.020 | "Now I shall tell thee the first remedy I learned
00:09:35.820 | to cure a lean purse.
00:09:38.040 | Do exactly as I have suggested to the egg merchant.
00:09:41.320 | For every 10 coins thou placest within thy purse,
00:09:45.940 | take out for use but nine.
00:09:49.540 | Thy purse will start to fatten at once
00:09:51.860 | and its increasing weight will feel good in thy hand
00:09:54.780 | and bring satisfaction to thy soul.
00:09:57.340 | Deride not what I say because of its simplicity.
00:10:00.940 | Truth is always simple.
00:10:02.960 | I told thee I would tell how I built my fortune.
00:10:06.860 | This was my beginning.
00:10:08.580 | I too carried a lean purse and cursed it
00:10:11.140 | because there was not within to satisfy my desires.
00:10:14.380 | But when I began to take out from my purse
00:10:17.940 | but nine parts of 10 I put in,
00:10:21.340 | it began to fatten.
00:10:24.020 | So will thine."
00:10:27.320 | "Now I tell thee a strange truth,
00:10:29.340 | the reason for which I know not.
00:10:31.420 | When I ceased to pay out more than nine tenths
00:10:34.340 | of my earnings, I managed to get along just as well.
00:10:37.580 | I was not shorter than before.
00:10:39.620 | Also ere long did coins come to me more easily than before.
00:10:43.900 | Surely it is a law of the gods that unto him who keepeth
00:10:48.020 | and spendeth not a certain part of all his earnings
00:10:51.660 | shall gold come more easily.
00:10:54.660 | Likewise, him whose purse is empty does gold avoid.
00:10:59.660 | Which desirest thou the most?
00:11:02.480 | Is it the gratification of thy desires of each day?
00:11:05.660 | A jewel, a bit of finery, better raiment, more food,
00:11:09.520 | things quickly gone and forgotten?
00:11:11.780 | Or is it substantial belongings, gold, lands,
00:11:16.100 | herds, merchandise, income bringing investments?
00:11:20.240 | The coins thou takest from thy purse bring the first.
00:11:24.320 | The coins thou leavest within it will bring the latter.
00:11:29.320 | This, my students, was the first cure I did discover
00:11:33.080 | from my lean purse.
00:11:34.680 | For each 10 coins I put in to spend but nine.
00:11:39.680 | Debate this amongst yourselves.
00:11:42.240 | If any man proves it untrue, tell me upon the morrow
00:11:45.940 | when we shall meet again."
00:11:50.960 | The second cure, control thy expenditures.
00:11:55.280 | Some of your members, my students, have asked me this.
00:11:59.980 | How can a man keep one tenth of all he earns in his purse
00:12:04.180 | when all the coins he earns are not enough
00:12:06.260 | for his necessary expenses?
00:12:08.840 | So did Arquette address his students upon the second day.
00:12:12.460 | "Yesterday, how many of thee carried lean purses?"
00:12:16.220 | "All of us," answered the class.
00:12:18.660 | Yet thou do not all earn the same.
00:12:21.960 | Some earn much more than others.
00:12:24.280 | Some have much larger families to support.
00:12:26.940 | Yet all purses were equally lean.
00:12:30.220 | Now, I will tell thee an unusual truth
00:12:32.600 | about men and sons of men.
00:12:35.260 | It is this, that what each of us calls
00:12:37.620 | our necessary expenses will always grow
00:12:41.700 | to equal our incomes unless we protest to the contrary.
00:12:47.060 | Confuse not the necessary expenses with thy desires.
00:12:51.300 | Each of you, together with your good families,
00:12:53.700 | have more desires than your earnings can gratify.
00:12:57.140 | Therefore are thy earnings spent to gratify these desires
00:13:00.900 | insofar as they will go.
00:13:03.020 | Still thou retainest many ungratified desires.
00:13:07.740 | All men are burdened with more desires than they can gratify.
00:13:11.460 | Because of my wealth, thinkest thou I may gratify
00:13:14.720 | every desire?
00:13:16.180 | 'Tis a false idea.
00:13:17.780 | There are limits to my time.
00:13:19.600 | There are limits to my strength.
00:13:21.360 | There are limits to the distance I may travel.
00:13:23.900 | There are limits to what I may eat.
00:13:25.760 | There are limits to the zest with which I may enjoy.
00:13:29.600 | I say to you that just as weeds grow in a field
00:13:32.420 | wherever the farmer leaves space for their roots,
00:13:35.540 | even so freely do desires grow in men
00:13:38.340 | whenever there is a possibility of their being gratified.
00:13:41.860 | Thy desires are a multitude,
00:13:43.900 | and those that thou mayest gratify are but few.
00:13:47.700 | Study thoughtfully thy accustomed habits of living.
00:13:52.220 | Herein may be most often found certain accepted expenses
00:13:57.180 | that may wisely be reduced or eliminated.
00:14:00.820 | Let thy motto be 100% of appreciated value
00:14:04.540 | demanded for each coin spent.
00:14:07.140 | Therefore, engrave upon the clay each thing
00:14:10.940 | for which thou desireth to spend.
00:14:13.460 | Select those that are necessary
00:14:15.700 | and others that are possible
00:14:17.300 | through the expenditure of 9/10 of thy income.
00:14:20.940 | Cross out the rest and consider them but a part
00:14:24.360 | of that great multitude of desires
00:14:26.460 | that must go unsatisfied and regret them not.
00:14:30.660 | Budget then thy necessary expenses.
00:14:33.600 | Touch not the 1/10 that is fattening thy purse.
00:14:37.300 | Let this be thy great desire that is being fulfilled.
00:14:40.660 | Keep working with thy budget.
00:14:42.420 | Keep adjusting it to help thee.
00:14:44.380 | Make it thy first assistant
00:14:46.340 | in defending thy fattening purse.
00:14:48.740 | Hereupon, one of the students,
00:14:51.340 | wearing a robe of red and gold, arose and said,
00:14:55.320 | "I am a free man.
00:14:56.820 | I believe that it is my right
00:14:58.460 | to enjoy the good things of life.
00:15:00.580 | Therefore, do I rebel against the slavery of a budget
00:15:04.460 | which determines just how much I may spend and for what.
00:15:08.100 | I feel it would take much pleasure from my life
00:15:10.900 | and make me little more than a pack ass to carry a burden."
00:15:15.540 | To him, Arkad replied,
00:15:17.540 | "Who, my friend, would determine thy budget?"
00:15:21.860 | "I would make it for myself,"
00:15:23.540 | responded the protesting one.
00:15:25.980 | In that case, were a pack ass to budget his burden,
00:15:29.860 | would he include therein jewels and rugs
00:15:32.500 | and heavy bars of gold?
00:15:34.460 | Not so.
00:15:35.460 | He would include hay and grain
00:15:37.440 | and a bag of water for the desert trail.
00:15:40.180 | The purpose of a budget is to help thy purse to fatten.
00:15:44.500 | It is to assist thee to have thy necessities
00:15:48.080 | and in so far as attainable, thy other desires.
00:15:52.440 | It is to enable thee to realize thy most cherished desires
00:15:56.980 | by defending them from thy casual wishes.
00:16:00.940 | Like a bright light in a dark cave,
00:16:03.340 | thy budget shows up the leaks from thy purse
00:16:07.140 | and enables thee to stop them and control thy expenditures
00:16:11.100 | for definite and gratifying purposes.
00:16:14.500 | This then is the second cure for a lean purse.
00:16:17.400 | Budget thy expenses that thou mayest have coins
00:16:20.980 | to pay for thy necessities, to pay for thy enjoyments
00:16:24.580 | and to gratify thy worthwhile desires
00:16:26.980 | without spending more than nine tenths of thy earnings.
00:16:34.180 | The third cure, make thy gold multiply.
00:16:38.100 | Behold, thy lean purse is fattening.
00:16:42.540 | Thou hast disciplined thyself to leave therein
00:16:45.040 | one tenth of all thou earnest.
00:16:46.940 | Thou hast controlled thy expenditures
00:16:49.620 | to protect thy growing treasure.
00:16:52.420 | Next, we will consider means to put thy treasure to labor
00:16:56.560 | and to increase.
00:16:58.340 | Gold in a purse is gratifying to own
00:17:01.500 | and satisfyeth a miserly soul, but earns nothing.
00:17:06.380 | The gold we may retain from our earnings is but the start.
00:17:10.340 | The earnings it will make shall build our fortunes.
00:17:14.740 | So spoke Arkad upon the third day to his class.
00:17:18.140 | How therefore may we put our gold to work?
00:17:21.300 | My first investment was unfortunate for I lost all.
00:17:25.620 | Its tale I will relate later.
00:17:28.300 | My first profitable investment was a loan I made
00:17:31.340 | to a man named Agar, a shield maker.
00:17:35.100 | Once each year did he buy large shipments of bronze
00:17:38.660 | brought from across the sea to use in his trade.
00:17:41.820 | Lacking sufficient capital to pay the merchants,
00:17:43.740 | he would borrow from those who had extra coins.
00:17:46.540 | He was an honorable man.
00:17:48.620 | His borrowing he would repay together with a liberal rental
00:17:52.960 | as he sold his shields.
00:17:55.220 | Each time I loaned to him,
00:17:57.020 | I loaned back also the rental he had paid to me.
00:17:59.980 | Therefore, not only did my capital increase,
00:18:02.120 | but its earnings likewise increased.
00:18:04.340 | Most gratifying was it to have these sums
00:18:06.860 | returned to my purse.
00:18:08.740 | I tell you my students,
00:18:10.240 | a man's wealth is not in the coins he carries in his purse.
00:18:13.760 | It is the income he buildeth,
00:18:15.940 | the golden stream that continually floweth into his purse
00:18:19.900 | and keepeth it always bulging.
00:18:22.780 | That is what every man desireth.
00:18:25.540 | That is what thou, each one of thee desireth,
00:18:28.820 | an income that continueth to come
00:18:30.900 | whether thou work or travel.
00:18:33.620 | Great income I have acquired,
00:18:35.620 | so great that I am called a very rich man.
00:18:38.800 | My loans to Agar were my first training
00:18:41.440 | in profitable investment.
00:18:43.180 | Gaining wisdom from this experience,
00:18:44.800 | I extended my loans and investments as my capital increased.
00:18:48.700 | From a few sources at first, from many sources later,
00:18:52.180 | flowed into my purse a golden stream of wealth
00:18:55.240 | available for such wise uses as I should decide.
00:18:59.560 | Behold, from my humble earnings,
00:19:02.060 | I had begotten a horde of golden slaves,
00:19:06.060 | each laboring and earning more gold.
00:19:09.260 | As they labored for me, so their children also labored,
00:19:12.920 | and their children's children,
00:19:14.560 | until great was the income from their combined efforts.
00:19:18.640 | Gold increaseth rapidly when making reasonable earnings
00:19:22.140 | as thou wilt see from the following.
00:19:24.560 | A farmer, when his first son was born,
00:19:27.620 | took 10 pieces of silver to a moneylender
00:19:30.440 | and asked him to keep it on rental for his son
00:19:33.600 | until he became 20 years of age.
00:19:36.080 | This the moneylender did,
00:19:37.520 | and agreed the rental should be
00:19:39.040 | one fourth of its value each four years.
00:19:42.400 | The farmer asked,
00:19:43.660 | because this sum he had set aside as belonging to his son,
00:19:47.160 | that the rental be add to the principal.
00:19:50.040 | When the boy had reached the age of 20 years,
00:19:52.200 | the farmer again went to the moneylender
00:19:54.040 | to inquire about the silver.
00:19:56.060 | The moneylender explained that because this sum
00:19:58.880 | had been increased by compound interest,
00:20:01.560 | the original 10 pieces of silver
00:20:03.800 | had now grown to 30 and one half pieces.
00:20:07.780 | The farmer was well pleased,
00:20:09.720 | and because the son did not need the coins,
00:20:12.040 | he left them with the moneylender.
00:20:14.560 | When the son became 50 years of age,
00:20:17.100 | the father, meantime having passed to the other world,
00:20:20.560 | the moneylender paid the son in settlement
00:20:23.200 | 167 pieces of silver.
00:20:27.040 | Thus in 50 years had the investment multiplied itself
00:20:30.460 | at rental almost 17 times.
00:20:33.700 | This then is the third cure for a lean purse,
00:20:37.560 | to put each coin to laboring
00:20:39.720 | that it may reproduce its kind
00:20:42.200 | even as the flocks of the field
00:20:43.860 | and help bring to the income
00:20:46.560 | a stream of wealth that shall flow constantly
00:20:49.880 | into thy purse.
00:20:51.160 | The fourth cure, guard thy treasures from loss.
00:20:57.500 | Misfortune loves a shining mark.
00:21:01.680 | Gold in a man's purse must be guarded with firmness
00:21:05.320 | else it be lost.
00:21:07.160 | Thus it is wise that we must first secure small amounts
00:21:10.800 | and learn to protect them
00:21:11.960 | before the gods entrust us with larger.
00:21:14.960 | So spoke Arkad upon the fourth day to his class.
00:21:18.320 | Every owner of gold is tempted by opportunities
00:21:21.280 | whereby it would seem that he could make large sums
00:21:24.280 | by its investment in most plausible projects.
00:21:28.140 | Often friends and relatives are eagerly entering
00:21:31.880 | such investment and urge him to follow.
00:21:35.200 | The first sound principle of investment
00:21:37.400 | is security for thy principle.
00:21:39.640 | Is it wise to be intrigued by larger earnings
00:21:42.360 | when thy principle may be lost?
00:21:44.300 | I say not.
00:21:45.480 | The penalty of risk is probable loss.
00:21:48.220 | Study carefully before parting with thy treasure
00:21:50.840 | each assurance that it may be safely reclaimed.
00:21:53.780 | Be not misled by thine own romantic desires
00:21:56.840 | to make wealth rapidly.
00:21:59.360 | Before thou loan it to any man
00:22:01.280 | assure thyself of his ability to repay
00:22:03.680 | and his reputation for doing so
00:22:06.440 | that thou mayest not unwittingly be making him a present
00:22:09.560 | of thy hard earned treasure.
00:22:11.800 | Before thou entrust it as an investment in any field
00:22:15.040 | acquaint thyself with the dangers which may beset it.
00:22:18.700 | My own first investment was a tragedy to me at the time.
00:22:22.080 | The guarded savings of a year I did entrust
00:22:24.580 | to a brick maker named Asmur
00:22:27.620 | who was traveling over the far seas
00:22:30.020 | and entire agreed to buy for me
00:22:31.980 | the rare jewels of the Phoenicians.
00:22:34.460 | These we would sell upon his return and divide the profits.
00:22:37.940 | The Phoenicians were scoundrels
00:22:40.260 | and sold him bits of glass.
00:22:42.940 | My treasure was lost.
00:22:44.660 | Today my training would show to me at once
00:22:46.960 | the folly of entrusting a brick maker to buy jewels.
00:22:51.140 | Therefore do I advise thee
00:22:52.940 | from the wisdom of my experiences.
00:22:55.440 | Be not too confident of thine own wisdom
00:22:58.040 | in entrusting thy treasures
00:22:59.360 | to the possible pitfalls of investments.
00:23:01.920 | Better by far to consult the wisdom of those experienced
00:23:05.020 | in handling money for profit.
00:23:06.920 | Such advice is freely given for the asking
00:23:09.280 | and may readily possess a value equal than gold
00:23:11.840 | to the sum thou considerest investing.
00:23:14.440 | In truth, such is its actual value
00:23:16.720 | if it save thee from loss.
00:23:18.980 | This then is the fourth cure for a lean purse
00:23:21.640 | and of great importance if it prevent thy purse
00:23:24.120 | from being emptied once it has become well-filled.
00:23:27.940 | Guard thy treasure from loss
00:23:30.560 | by investing only where thy principle is safe,
00:23:34.220 | where it may be reclaimed if desirable
00:23:36.720 | and where thou will not fail to collect a fair rental.
00:23:40.380 | Consult with wise men.
00:23:42.280 | Secure the advice of those experienced
00:23:44.620 | in the profitable handling of gold.
00:23:46.600 | Let their wisdom protect thy treasure
00:23:48.680 | from unsafe investments.
00:23:50.620 | The fifth cure,
00:23:55.040 | make of thy dwelling a profitable investment.
00:23:58.300 | If a man set at the side nine parts of his earnings
00:24:02.600 | upon which to live and enjoy life,
00:24:04.800 | and if any part of this nine parts
00:24:06.960 | he can turn into a profitable investment
00:24:09.200 | without detriment to his wellbeing,
00:24:11.280 | then so much faster will his treasures grow.
00:24:14.880 | So spake Arcad to his class at their fifth lesson.
00:24:18.920 | All too many of our men of Babylon
00:24:20.680 | do raise their families in unseemly quarters.
00:24:24.120 | They do pay to exacting landlords liberal rentals
00:24:27.920 | for rooms where their wives have not a spot
00:24:30.120 | to raise the blooms that gladden a woman's heart.
00:24:32.480 | And their children have no place to play their games
00:24:34.900 | except in the unclean alleys.
00:24:37.400 | No man's family can fully enjoy life
00:24:39.640 | unless they do have a plot of ground
00:24:41.480 | wherein children can play in the clean earth
00:24:43.800 | and where the wife may raise not only blossoms,
00:24:46.480 | but good rich herbs to feed her family.
00:24:49.760 | To a man's heart, it brings gladness
00:24:51.880 | to eat the figs from his own trees
00:24:53.960 | and the grapes of his own vines.
00:24:56.360 | To own his own domicile
00:24:58.520 | and to have it a place he is proud to care for
00:25:01.680 | put his confidence in his heart
00:25:03.440 | and greater effort behind all his endeavors.
00:25:06.580 | Therefore, do I recommend that every man
00:25:08.640 | own the roof that sheltereth him and his.
00:25:11.960 | Nor is it beyond the ability of any well-intentioned man
00:25:14.680 | to own his home.
00:25:16.120 | Hath not our great king so widely extended
00:25:18.680 | the walls of Babylon that within them
00:25:20.560 | much land is now unused
00:25:22.440 | and may be purchased at sums most reasonable?
00:25:25.580 | Also, I say to you, my students,
00:25:27.320 | that the moneylenders gladly consider the desires of men
00:25:30.080 | who seek homes and land for their families.
00:25:32.880 | Readily may thou borrow to pay the brick maker
00:25:35.480 | and the builder for such commendable purposes
00:25:37.920 | if thou can show a reasonable portion of the necessary sum
00:25:41.680 | which thou thyself hath provided for the purpose.
00:25:45.280 | Then when the house be built,
00:25:47.000 | thou canst pay the moneylender with the same regularity
00:25:50.880 | as thou didst pay the landlord
00:25:53.000 | because each payment will reduce thy indebtedness
00:25:55.360 | to the moneylender.
00:25:56.480 | A few years will satisfy his loan.
00:25:59.200 | Then will thy heart be glad
00:26:01.000 | because thou wilt own in thy own right a valuable property
00:26:05.800 | and thy only cost will be the king's taxes.
00:26:08.880 | Also, wilt thy good wife go more often to the river
00:26:11.780 | to wash thy robes that each time returning
00:26:14.420 | she may bring a goatskin of water
00:26:16.000 | to pour upon the growing things?
00:26:18.360 | Thus come many blessings to the man
00:26:20.340 | who owneth his own house
00:26:21.960 | and greatly will it reduce his cost of living,
00:26:24.600 | making available more of his earnings for pleasures
00:26:27.120 | and the gratification of his desires.
00:26:29.360 | This then is the fifth cure for a lean purse.
00:26:32.640 | Own thy own home.
00:26:36.160 | The sixth cure, ensure a future income.
00:26:41.160 | The life of every man
00:26:43.720 | proceedeth from his childhood to his old age.
00:26:46.900 | This is the path of life and no man may deviate from it
00:26:49.880 | unless the gods call him prematurely to the world beyond.
00:26:53.280 | Therefore do I say that it behooves a man
00:26:55.560 | to make preparation for a suitable income
00:26:57.680 | in the days to come when he is no longer young
00:27:00.480 | and to make preparations for his family
00:27:02.480 | should he be no longer with them
00:27:04.080 | to comfort and support them.
00:27:06.500 | This lesson shall instruct thee in providing a full purse
00:27:09.560 | when time has made thee less able to learn.
00:27:12.880 | So Arkad addressed his class upon the sixth day.
00:27:16.300 | The man who because of his understanding
00:27:18.240 | of the laws of wealth,
00:27:19.480 | acquireth a growing surplus
00:27:21.320 | should give thought to those future days.
00:27:23.560 | He should plan certain investments
00:27:25.640 | or provision that may endure safely for many years
00:27:28.440 | yet will be available when the time arrives
00:27:30.600 | which he has so wisely anticipated.
00:27:33.520 | There are diverse ways by which a man may provide
00:27:36.040 | with safety for his future.
00:27:37.760 | He may provide a hiding place
00:27:39.240 | and there bury a secret treasure.
00:27:41.480 | Yet no matter with what skill it be hidden,
00:27:43.840 | it may nevertheless become the loot of thieves.
00:27:46.920 | For this reason, I recommend not this plan.
00:27:49.760 | A man may buy houses or lands for this purpose.
00:27:52.580 | If wisely chosen as to their usefulness
00:27:55.020 | and value in the future,
00:27:56.420 | they are permanent in their value
00:27:57.920 | and their earnings or their sale
00:27:59.240 | will provide well for his purpose.
00:28:01.600 | A man may loan a small sum to the money lender
00:28:04.320 | and increase it at regular periods.
00:28:06.960 | The rental which the money lender adds to this
00:28:09.320 | will largely add to its increase.
00:28:11.880 | I do know a sandal maker named Ansan
00:28:15.200 | who explained to me not long ago
00:28:17.160 | that each week for eight years,
00:28:18.680 | he had deposited with his money lender two pieces of silver.
00:28:22.460 | The money lender had but recently given him an accounting
00:28:25.000 | over which he greatly rejoiced.
00:28:27.080 | The total of his small deposits with their rental
00:28:29.920 | at the customary rate of one fourth their value
00:28:32.800 | for each four years had now become
00:28:35.040 | a thousand and 40 pieces of silver.
00:28:37.960 | I did gladly encourage him further by demonstrating to him
00:28:41.400 | with my knowledge of the numbers that in 12 years more,
00:28:45.200 | if he would keep his regular deposits
00:28:47.160 | of but two pieces of silver each week,
00:28:49.480 | the money lender would then owe him 4,000 pieces of silver,
00:28:53.440 | a worthy competence for the rest of his life.
00:28:56.400 | Surely when such a small payment made with regularity
00:28:59.540 | doth produce such profitable results,
00:29:01.760 | no man can afford not to ensure a treasure for his old age
00:29:05.080 | and the protection of his family,
00:29:06.320 | no matter how prosperous his business
00:29:08.600 | and his investments may be.
00:29:10.760 | I would that I might say more about this.
00:29:13.560 | In my mind rests a belief that someday,
00:29:16.440 | wise thinking men will devise a plan to ensure against death
00:29:21.440 | whereby many men pay in but a trifling sum regularly,
00:29:25.840 | the aggregate making a handsome sum
00:29:27.920 | for the family of each member who passeth to the beyond.
00:29:31.160 | This do I see as something desirable
00:29:33.400 | and which I could highly recommend.
00:29:35.560 | But today it is not possible
00:29:36.960 | because it must reach beyond the life of any man
00:29:39.480 | or any partnership to operate.
00:29:41.680 | It must be as stable as the King's throne.
00:29:44.400 | Someday do I feel that such a plan shall come to pass
00:29:47.640 | and be a great blessing to many men
00:29:49.880 | because even the first small payment
00:29:51.800 | will make available a snug fortune
00:29:53.700 | for the family of a member should he pass on.
00:29:56.720 | But because we live in our own day
00:29:59.160 | and not in the days which are to come,
00:30:01.240 | must we take advantage of those means
00:30:03.040 | and ways of accomplishing our purposes.
00:30:05.480 | Therefore do I recommend to all men
00:30:07.720 | that they by wise and well thought out methods
00:30:10.760 | do provide against a lean purse in their mature years.
00:30:14.400 | For a lean purse to a man no longer able to earn
00:30:16.960 | or to a family without its head is a sore tragedy.
00:30:20.440 | This then is the sixth cure for a lean purse.
00:30:23.620 | Provide an advance for the needs of that growing age
00:30:26.740 | and the protection of thy family.
00:30:28.880 | The seventh cure, increase thy ability to earn.
00:30:35.960 | This day do I speak to thee my students
00:30:40.380 | of one of the most vital remedies for a lean purse.
00:30:44.380 | Yet I will talk not of gold, but of yourselves,
00:30:48.680 | of the men beneath the robes of many colors
00:30:51.140 | who do sit before me.
00:30:52.760 | I will talk to you of those things within the minds
00:30:55.580 | and lives of men which do work for or against their success.
00:31:00.380 | So did Arkad address his class upon the seventh day.
00:31:04.580 | Not long ago came to me a young man seeking to borrow.
00:31:08.140 | When I questioned him the cause of his necessity,
00:31:11.020 | he complained that his earnings were insufficient
00:31:13.380 | to pay his expenses.
00:31:15.140 | Thereupon I explained to him this being the case,
00:31:18.420 | he was a poor customer for the money lender
00:31:20.740 | as he possessed no surplus earning capacity
00:31:23.160 | to repay the loan.
00:31:24.940 | What you need young man, I told him, is to earn more coins.
00:31:29.640 | What does thou to increase that capacity to earn?
00:31:33.020 | All that I can do, he replied, six times within two moons
00:31:36.960 | have I approached my master to request my pay be increased,
00:31:40.620 | but without success.
00:31:42.300 | No man can go oftener than that.
00:31:44.360 | We may smile at his simplicity,
00:31:47.940 | yet he did possess one of the vital requirements
00:31:50.440 | to increase his earnings.
00:31:52.060 | Within him was a strong desire to earn more,
00:31:54.980 | a proper and commendable desire.
00:31:57.620 | Preceding accomplishment must be desire.
00:32:00.860 | Thy desires must be strong and definite.
00:32:04.220 | General desires are but weak longings.
00:32:07.180 | For a man to wish to be rich is of little purpose.
00:32:10.360 | For a man to desire five pieces of gold is a tangible desire
00:32:14.380 | which he can press to fulfillment.
00:32:16.540 | After he has backed his desire for five pieces of gold
00:32:19.420 | with strength of purpose to secure it,
00:32:21.900 | next he can find similar ways to obtain 10 pieces
00:32:25.020 | and then 20 pieces and later a thousand pieces
00:32:27.600 | and behold, he has become wealthy.
00:32:30.060 | In learning to secure his one definite small desire,
00:32:33.420 | he has trained himself to secure a larger one.
00:32:37.080 | This is the process by which wealth is accumulated,
00:32:39.660 | first in small sums, then in larger ones
00:32:42.580 | as a man learns and becomes more capable.
00:32:45.380 | Desires must be simple and definite.
00:32:48.440 | They defeat their own purpose should they be too many,
00:32:51.040 | too confusing or beyond a man's training to accomplish.
00:32:55.220 | As a man perfected himself in his calling,
00:32:58.240 | even so doth his ability to earn increase.
00:33:01.700 | In those days when I was a humble scribe carving
00:33:04.580 | upon the clay for a few coppers each day,
00:33:06.900 | I observed that other workers did more than I
00:33:09.460 | and were paid more.
00:33:10.900 | Therefore did I determine that I would be exceeded by none
00:33:14.500 | nor did it take long for me to discover the reason
00:33:16.800 | for their greater success.
00:33:18.300 | More interest in my work, more concentration upon my task,
00:33:21.860 | more persistence in my effort and behold,
00:33:24.180 | few men could carve more tablets in a day than I.
00:33:27.500 | With reasonable promptness, my increased skill was rewarded
00:33:31.520 | nor was it necessary for me to go six times to my master
00:33:34.580 | to request recognition.
00:33:36.860 | The more of wisdom we know, the more we may earn.
00:33:39.820 | The man who seeks to learn more of his craft
00:33:42.140 | shall be richly rewarded.
00:33:43.920 | If he is an artisan, he may seek to learn the methods
00:33:47.220 | and the tools of those most skillful in the same line.
00:33:51.380 | If he laboreth at the law or at healing,
00:33:53.660 | he may consult and exchange knowledge
00:33:55.500 | with others of his calling.
00:33:57.180 | If he be a merchant, he may continually seek better goods
00:34:00.140 | that can be purchased at lower prices.
00:34:02.740 | Always do the affairs of man change and improve
00:34:05.900 | because keen minded men seek greater skill
00:34:09.100 | that they may better serve those
00:34:10.700 | upon whose patronage they depend.
00:34:13.160 | Therefore, I urge all men to be in the front rank
00:34:16.180 | of progress and not to stand still
00:34:18.420 | lest they be left behind.
00:34:20.660 | Many things come to make a man's life rich
00:34:23.180 | with gainful experiences.
00:34:25.180 | Such things as the following a man must do
00:34:27.480 | if he respects himself.
00:34:29.420 | He must pay his debts with all the promptness
00:34:32.360 | within his power, not purchasing that
00:34:34.580 | for which he is unable to pay.
00:34:36.700 | He must take care of his family that they may think
00:34:39.020 | and speak well of him.
00:34:40.660 | He must make a will of record that in case the gods
00:34:43.660 | call him proper and honorable division
00:34:45.980 | of his property may be accomplished.
00:34:48.260 | He must have compassion upon those who are injured
00:34:51.580 | and smitten by misfortune and aid them
00:34:53.980 | within reasonable limits.
00:34:55.620 | He must do deeds of thoughtfulness to those dear to him.
00:34:59.600 | Thus the seventh and last remedy for a lean purse
00:35:03.060 | is to cultivate thy own powers, to study and become wiser,
00:35:08.060 | to become more skillful, to so act as to respect thyself.
00:35:13.020 | Therefore shalt thou acquire confidence in thyself
00:35:15.980 | to achieve thy carefully considered desires.
00:35:19.180 | These then are the seven cures for a lean purse,
00:35:21.940 | which out of the experience of a long and successful life,
00:35:25.700 | I do urge for all men who desire wealth.
00:35:29.100 | There is more gold in Babylon, my students,
00:35:31.720 | than thou dreamest of.
00:35:33.620 | There is abundance for all.
00:35:35.960 | Go thou forth and practice these truths
00:35:39.220 | that thou mayest prosper and grow wealthy as is thy right.
00:35:43.700 | Go thou forth and teach these truths
00:35:46.540 | that every honorable subject of his majesty
00:35:49.780 | may also share liberally in the ample wealth
00:35:53.140 | of our beloved city.
00:35:55.180 | - The holidays start here at Ralph's
00:35:56.940 | with a variety of options to celebrate traditions
00:35:59.500 | old and new.
00:36:00.620 | Whether you're making a traditional roasted turkey
00:36:03.160 | or spicy turkey tacos, your go-to shrimp cocktail
00:36:06.780 | or your first Cajun risotto,
00:36:08.680 | Ralph's has all the freshest ingredients
00:36:11.140 | to embrace your traditions.
00:36:12.700 | Ralph's, fresh for everyone.
00:36:14.780 | - We've locked in low prices
00:36:16.220 | to help you save big store wide.
00:36:18.200 | Look for the locked in low prices tags
00:36:19.980 | and enjoy extra savings throughout the store.
00:36:22.260 | Ralph's, fresh for everyone.