第二冊第13篇：致富之道

13 Hints For Those That Would Be Rich 致富之道

Benjamin Franklin 本杰明·富蘭克林

The Use of Money is all the Advantage there is in having Money. For ￡ 6 a Year you may have the Use of ￡ 100 if you are a Man of known Prudence and Honesty.

有錢的唯一好處就在于用錢。如果你是一個節(jié)儉而誠實(shí)的人，一年六英鎊就可以當(dāng)一百英鎊的錢使用。

He that spends a Groat a day idly, spends idly above ￡ 6 a year, which is the Price of using ￡100.

一天浪費(fèi)四便士的人，一年就浪費(fèi)六個多英鎊，而六英鎊相當(dāng)于一百英鎊的使用價值。

He that wastes idly a Groat's worth of his Time per Day, one Day with another, wastes the Privilege of using ￡ 100 each day.

每天虛度值四便士的時間的人，日復(fù)一日，等于浪費(fèi)了每天使用一百英鎊的權(quán)利。

He that idly loses 5 s. worth of time, loses 5 s. and might as prudently(1) throw 5 s. in the River.

一個游手好閑而損失了價值五先令時間的人，就是失去了五個先令，他還不如把五先令扔進(jìn)河里的好。

He that loses 5 s. not only loses that Sum, but all the Advantage that might be made by turning it in Dealing, which, by the time that a young Man becomes old, amounts to a comfortable Bag of Money.

一個失去五先令的人，不僅失去了那筆錢，還失去了把錢用于經(jīng)商可能帶來的好處，而一個年輕人到年老的時候這筆錢就會等于一筆可觀的財產(chǎn)。

Again, He that sells upon Credit, asks a Price for what he sells equivalent to the Principal and Interest of his Money for the Time he is like to be kept out of it(2): therefore He that buys upon Credit, pays Interest for what he buys. And he that pays Ready Money, might let that Money out to Use; so that He that possesses any Thing he has bought, pays Interest for the Use of it.

還有，一個賒帳出售物品的人，對他所售貨物要求的價格相當(dāng)于貨物的本錢加上他暫時不能利用的那筆錢的利息。因此，一個賒帳購買的人，要為他所買的貨物支付利息。而一個用現(xiàn)金購買的人，如果不買的話，是可以把那筆錢借給別人使用的。所以，一個擁有任何買來的東西的人，都要為使用這東西而支付利息。

Consider then when you are tempted to buy any unnecessary Household stuff, or any superfluous thing, whether you will be willing to pay Interest, and Interest upon Interest for it as long as you live; and more if it grows worse by using. ret, in buying goods, 't is best to pay Ready Money, because, He that sells upon Credit, expects to lose 5 per Cent by Bad Debts(3); therefore he charges, on all he sells upon Credit, an Advance~ that shall make up that deficiency.

當(dāng)你感到一種引誘，想要買任何并不急需的家用品，或任何不必要的東西的時候，你就要好好考慮一下，你是否愿意為它支付利息，并且終身利上加利，如果這東西是會用壞的，那末還要付得更多。然而，在買東西時，最好還是付現(xiàn)金，因為賒帳售物的人，估計由于吃倒帳會損失百分之五，所以把賒售的所有貨物都要加碼，以彌補(bǔ)這筆損失。

Those who pay for what they buy upon Credit, pay their Share of this Advance.

那些賒帳購物的人，得支付他們所應(yīng)分擔(dān)的這筆加碼的價款。

He that pays Ready Money, escapes or may escape that Charge.

而用現(xiàn)金購物的人，則不需或可能不需支付這筆錢。

A Penny sav'd is Twopence clear(5),

省下的一便士是不折不扣的兩便士，

A Pin a Day is a Groat a Year.(6)

每天節(jié)約一丁點(diǎn)兒一年就是一大筆。

英文注釋：

(1) might as prudently：結(jié)構(gòu)與一般常用的 might as well相同。might as well含有"反正一樣"、"倒不如"的意思。

(2)to be kept out Of it：it代表money。to be kept out of，..解作"受到阻礙不能享有……"。

(3) bad debts：壞賬，倒賬。商業(yè)用語，指賒賣后不能收到的賬款。

(4)advance：通常解作'預(yù)付款"，這里作"漲價"或"加碼"解。其涵義是，商人賒賣后很可能有一部分賬款不能收回，因此對每個顧客多開價百分之五，以彌補(bǔ)將來必然會發(fā)生的倒賬損失。

(5) clear：十足的，整整的，相當(dāng)于with out any deduction。

(6)在商業(yè)上訂立的契約和其他重要法律文件中常把要緊的術(shù)語以大寫字母開始，或整個詞中的字母都大寫。這篇文章也仿照這個習(xí)慣做法，主要名詞或詞組都用大寫，含有幽默之意.