The Secret Of Wealth

THE above suggestion from Lucius Annaeus Seneca, one of the wisest of Romans who lived before Christ was born and after the crucifixion, is a thought handed down to us over a period of two thousand years which is still worthy our consideration.

Seneca was not a poor man and was in fact a man of considerable means, although not of great wealth. He was a senator and was for some time tutor to Nero. He tried to instill his ideas into the mind of the young and obstreperous Nero but Nero was pigheaded and would not listen to Seneca or to any one else.

Nero wasted his wealth and the wealth of the nation in riotous living. He was careless and irresponsible and you will remember that history says he amused himself by fiddling while the great city of Rome was reduced to ashes. Whether he actually played his violin or not is of no consequence, but he did fiddle away his time and his wealth and start a great empire on the road to decay and final oblivion.

During the last few years we have been going through a period of greater prosperity than Rome ever knew. We have been spending thousands where Rome used to spend hundreds. Many workingmen, some of whom never had a common school education, have recently possessed more wealth than Seneca ever owned.

We have been spending money more profligately than even the Romans of Seneca's time. We have spent some of it to good purpose and we have wasted some of it.

It was Zimmerman who said: "Take care to be an economist in prosperity; there is no fear of your not being one in adversity."

It is already quite evident that some people are awake to the idea that'' Economy is too late at the bottom of the purse," and have already begun seriously to put aside all the money they can.

This is a good time to follow the crowd; the crowd is saving money and saving it harder than ever before.

There are many people who honestly believe that they cannot save today because living costs are too high or because their incomes are too small. Saving is a matter of desire as is spending and, when the desire to save becomes stronger than the desire to spend, then the deposits of banks begin to show expansion.

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