thrift

thrift

in this era of material civilization, when temptations of luxuries are found on all lands, it seems to be very difficult to practise thrift. but we must know that thrift may be viewed in two different lights.

the ordinary sense of thrift is to cut one's daily expenses and to devote the money thus saved to worthy uses. for instance, in Russia the people save money for the purpose of strengthening their country.

the other sense of thrift is to secure the maximum utility of everything and to avoid all kinds of waste. it is said that the Germans are the most thrifty people in the world. when a German leaves a room at night, he must turn off the light. when a German strikes a match on the train, for a smoke, he must use the same match to serve one or more other smokers. this accounts for the fact that Germany is now still a great power in spite of the losses she sustained from the last two wars.

but thrift must not be confused with stinginess. a stingy man is one who cuts his daily expenses only for the purpose of hoarding money and thus making a miser of himself. a thrifty man, on the other hand, is one who , while he saves as much money as he can, takes good care of his nourishment so as not to injure his health. he does use his money, but he uses it only for worthy purposes.

thrift and diligence are essentially related. one who is diligent but not thrifty is like a leaky pail, from which water keeps coming out. one who is thrifty but not diligent is like a barren field, which can yield nothing at all . therefore, diligence and thrift should go hand in hand.

( 层层加深中心思想，由浅入深地安排材料）

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preface
background