 |
| Source: Pixabay CC0 Public Domain |
The quote, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy,
wealthy, and wise,” is attributed to the venerable Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.
Thanks to the PBS Kids show Liberty’s
Kids, I will forever hear Ben Franklin speaking with Walter Cronkite’s
voice.
For centuries in America, and doubtless elsewhere in the
industrialized world, rising early and going to bed early were seen as virtuous
traits. Before the advent of electric lights, it was certainly the most common
behavior.
Does the idiom still hold true today? Whether it does or not
depends on your definition of the three key words in the saying.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines healthy as “enjoying health and
vigor of body, mind, or spirit.”[i]
This is a somewhat circular definition as it incorporates the word health into
the definition of healthy. Perhaps the meaning could be better understood by
looking at some synonyms.
According to Merriam-Webster the following are synonyms of
healthy: “able-bodied, bouncing,
fit, hale, hearty, robust, sound, well, well-conditioned,
whole, wholesome, in
fine fettle, in shape, in the pink.”[ii]
The definition of wealthy, according to Merriam-Webster, is “having
a lot of money and possessions.”[iii]
An obvious synonym of wealthy is rich, though many will argue one can be rich
in things other than money and possessions.
Wise is an interesting word. It has many different, and
sometimes seemingly contradictory meanings. The Merriam-Webster definition of
wise I believe Mr Franklin meant in his saying is, “having or showing wisdom or
knowledge usually from learning or experiencing many things.”[iv]
Based on descriptions of Mr Franklin’s humor, might he have also meant, at
times, wise as in “saying things that are rude or insulting.”[v]
Perhaps not.
When you do an internet search for whether or not going to bed
early and rising early does indeed make one healthier, wealthier, and wiser, a
vast array of results appears. Sources from bustle.com to huffingtonpost.com to
quora.com all the way to zenhabits.com. In looking through the results of the
search, I found the slide show presented or the forbes.com website to the most
concise.
Forbes
Magazine did a story on its website about the “Benefits
of Early Risers.” Among those advantages were earning higher grades in
school, being more optimistic, being better planners, and getting better sleep.[vi]
The studies researched by the Frobes article writer showed a direct correlation between rising
early and success. So it would seem that Benjamin Franklin’s idea from the 18th
Century still holds true today. Now if only I could convince my students.
As always, I remain,
The Exhausted Educator
No comments:
Post a Comment