The Commercial Decalogue

Thou shalt not in any wise boast, brag, bounce, or bluster, or the wise man will hold thee in low esteem.

Thou shalt not permit thy wife to be living at the rate of £200 a year, when thy business is not yielding more than £199; nor shalt thou withhold from her the business information which, as an helpmeet, she is entitled to receive.

III.

Thou shalt not mock the unsuccessful man, for he may be richer in his poverty than thou art in thy boasted abundance.

IV.

Thou shalt not carry the counting-house into the domestic circle, nor in any wise spoil the children’s hour by recapitulating the bankruptcies of the day.

Vie

Thou shalt not hobnob with idle persons, nor smoke with them, nor encourage them, nor approve their evil life.

Thou shalt not keep company with an unpunctual man, for he will certainly lead thee to carelessness and ruin.

Thou shalt not forget that a servant who can tell

les for thee may one day tell lies ¢o thee.

VILL.
As to hours of slumber and sleep, remember the
good old rule — “Nature requires five,
Custom gives seven,

Laziness takes nine,
And wickedness eleven.”

IX. “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,” but give where well bestowed right cheerfully.

Be honest in copper, and in gold thy honesty will be sure.

Restored from a scan of the 1894 edition, with page headers and numbers removed and words rejoined across line breaks. Scan-derived text, still being proofread; compare the original scan before quoting.