2023-04-25_The_Gold_Lender_of_Babylon
00:00:00.000 | ♪
00:00:05.440 | California's top casino and entertainment destination
00:00:08.440 | is now your California to Vegas connection.
00:00:11.940 | Play at Yamaha Resort and Casino at San Manuel
00:00:14.480 | to earn points, rewards, and complimentary experiences
00:00:17.680 | for the iconic Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
00:00:21.120 | ♪
00:00:23.660 | Two destinations, one loyalty card.
00:00:26.160 | Visit yamaha.com/palms to discover more.
00:00:30.620 | The holidays start here at Ralph's
00:00:32.460 | with a variety of options to celebrate traditions old and new.
00:00:36.120 | Whether you're making a traditional roasted turkey
00:00:38.660 | or spicy turkey tacos,
00:00:40.500 | your go-to shrimp cocktail,
00:00:42.300 | or your first Cajun risotto,
00:00:44.200 | Ralph's has all the freshest ingredients
00:00:46.640 | to embrace your traditions.
00:00:48.240 | Ralph's, fresh for everyone.
00:00:50.500 | Choose from a great selection of digital coupons
00:00:52.740 | and use them up to five times in one transaction.
00:00:55.380 | Check our app for details.
00:00:56.940 | Ralph's, fresh for everyone.
00:00:59.760 | Fifty pieces of gold.
00:01:03.360 | Never before had Rodin, the spear maker of old Babylon,
00:01:07.040 | carried so much gold in his leather wallet.
00:01:10.180 | Happily down the king's highway
00:01:11.680 | from the palace of his most liberal majesty, he strode.
00:01:15.740 | Cheerfully, the gold clinked
00:01:18.120 | as the wallet at his belt swayed with each step,
00:01:21.720 | the sweetest music he had ever heard.
00:01:26.120 | Fifty pieces of gold, all his.
00:01:29.220 | He could hardly realize his good fortune.
00:01:31.360 | What power in those clinking discs.
00:01:34.460 | They could purchase anything he wanted.
00:01:36.440 | A grand house, land, cattle, camels, horses, chariots,
00:01:40.040 | whatever he might desire.
00:01:42.100 | What use should he make of it?
00:01:44.240 | This evening, as he turned into a side street
00:01:46.380 | towards the home of his sister,
00:01:47.920 | he could think of nothing he would rather possess
00:01:50.680 | than those same glittering, heavy pieces of gold.
00:01:54.860 | His to keep.
00:01:56.480 | It was upon an evening, some days later,
00:02:00.120 | that a perplexed Rodin entered the shop of Mathon,
00:02:04.560 | the lender of gold and dealer in jewels and rare fabrics.
00:02:08.900 | Glancing neither to the right nor the left
00:02:10.740 | at the colorful articles artfully displayed,
00:02:13.140 | he passed through to the living quarters at the rear.
00:02:16.000 | Here he found the genteel Mathon lounging upon a rug,
00:02:19.680 | partaking of a meal served by a black slave.
00:02:23.180 | "I would counsel with thee, for I know not what to do."
00:02:26.520 | Rodin stood stolidly, feet apart,
00:02:29.720 | hairy breast exposed by the gaping front
00:02:32.120 | of his leather jacket.
00:02:34.120 | Mathon's narrow, sallow face smiled a friendly greeting.
00:02:39.120 | "What indiscretions hast thou done
00:02:41.000 | that thou should seek the lender of gold?
00:02:43.500 | Hast been unlucky at the gaming table?
00:02:46.040 | Or hath some plump dame entangled thee?
00:02:49.040 | For many years have I known thee,
00:02:50.600 | yet never hast thou sought me."
00:02:52.640 | "Hast thou sought me to aid thee in thy troubles?"
00:02:56.320 | "No, no, not such as that.
00:02:58.440 | I seek no gold.
00:02:59.480 | Instead, I crave thy wise advice."
00:03:02.620 | "Hear, hear what this man doth say.
00:03:05.180 | No one comes to the lender of gold for advice.
00:03:08.220 | My ears must play me false."
00:03:10.920 | They listened true.
00:03:12.760 | "Can this be so?
00:03:14.660 | Rodin, the spear-maker, doth display more cunning
00:03:17.360 | than all the rest, for he comes to Mathon
00:03:19.940 | not for gold, but for advice.
00:03:22.900 | Many men come to me for gold to pay for their follies,
00:03:26.960 | but as for advice, they want it not.
00:03:29.780 | Yet who is more able to advise than the lender of gold
00:03:32.460 | to whom many men come in trouble?
00:03:35.780 | Thou shalt eat with me, Rodin," he continued.
00:03:38.460 | "Thou shalt be my guest for the evening.
00:03:41.260 | Ando," he commanded of the black slave,
00:03:43.820 | "draw up a rug for my friend Rodin, the spear-maker,
00:03:47.000 | who comes for advice.
00:03:48.620 | He shall be mine honored guest.
00:03:50.900 | Bring to him much food and get for him my largest cup.
00:03:54.380 | Choose well of the best wine that he may have satisfaction
00:03:57.820 | in the drinking.
00:03:59.500 | Now tell me what troubles thee."
00:04:02.660 | "It is the king's gift."
00:04:04.620 | "The king's gift?
00:04:06.220 | The king did make thee a gift, and it gives thee trouble.
00:04:09.580 | What manner of gift?"
00:04:11.980 | "Because he was much pleased with the design
00:04:14.020 | I did submit to him for a new point
00:04:15.980 | on the spears of the royal guard.
00:04:17.940 | He did present me with 50 pieces of gold,
00:04:20.300 | and now I am much perplexed.
00:04:22.420 | I am beseeched each hour the sun doth travel across the sky
00:04:26.100 | by those who would share it with me."
00:04:28.900 | "That is natural.
00:04:30.340 | More men want gold than have it, and would
00:04:32.780 | wish one who comes by it easily to divide.
00:04:35.980 | But can you not say no?
00:04:38.860 | Is thy will not as strong as thy fist?"
00:04:42.660 | "To many I can say no, yet sometimes it
00:04:45.500 | would be easier to say yes.
00:04:47.300 | Can one refuse to share with one's sister
00:04:49.660 | to whom he is deeply devoted?"
00:04:52.020 | "Surely thy own sister would not wish to deprive thee
00:04:54.860 | of enjoying thy reward."
00:04:57.260 | "But it is for the sake of Aramon, her husband, whom
00:05:00.340 | she wishes to see a rich merchant.
00:05:02.620 | She does feel that he has never had a chance,
00:05:05.260 | and she beseeches me to loan to him this gold that he
00:05:07.900 | may become a prosperous merchant and repay me from his profits."
00:05:12.700 | "My friend," resumed Mathon, "to the worthy subject
00:05:16.660 | thou bringest to discuss, gold bringeth unto its possessor
00:05:20.500 | responsibility and a changed position with his fellow men.
00:05:24.980 | It bringeth fear lest he lose it or it be tricked away from him.
00:05:29.340 | It bringeth a feeling of power and ability to do good.
00:05:32.820 | Likewise, it bringeth opportunities
00:05:35.700 | whereby his very good intentions may bring him into difficulties.
00:05:40.940 | Didst ever hear of the farmer of Nineveh
00:05:43.180 | who could understand the language of animals?
00:05:46.380 | I wot not, for it is not the kind of tale
00:05:49.100 | men like to tell over the bronze caster's forge.
00:05:52.260 | I will tell it to thee, for thou shouldst
00:05:54.060 | know that to borrowing and lending
00:05:56.860 | there is more than the passing of gold from the hands of one
00:06:00.740 | to the hands of another.
00:06:02.860 | This farmer, who could understand
00:06:04.820 | what the animals said to each other,
00:06:06.620 | did linger in the farmyard each evening
00:06:08.900 | just to listen to their words.
00:06:10.980 | One evening he did hear the ox bemoaning to the ass
00:06:13.900 | the hardness of his lot.
00:06:15.980 | I do labor pulling the plow from morning until night.
00:06:19.620 | No matter how hot the day or how tired my legs
00:06:23.500 | or how the bow doth chafe my neck, still must I work.
00:06:29.260 | But you are a creature of leisure.
00:06:31.860 | You are trapped with a colorful blanket
00:06:34.140 | and do nothing more than carry our master
00:06:36.500 | about where he wishes to go.
00:06:38.780 | When he goes nowhere, you do rest and eat
00:06:41.540 | the green grass all the day.
00:06:44.780 | Now the ass, in spite of his vicious heels,
00:06:48.780 | was a goodly fellow and sympathized with the ox.
00:06:52.100 | My good friend, he replied, you do work very hard
00:06:55.500 | and I would help ease your lot.
00:06:57.460 | Therefore will I tell you how you may have a day of rest.
00:07:01.420 | In the morning, when the slave comes to fetch you to the plow,
00:07:05.060 | lie upon the ground and bellow much
00:07:08.300 | that he may say you are sick and cannot work.
00:07:12.500 | So the ox took the advice of the ass.
00:07:16.100 | And the next morning, the slave returned to the farmer
00:07:19.540 | and told him the ox was sick and could not pull the plow.
00:07:24.620 | Then, said the farmer, hitch the ass to the plow,
00:07:28.260 | for the plowing must go on.
00:07:31.540 | All that day, the ass, who had only intended to help his friend,
00:07:36.380 | found himself compelled to do the ox's task.
00:07:40.140 | When night came and he was released from the plow,
00:07:43.140 | his heart was bitter and his legs were weary
00:07:46.500 | and his neck was sore where the bow had chafed it.
00:07:50.180 | The farmer lingered in the barnyard to listen.
00:07:53.300 | The ox began first.
00:07:55.780 | You are my good friend.
00:07:57.500 | Because of your wise advice, I've enjoyed a day of rest.
00:08:01.420 | And I, retorted the ass, am like many another simple-hearted one
00:08:06.140 | who starts to help a friend and ends up by doing his task for him.
00:08:10.900 | Hereafter, you draw your own plow,
00:08:13.380 | for I did hear the master tell the slave to send
00:08:15.980 | for the butcher were you sick again.
00:08:18.180 | I wish he would, for you are a lazy fellow.
00:08:22.420 | Thereafter, they spoke to each other no more.
00:08:25.620 | This ended their friendship.
00:08:28.380 | Canst thou tell the moral to this tale, Rodin?
00:08:32.500 | 'Tis a good tale, responded Rodin.
00:08:35.060 | But I see not the moral.
00:08:37.180 | I thought not that you would.
00:08:39.420 | But it is there and simple too.
00:08:43.420 | Just this.
00:08:44.820 | If you desire to help thy friend, do so in a way
00:08:49.420 | that will not bring thy friend's burdens upon thyself.
00:08:55.500 | I had not thought of that.
00:08:57.020 | It is a wise moral.
00:08:58.580 | I wish not to assume the burdens of my sister's husband.
00:09:01.900 | But tell me, you lend to many.
00:09:04.140 | Do not the borrowers repay?'
00:09:07.420 | Mathon smiled the smile of one whose soul is rich
00:09:11.180 | with much experience.
00:09:13.580 | Could a loan be well made if the borrower cannot repay?
00:09:17.980 | Must not the lender be wise and judge carefully
00:09:21.420 | whether his gold can perform a useful purpose to the borrower
00:09:25.140 | and return to him once more?
00:09:27.300 | Or whether it will be wasted by one unable to use it wisely
00:09:31.300 | and leave him without his treasure
00:09:33.340 | and leave the borrower with a debt he cannot repay?
00:09:36.540 | I will show to thee the tokens in my token chest
00:09:40.580 | and let them tell thee some of their stories.
00:09:44.900 | Into the room he brought a chest as long as his arm,
00:09:48.860 | covered with red pigskin and ornamented with bronze designs.
00:09:54.260 | He placed it upon the floor and squatted before it,
00:09:56.940 | both hands upon the lid.
00:09:58.780 | 'From each person to whom I lend,
00:10:01.220 | I do exact a token for my token chest
00:10:04.660 | to remain there until the loan is repaid.
00:10:07.580 | When they repay, I give back.
00:10:09.860 | But if they never repay, it will always remind me
00:10:13.420 | of one who was not faithful to my confidence.
00:10:18.540 | The safest loans, my token box tells me,
00:10:21.780 | are to those whose possessions are of more value
00:10:24.540 | than the one they desire.
00:10:26.500 | They own lands or jewels or camels
00:10:30.220 | or other things which could be sold to repay the loan.
00:10:34.580 | Some of the tokens given to me
00:10:36.180 | are jewels of more value than the loan.
00:10:39.060 | Others are promises that if the loan be not repaid as agreed,
00:10:44.180 | they will deliver to me certain property settlement.
00:10:48.140 | On loans like those, I am assured that my gold
00:10:50.780 | will be returned with the rental thereon,
00:10:53.180 | for the loan is based on property.
00:10:56.220 | In another class are those who have the capacity to earn.
00:11:00.260 | They are such as you, who labor or serve and are paid.
00:11:05.140 | They have income, and if they are honest
00:11:07.780 | and suffer no misfortune,
00:11:09.580 | I know that they also can repay the gold I loan them
00:11:13.540 | and the rental to which I am entitled.
00:11:16.460 | Such loans are based on human effort.
00:11:20.140 | Others are those who have neither property
00:11:23.340 | nor assured earning capacity.
00:11:26.380 | Life is hard, and there will always be some
00:11:29.340 | who cannot adjust themselves to it.
00:11:32.100 | Alas, for the loans I make them,
00:11:34.740 | even though they be no larger than a pence,
00:11:37.660 | my token box may censure me in the years to come,
00:11:40.900 | unless they be guaranteed by good friends of the borrower
00:11:44.980 | who know him honorable."
00:11:47.660 | Mathon released the clasp and opened the lid.
00:11:51.900 | Rodin leaned forward eagerly.
00:11:54.900 | At the top of the chest,
00:11:56.020 | a bronze neck piece lay upon a scarlet cloth.
00:11:59.620 | Mathon picked up the piece and patted it affectionately.
00:12:03.620 | "This shall always remain in my token chest,
00:12:06.980 | because the owner has passed on into the great darkness.
00:12:10.620 | I treasure it, his token, and I treasure his memory,
00:12:14.900 | for he was my good friend.
00:12:17.020 | We traded together with much success
00:12:19.140 | until out of the east he brought a woman to wed,
00:12:23.100 | beautiful, but not like our women, a dazzling creature.
00:12:28.100 | He spent his gold lavishly to gratify her desires.
00:12:33.220 | He came to me in distress when his gold was gone.
00:12:36.820 | I counseled with him.
00:12:38.380 | I told him I would help him
00:12:40.100 | to once more master his own affairs.
00:12:42.940 | He swore by the sign of the great bull that he would,
00:12:46.860 | but it was not to be.
00:12:48.900 | In a quarrel, she thrust a knife
00:12:50.940 | into the heart he dared her to pierce.
00:12:54.020 | "And she?" questioned Rodin.
00:12:56.820 | "Yes, of course, this was hers."
00:12:59.660 | He picked up the scarlet cloth.
00:13:01.900 | In bitter remorse, she threw herself into the Euphrates.
00:13:06.420 | "These two loans will never be repaid.
00:13:09.300 | The chest tells you, Rodin,
00:13:11.220 | that humans in the throes of great emotions
00:13:13.780 | are not safe risks for the gold lender.
00:13:16.620 | Here, now this is different."
00:13:18.780 | He reached for a ring carved of oxbone.
00:13:21.620 | "This belongs to a farmer.
00:13:23.580 | I buy the rugs of his women.
00:13:25.620 | The locusts came and they had not food.
00:13:28.500 | I helped him, and when the new crop came, he repaid me.
00:13:32.180 | Later, he came again and told of strange goats
00:13:35.140 | in a distant land as described by a traveler.
00:13:38.660 | They had long hair, so fine and soft
00:13:41.340 | it would weave into rugs more beautiful
00:13:43.820 | than any ever seen in Babylon.
00:13:46.380 | He wanted a herd, but he had no money.
00:13:49.700 | So I did lend him gold to make the journey
00:13:52.100 | and bring back goats.
00:13:53.940 | Now his herd is begun, and next year,
00:13:57.180 | I shall surprise the lords of Babylon
00:14:00.240 | with the most expensive rugs
00:14:02.700 | it has been their good fortune to buy.
00:14:05.380 | Soon I must return his ring.
00:14:07.580 | He doth insist on repaying promptly."
00:14:10.740 | "Some borrowers do that," queried Rodin.
00:14:13.620 | "If they borrow for a purpose
00:14:15.340 | that bring money back to them, I find it so.
00:14:18.420 | But if they borrow because of their indiscretions,
00:14:20.980 | I warn thee to be cautious
00:14:22.700 | if thou wouldst ever have thy gold back in hand again."
00:14:26.660 | "Tell me about this," requested Rodin,
00:14:29.540 | picking up a heavy gold bracelet
00:14:31.380 | inset with jewels and rare designs.
00:14:34.160 | "The women do appeal to my good friend," bantered Mathon.
00:14:39.420 | "I am still much younger than you," retorted Rodin.
00:14:43.220 | "I grant that.
00:14:44.900 | But this time thou doth suspicion romance where it is not.
00:14:49.580 | The owner of this is fat and wrinkled,
00:14:52.860 | and doth talk so much and say so little she drives me mad.
00:14:57.860 | Once they had much money and were good customers,
00:15:01.140 | but ill times came upon them.
00:15:03.500 | She has a son of whom she would make a merchant.
00:15:06.540 | So she came to me and borrowed gold
00:15:09.220 | that he might become a partner of a caravan owner
00:15:12.020 | who travels with his camels,
00:15:13.780 | bartering in one city what he buys in another.
00:15:17.360 | This man proved a rascal,
00:15:19.820 | for he left the poor boy in a distant city
00:15:22.160 | without money and without friends,
00:15:25.060 | pulling out early while the youth slept.
00:15:28.220 | Perhaps when this youth has grown to manhood, he will repay.
00:15:32.380 | Until then, I get no rental for the loan, only much talk.
00:15:37.380 | But I do admit the jewels are worthy of the loan."
00:15:41.780 | Did this lady ask thy advice as to the wisdom of the loan?
00:15:45.820 | "Quite otherwise.
00:15:47.740 | She had pictured to herself this son of hers
00:15:50.380 | as a wealthy and powerful man of Babylon.
00:15:54.100 | To suggest the contrary was to infuriate her.
00:15:58.340 | A fair rebuke I had.
00:16:00.340 | I knew the risk for this inexperienced boy.
00:16:04.060 | But as she offered security, I could not refuse her.
00:16:09.300 | This," continued Mathon,
00:16:12.140 | waving a bit of pack rope tied into a knot,
00:16:15.300 | "belongs to Nabatur, the camel trader.
00:16:19.780 | When he would buy a herd larger than his funds,
00:16:22.500 | he brings to me this knot,
00:16:24.860 | and I lend to him according to his needs.
00:16:28.180 | He is a wise trader.
00:16:30.500 | I have confidence in his good judgment
00:16:32.860 | and can lend him freely.
00:16:35.340 | Many other merchants of Babylon have my confidence
00:16:38.420 | because of their honorable behavior.
00:16:41.780 | Their tokens come and go frequently in my token box.
00:16:45.700 | Good merchants are an asset to our city,
00:16:48.220 | and it profits me to aid them to keep trade moving
00:16:51.460 | that Babylon be prosperous."
00:16:53.940 | Mathon picked out a beetle carved in turquoise
00:16:57.900 | and tossed it contemptuously on the floor.
00:17:00.780 | "A bug from Egypt.
00:17:03.340 | The lad who owns this does not care
00:17:05.460 | whether I ever receive back my gold.
00:17:08.140 | When I reproach him, he replies,
00:17:10.180 | 'How can I repay when ill fate pursues me?
00:17:13.220 | You have plenty more.'
00:17:15.340 | What can I do?
00:17:16.860 | The token is his father's,
00:17:18.940 | a worthy man of small means who did pledge his land
00:17:22.220 | and herd to back his son's enterprises.
00:17:25.140 | The youth found success at first
00:17:27.420 | and then was overzealous to gain great wealth.
00:17:30.500 | His knowledge was immature.
00:17:32.980 | His enterprises collapsed.
00:17:36.020 | Youth is ambitious.
00:17:38.620 | Youth would take shortcuts to wealth
00:17:41.060 | and the desirable things for which it stands.
00:17:44.260 | To secure wealth quickly, youth often borrows unwisely.
00:17:48.740 | Youth, never having had experience,
00:17:51.460 | cannot realize that hopeless debt is like a deep pit
00:17:55.740 | into which one may descend quickly
00:17:58.460 | and where one may struggle vainly for many days.
00:18:02.500 | It is a pit of sorrow and regrets
00:18:05.860 | where the brightness of the sun is overcast
00:18:09.020 | and night is made unhappy by restless sleeping.
00:18:12.860 | Yet I do not discourage borrowing gold.
00:18:16.740 | I encourage it.
00:18:18.620 | I recommend it if it be for a wise purpose.
00:18:22.340 | I myself made my first real success
00:18:24.820 | as a merchant with borrowed gold.
00:18:27.660 | Yet what should the lender do in such a case?
00:18:31.420 | The youth is in despair and accomplishes nothing.
00:18:35.380 | He is discouraged.
00:18:37.220 | He makes no effort to repay.
00:18:39.860 | My heart turns against depriving the father
00:18:42.420 | of his land and cattle.
00:18:44.340 | "You tell me much that I am interested to hear,"
00:18:48.260 | ventured Rodin, "but I hear no answer to my question.
00:18:51.820 | Should I lend my 50 pieces of gold to my sister's husband?
00:18:55.220 | They mean much to me.
00:18:56.460 | Thy sister is a sterling woman whom I do much esteem.
00:19:01.740 | Should her husband come to me
00:19:03.380 | and ask to borrow 50 pieces of gold,
00:19:06.620 | I should ask him for what purpose he would use it.
00:19:10.380 | If he answered that he desired to become a merchant
00:19:13.780 | like myself and deal in jewels and rich furnishings,
00:19:18.780 | I would say, 'What knowledge have you of the ways of trade?
00:19:22.660 | Do you know where you can buy at lowest cost?
00:19:25.900 | Do you know where you can sell at a fair price?'
00:19:29.260 | Could he say yes to these questions?"
00:19:33.020 | "No, he could not," Rodin admitted.
00:19:36.740 | "He has helped me much in making spears
00:19:38.740 | and he has helped some in the shops."
00:19:40.860 | Then would I say to him that his purpose was not wise.
00:19:46.460 | Merchants must learn their trade.
00:19:49.380 | His ambition, though worthy, is not practical
00:19:53.580 | and I would not lend him any gold.
00:19:56.740 | But supposing he could say,
00:19:59.540 | "Yes, I have helped merchants much.
00:20:02.380 | I know how to travel to Smyrna
00:20:04.940 | and to buy at low cost the rugs the housewives weave.
00:20:09.100 | I also know many of the rich people of Babylon
00:20:11.740 | to whom I can sell these at a large profit."
00:20:15.020 | Then I would say,
00:20:16.580 | "Your purpose is wise and your ambition honorable.
00:20:21.100 | I shall be glad to lend you the 50 pieces of gold
00:20:24.140 | if you can give me security that they will be returned."
00:20:29.140 | But he would say,
00:20:30.980 | "I have no security other than that I am an honored man
00:20:35.500 | and will pay you well for the loan."
00:20:38.100 | Then would I reply,
00:20:39.900 | "I treasure much each piece of gold.
00:20:43.940 | Were the robbers to take it from you
00:20:45.740 | as you journeyed to Smyrna
00:20:47.380 | or take the rugs from you as you returned,
00:20:49.860 | then you would have no means of repaying me
00:20:52.540 | and my gold would be gone."
00:20:54.460 | Gold, you see, Rodin,
00:20:57.460 | is the merchandise of the lender of money.
00:21:01.220 | It is easy to lend.
00:21:03.860 | If it is lent unwisely,
00:21:05.700 | then it is difficult to get back.
00:21:08.900 | The wise lender wishes not the risk of the undertaking,
00:21:13.500 | but the guarantee of safe repayment.
00:21:17.740 | "'Tis well," he continued,
00:21:20.140 | "to assist those that are in trouble.
00:21:22.740 | 'Tis well to help those upon whom fate
00:21:25.500 | has laid a heavy hand.
00:21:27.540 | 'Tis well to help those who are starting,
00:21:30.540 | that they may progress and become valuable citizens.
00:21:34.620 | But help must be given wisely,
00:21:38.540 | lest, like the farmer's ass,
00:21:41.620 | in our desire to help,
00:21:43.300 | we but take upon ourselves the burden
00:21:45.620 | that belongs to another.
00:21:47.780 | Again, I wandered from thy question, Rodin,
00:21:50.220 | but hear my answer.
00:21:52.020 | Keep thy 50 pieces of gold.
00:21:55.140 | What thy labor earns for thee
00:21:57.620 | and what is given thee for reward is thine own,
00:22:02.020 | and no man can put an obligation upon thee
00:22:04.780 | to part with it unless it do be thy wish.
00:22:09.180 | If thee wouldst lend it so that it may earn thee more gold,
00:22:12.700 | then lend with caution,
00:22:14.180 | and in many places I like not idle gold,
00:22:18.780 | even less I like too much of risk.
00:22:22.180 | How many years hast thou labored as a spear-maker?
00:22:25.540 | Fully three.
00:22:26.820 | How much, besides the king's gift, hast saved?
00:22:31.700 | Three gold pieces.
00:22:33.820 | Each year that thou hast labored,
00:22:35.700 | thou hast denied thyself good things
00:22:38.300 | to save from thine earnings one piece of gold?
00:22:42.300 | 'Tis as you say.
00:22:44.340 | Then mightest save in 50 years of labor
00:22:47.580 | 50 pieces of gold by thy self-denial?
00:22:51.380 | A lifetime of labor it would be.
00:22:53.300 | Thinkest thou thy sister would wish
00:22:56.940 | to jeopardize the savings of 50 years of labor
00:23:01.660 | over the bronze melting pot
00:23:03.580 | that her husband might experiment on being a merchant?
00:23:07.860 | Not if I spoke in your words.
00:23:11.180 | Then go to her and say,
00:23:13.580 | "Three years have I labored each day except fast days,
00:23:18.420 | from morning until night,
00:23:20.500 | and I have denied myself many things that my heart craved.
00:23:25.140 | For each year of labor and self-denial,
00:23:27.780 | I have to show one piece of gold.
00:23:31.140 | Thou art my favored sister,
00:23:33.740 | and I wish that thy husband may engage in business
00:23:36.820 | in which he will prosper greatly.
00:23:39.500 | If he will submit to me a plan
00:23:41.900 | that seems wise and possible to my friend Mathon,
00:23:45.540 | then will I gladly lend to him my savings of an entire year,
00:23:50.060 | that he may have an opportunity to prove that he can succeed.
00:23:54.500 | Do that, I say,
00:23:56.380 | and if he has within him the soul to succeed,
00:23:59.260 | he can prove it.
00:24:00.860 | If he fails, he will not owe thee more
00:24:03.380 | than he can hope someday to repay.
00:24:06.780 | I am a gold lender because I own more gold
00:24:10.020 | than I can use in my own trade.
00:24:12.500 | I desire my surplus gold to labor for others
00:24:15.820 | and thereby earn more gold.
00:24:18.380 | I do not wish to take risk of losing my gold,
00:24:21.340 | for I have labored much
00:24:23.180 | and denied myself much to secure it.
00:24:26.380 | Therefore, I will no longer lend any of it
00:24:29.180 | where I am not confident that it is safe
00:24:32.020 | and will be returned to me.
00:24:34.620 | Neither will I lend it where I am not convinced
00:24:37.260 | that its earnings will be promptly paid to me.
00:24:40.580 | I have told to thee, Rodin,
00:24:42.700 | a few of the secrets of my token chest.
00:24:45.580 | From them you may understand the weakness of men
00:24:49.060 | and their eagerness to borrow that
00:24:51.020 | which they have no certain means to repay.
00:24:54.140 | From this, you can see how often their high hopes
00:24:57.340 | of the great earnings they could make,
00:24:59.420 | if they but had gold, are but false hopes.
00:25:02.980 | They have not the ability or training to fulfill.
00:25:06.900 | Thou, Rodin, now have gold,
00:25:09.420 | which thou shouldst put to earning more gold for thee.
00:25:12.980 | Thou art about to become, even as I, a gold lender.
00:25:17.980 | If thou dost safely preserve thy treasure,
00:25:22.580 | it will produce liberal earnings for thee
00:25:25.540 | and be a rich source of pleasure
00:25:27.460 | and profit during all thy days.
00:25:30.220 | But if thou dost let it escape from thee,
00:25:33.020 | it will be a source of constant sorrow and regret
00:25:36.180 | as long as thy memory doth last.
00:25:39.340 | What desirest thou most of this gold in thy wallet?
00:25:43.620 | - To keep it safe.
00:25:45.460 | - Wisely spoken, replied Mathon approvingly.
00:25:49.220 | Thy first desire is for safety.
00:25:52.300 | Thinkest thou that in the custody of thy sister's husband,
00:25:56.220 | it would be truly safe from possible loss?
00:26:00.180 | - I fear not, for he is not wise in guarding gold.
00:26:04.020 | - Then be not swayed by foolish sentiments of obligation
00:26:08.940 | to trust thy treasure to any person.
00:26:12.180 | If thou wouldst help thy family or thy friends,
00:26:15.620 | find other ways than risking the loss of thy treasure.
00:26:19.860 | Forget not that gold slippeth away in unexpected ways
00:26:24.300 | from those unskilled in guarding it.
00:26:27.140 | As well, waste thy treasure in extravagance
00:26:30.220 | as let others lose it for thee.
00:26:32.460 | What next after safety
00:26:36.220 | dost desire of this treasure of thine?
00:26:39.380 | - That it earn more gold.
00:26:41.460 | - Again, thou speakest with wisdom.
00:26:44.360 | It should be made to earn and grow larger.
00:26:47.460 | Gold wisely lent may even double itself
00:26:50.180 | with its earnings before a man like you groweth old.
00:26:53.420 | If you risk losing it,
00:26:55.260 | you risk losing all that it would earn as well.
00:26:58.700 | Therefore, be not swayed by the fantastic plans
00:27:02.500 | of the impractical men who think they see ways
00:27:05.380 | to force thy gold to make earnings unusually large.
00:27:09.980 | Such plans are the creations of dreamers,
00:27:12.980 | unskilled in the safe and dependable laws of trade.
00:27:16.820 | Be conservative in what thou expected to earn,
00:27:20.400 | that thou mayest keep and enjoy thy treasure.
00:27:23.960 | To hire it out with a promise of usurious returns
00:27:27.220 | is to invite loss.
00:27:29.500 | Seek to associate thyself with men and enterprises
00:27:33.420 | whose success is established
00:27:35.940 | that thy treasure may earn liberally
00:27:38.260 | under their skillful use
00:27:39.900 | and be guarded safely by their wisdom and experience.
00:27:43.980 | Thus mayest thou avoid the misfortunes
00:27:46.380 | that follow most of the sons of men
00:27:48.780 | to whom the gods see fit to entrust gold.
00:27:52.860 | When Rodin would thank him for his wise advice,
00:27:55.180 | he would not listen, saying,
00:27:56.820 | "The king's gift shall teach thee much wisdom.
00:27:59.780 | If wouldst keep thy 50 pieces of gold,
00:28:02.380 | thou must be discreet indeed.
00:28:04.980 | Many uses will tempt thee.
00:28:06.900 | Much advice will be spoken to thee.
00:28:09.540 | Numerous opportunities to make large profits
00:28:12.340 | will be offered thee.
00:28:13.980 | The stories from my token box should warn thee
00:28:17.460 | before thou let any piece of gold leave thy pouch
00:28:20.900 | to be sure that thou hast a safe way to pull it back again.
00:28:25.380 | Should my further advice appeal to thee, return again.
00:28:28.180 | It is gladly given.
00:28:30.380 | Ere thou goest, read this,
00:28:34.100 | which I have carved beneath the lid of my token box.
00:28:38.060 | It applies equally to the borrower and the lender.
00:28:42.360 | Better a little caution than a great regret."
00:28:49.340 | The holidays start here at Ralph's
00:28:51.100 | with a variety of options
00:28:52.420 | to celebrate traditions old and new.
00:28:54.780 | Whether you're making a traditional roasted turkey
00:28:57.300 | or spicy turkey tacos,
00:28:59.140 | your go-to shrimp cocktail,
00:29:00.940 | or your first Cajun risotto,
00:29:02.840 | Ralph's has all the freshest ingredients
00:29:05.300 | to embrace your traditions.
00:29:06.860 | Ralph's, fresh for everyone.
00:29:09.140 | Choose from a great selection of digital coupons
00:29:11.420 | and use them up to five times in one transaction.
00:29:14.020 | Check our app for details.
00:29:15.580 | Ralph's, fresh for everyone.
00:29:17.760 | [music fades out]