Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1846-11-12
Unearned Honey.

uon "csitu, YET IL may oc sdleiJ dHIineu tHdi
money is never so much enjoyed, nor so pleas
antly and judiciously spent as when hardly
earned The exerlion used in obtaining it is
beneficial alike TO the health and spirits 1t az
fords pleasure in the contemplation, as the re-
sui, of effort and industry, thing which un-
earned money can never impari; and The natar-
al alienation of labour and relaxation tends 10
preserve The body in health, and keeps the mind
from the injurious extremes of either parsimo-
ny or prodigality.
Unearned money, on The contrary, as it is
obtained without an effort, so it is often spent
without thought There is no heaIIhfu ac-
riviy used In acquiring it; no putting forth OF
those energies, the use of which tends 90 great
ly 10 elevate and purify no skill! or perseser-
ance called into action and j, is seldom lha,
1t is possessed 10 any great extent without in
jurng The possessor. 1t induces dislasle for
labor and activity; il lulIs to ignoble res, in The
lap of circumstances it aures to foa, along
with the stream, instead of the heathluI labor
of slemming the tide of difficulty; and he had
need be something more than mortal who can
possess much of this unearned money without
being in his moral nature somewhat paraIysed
and debased. Naturally rampant as are the
weeds Of sloih and seusually in the human
heart, that condition of life in which there is
not only work TO be done, but work which must
be done, will be the safest and best
And YET how often do foolish parents debar
themselves of almost the necesSares of life, and
drudge on 10 the latest moment of existence, to
send out into the world some pet son with
good supply of this unearned money How
family The coveted title Of gentleman The
greatest ilIiberaIry and injustice are exercised
towards the rest Not unfrequently, however,
does it happen that these gentlemen lurn Out
the most ungentee of their family; and the poor,
unprovided members, who had nothing but their
own energy and industry 10 look TO- rise 10
level of respeciabihiy and usefulness far supe-
rior TO The Teady-made genIiiy of their envied
relation.
In glancing over the giiuering list of those
who have made the creates, achievements,
whether in art, science, or literature, how few
of them, We find, were possessed of unearned
money. They were for The most par, men of
single purpose aud patient perseverance and
this was their only veal Their genius was
nursed in the cradle of Toll; and we NAV safely
assert thai, with respect 10 the most of Them,
had they been born in The enervaing lap of in.
dependence and abundance, the fame of their
genius would have been eilhe, dimmed OF ex-
tnguished, and the works of a Haydn, Burns,
and Rembrandt, might have been lost TO the
world
Among business men this thirst for unearned
money often produces the most disastrous con-
sequences A bubble company makes oct
plausible statement OF certain profits, to an
amount double or triple those which the plod-
ding tradesman obtains from his ordinary busi-
ness, and he consequently despises those gains
which have enabled him TO bring up family
in suficiency and responsibility. Business is
neglected, customers are offended: his thoughts
and energies are bent in new direction and,
too late, he wakes from his dream of affluence,
TO find his hope bubble, aud his prospects
ruined.
Even when speculatons are successful, how
seldom is The unearned money acquired by them
a real blessing! The mind becomes restless
and unsettled; habits Of gambling are formed
with the Increase of money comes an increase
of ambition; and generally The spirit of specnla,
lions become more hazardous, till the hundreth
one, proving disastrous, dissipates in an hour
the gain of the ninety mine preceding fortunate
ones. Or if the specuIator has that rare COM
mand over himself 10 stop at given point, sat-
lsfeG with his success, how seldom does his
prove increase 10 his respectabii,y,
comfort, or usefulness! Too often does the
history Of such men furnish striking iusira-
ion Of The sentiment of Coleridse-