Section One Through Page 20 Summary and Analysis

This small book is a collection of sayings, most of which are the original thoughts of Benjamin Franklin. The sayings were originally published in a series of yearly booklets known as "Poor Richard's Almanack" between the years of 1732-1758. Franklin's sayings are often self-explanatory and just as true today as they were when they were written. The difficulty in understanding Franklin's sayings come through his use of colloquial language and spelling.

Franklin begins his list of sayings with a suggestion to view each new year as a clean slate, leaving bad habits behind with the old year. In the final saying on page 6 Franklin presents his first quote about lawyers. The impression is given that Franklin does not care much for lawyers as he indicates a lawyer will pick a man to the bone, somewhat...