No Pain, No Gain Booker Smith College

One of Benjamin Franklin’s most memorable aphorisms in The Way to Wealth is the phrase “There are no gains, without pains” (2). This phrase has entered the American lexicon and become an established aphorism that represents the American work ethic and the larger ethos of the United States’ culture and economy. Immediately before this aphorism, Franklin, via Poor Richard, offers the suggestion that “He that lives upon hope will die fasting” (2). Here, Franklin points out that simply hoping for vitality in one’s life is not sufficient. In order to achieve success, one must be determined to accomplish the task in front of them and rely on their own merit instead of that of God’s or the state’s. Here, Franklin advocates for a sort of individual self-determination that will become the bedrock of American thought for years to come.

Franklin’s larger argument is for self-determination and independence. Franklin was vehemently opposed to continued British rule from the opposite side of the Atlantic. He was of the opinion that Americans were ready to assert rule over themselves. Immediately after this famous aphorism, Poor Richard, via Franklin, states that, “Help hands, for I have no lands, or if I have, they are smartly taxed” (2)....