Original artwork, not a still
It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
A bag only stands when something is in it, and the point is that a person with nothing in their pocket cannot hold their head up. It is the thrifty printer's case for saving and planning ahead. Its blunt humour is why it is still quoted about money and about turning up unprepared.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Poor Richard's AlmanackShow the scene
Franklin printed this maxim among the sayings prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanack for 1757. The idea is older. 'An empty bag will not stand upright' appeared in Poor Richard for 1740, and Thomas Fuller's Gnomologia (1732) has an earlier version about an empty sack. Franklin borrowed and reworded proverbs from many sources, as the Wikiquote notes on his almanac maxims show, so he is the editor and printer of this one rather than its originator.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: Poor Richard's AlmanackSection 1757 (Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757) and section 1740Reference checked
- Wikiquote: Thomas Fuller (writer)Gnomologia (1732), maxim 598Reference checked
Context reviewed
