Part 1 — On the Uses of Adversity
Reading edition
"Nam nihil est, quod non mortalibus afferat usum."—PETRONIUS
Nothing there is that mortal man may utterly despise; What in our wealth we treasured, in our poverty we prize. The gold upon a sinking ship has often wrecked the boat, While on a simple oar a shipwrecked man may keep afloat. The burglar seeks the plutocrat, attracted by his dress— The poor man finds his poverty the true preparedness.