Samuel Smiles

Goldsmith spoke of the country curate as "passing rich with forty pounds a year." The incomes of curates have certainly increased since the time when…

When the author visited Renfrewshire a few years ago, the colliers were earning from ten to fourteen shillings a day. According to the common saying,…

In the same neighbourhood, another collier, with four sons, was earning money at about the same rate per man, that is about seventy-five-pounds a…

At the same time that these two families of colliers were doing so well, it was very different with the majority of their fellow-workmen. These…

These were doubtless "roaring times" for the colliers, who, had they possessed the requisite self-denial, might have made little fortunes. Many of…

He had the moral courage--a quality much wanted in these days--to tell his constituents some hard but honest truths. He argued with them about the…

It had been said in a newspaper, that a miner was earning wages equal to that of a Captain, and that a mining boy was earning wages equal to that…

The times of high wages did not leave a very good impression on the public mind. Prices became higher, morals became lower, and the work done was…

What the employers think of the recent flash of "prosperity," can easily be imagined. But it may not be unnecessary to quote some of the statements…

Another observer remarks, that the miners of Bilston are about six thousand in number, and they spend more than fifty thousand pounds annually in the…

Mr. Chambers, of Edinburgh, in his description of the working classes of Sunderland makes these remarks: "With deep sorrow I mention that…

Another illustration occurs. A clerk at Blackburn took a house for twenty pounds a year, and sublet the cellars underneath to a factory operative…

The intense selfishness, thriftlessness, and folly of these highly paid operatives, is scarcely credible. Exceptions are frequently taken to…

It would seem to be of little use preaching up an extension of rights to a people who are so supinely indifferent to their own well-being,--who are…

Brown, the Oxford shoemaker, was of opinion that "a good mechanic is the most independent man in the world." At least he ought to be such. He has…

"Let me state, for it seems to be very much the fashion to draw dolorous pictures of the condition of the labouring classes, that from the close of…

It is most disheartening to find that so many of the highest paid workmen in the kingdom should spend so large a portion of their earnings in their…

It is difficult to account for the waste and extravagance of working people. It must be the hereditary remnant of the original savage. It must be a…

Slavery long existed among ourselves. It existed when Caesar lauded. It existed in Saxon times, when the household work was done by slaves. The…

When the Normans took possession of England, they continued slavery. They made slaves of the Saxons themselves whom they decreed villeins and…

The last serfs in England were emancipated in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; but the last serfs in Scotland, were not emancipated until the reign of…

Matters have now become entirely different. The workman, no matter what his trade, is comparatively free. The only slavery from which he suffers,…

The working man is now more of a citizen than he ever was before. He is a recognized power, and has been admitted within the pale of the constitution…

The working classes very much under-estimate themselves. Though they receive salaries or wages beyond the average earnings of professional men, yet…

"Let the working man," says Mr. Sterling, "try to connect his daily task, however mean, with the highest thoughts he can apprehend, and he thereby…

With respect to remuneration, the average of skilled mechanics and artisans, as we have already said, are better paid than the average of working…

Skilled workmen might--and, if they had the will, they would--occupy a social position as high as the educated classes we refer to. What prevents…

Notwithstanding their high wages, they for the most part cling to the dress, the language, and the manners of their class. They appear, during…

How are these enormous evils to be cured? Some say by better education; others by moral and religious instruction; others by better homes, and better…

We often hear that "Knowledge is Power;" but we never hear that Ignorance is Power. And yet Ignorance has always had more power in the world than…

Ignorance arms men against each other; provides gaols and penitentiaries; police and constabulary. All the physical force of the State is provided by…

The principal causes of anxiety in this country, are the social suffering and disease which proceed from Ignorance. To mitigate these, we form…

The physiologist may discuss the laws of health, and the Board of Health may write tracts for circulation among the people; but half the people…

It must, however, be admitted that education is not enough. The clever man may be a clever rogue; and the cleverer he is, the cleverer rogue he…

Nor has the poverty of the people so much to do with their social degradation as is commonly supposed. The question is essentially a moral one. If…

The late Mr. Clay, chaplain of the Preston House of Correction, after characterizing drunkenness as the GREAT SIN, proceeds: "It still rises in…

The late Sir Arthur Helps, when speaking of high and low wages, and of the means of getting and spending money, thus expresses himself on the subject…

"In the living of the poor (as indeed of all of us) there are two things to be considered; how to get money, and how to spend it. Now, I believe, the…

Notwithstanding, however, the discouraging circumstances to which we have referred, we must believe that in course of time, as men's nature becomes…

Education, however obtained, is always an advantage to a man. Even as a means of material advancement, it is worthy of being sought after,--not to…

A beginning has already been made with public school education. Much still remains to be done to establish the system throughout the empire. At…

We must therefore believe that as intelligence extends amongst the working class, and as a better moral tone pervades them, there will be a rapid…

Thrift is the spirit of order applied to domestic management and organization. Its object is to manage frugally the resources of the family; to…

The words "Waste not, want not," carved in stone over Sir Walter Scott's kitchen fireplace at Abbotsford, expresses in a few words the secret of…

Order is the best manager of time; for unless work is properly arranged, Time is lost; and, once lost, it is gone for ever. Order illustrates many…

Thrift is the spirit of order in human life. It is the prime agent in private economy. It preserves the happiness of many a household. And as it is…

People of the highest position, in point of culture and education, have often as great privations to endure as the average of working people. They…

Thus, the tenth Earl of Buchan brought up a numerous family of children, one of whom afterwards rose to be Lord Chancellor of England, upon an income…

The late Dr. Aiton said that his father brought up a still larger family on only half the income of the Earl of Buchan. The following dedication,…

The author might even cite his own case as an illustration of the advantages of thrift. His mother was left a widow, when her youngest child--the…

But one of the most remarkable illustrations of Thrift is to be found in the history of the Rev. Robert Walker--the _Wonderful_ Robert Walker, as…

After officiating as curate of Leathwaite for about twenty years, the annual value of the living was increased to seventeen pounds ten shillings. His…

Many men, in order to advance themselves in the world, and to raise themselves in society, have "scorned delights and lived laborious days." They…

Goethe says, "It is perfectly indifferent within what circle an honest man acts, provided he do but know how to understand and completely fill out…

At all events, it is not by socialism, but by individualism, that anything has been done towards the achievement of knowledge, and the advancement of…

Individual men are willing to deny themselves, but associated communities will not. The masses are too selfish, and fear that advantage will be taken…

Lord Elcho might also have mentioned Dr. Hutton, the geologist, a man of a much higher order of genius; who was the son of a coal-viewer. Bewick, the…

George Stephenson worked his way from the pithead to the highest position as an engineer. George began his life with industry, and when he had…

And he was right. For the man who, after satisfying his wants, has something to spare, is no longer poor. It is certain that from that day Stephenson…

When Stephenson proposed to erect his first locomotive, he had not sufficient means to defray its cost. But in the course of his life as a workman,…