Source identified
“The least outlay is not always the greatest gain.”
Trying to minimize immediate cost can create a worse result when skill, care, or professional competence is what the task actually requires.
Source note: Moral printed after “The Widow and the Sheep”; the widow injures the sheep while trying to avoid the shearer’s expense.
Source identified
“At a great pennyworth pause a while.”
Voice: Authorial persona / framed maxim · Poor Richard maxim, repeated through Father Abraham
An unusually cheap offer deserves scrutiny because apparent savings can still produce a bad purchase when the buyer has no real need for it.
Source note: The Way to Wealth, frugality section; Project Gutenberg #43855. The maxim introduces Franklin’s distinction between apparent cheapness and genuine value.
Source identified
“Tell the truth or trump—but get the trick.”
Voice: Epigraph / fictional source voice · Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar
The joke turns moral advice into card-table strategy, making the line funny precisely because truth and tactical winning are compressed into one impossible-sounding rule.
Source note: Pudd’nhead Wilson, Chapter I epigraph; one of the fictional Calendar maxims Twain places before the chapter.
Source identified
“Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse.”
Voice: Authorial persona / framed maxim · Poor Richard maxim, repeated through Father Abraham
Desired appearance should be tested against actual means before spending, placing affordability ahead of fashion or social comparison.
Source note: The Way to Wealth, frugality section; Project Gutenberg #43855. The line appears in a short verse warning against pride-driven spending on dress.
Source identified
“Creditors have better memories than debtors.”
Debt can feel less urgent to the borrower than to the person awaiting repayment, making the line a dry reminder about financial obligations and accountability.
Source note: Poor Richard’s Almanack for 1736; Franklin uses a short contrast to emphasize the persistence of financial obligations.
Source identified
“Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths.”
Voice: Authorial persona / framed maxim · Poor Richard maxim, repeated through Father Abraham
A low price does not make a purchase beneficial when the item is unnecessary or when buying it leaves too little for more important needs.
Source note: The Way to Wealth, frugality section; Project Gutenberg #43855. “Pennyworth” refers to an apparent bargain and the warning is about false economy.