Proverb: time is money (antedating exact phrase 1719 May 18)

[Geoffrey Nathan]

As a fascinating linguistic exercise it is fun  opening Randy's url in Google's Chrome and choosing 'Translate this Page'.  You'll learn a lot about Google's linguistic ability (none of it good), and some interesting things about how some c 895 CE characters were read ('Send Gordon Chan will be', 'love Mr Holmes now looking for weeks' etc.)
Caveat:  I know about ten Chinese characters, some only in their Japanese readings.

Geoff

Geoffrey S. Nathan
Faculty Liaison, C&IT
and Associate Professor, Linguistics Program
+1 (313) 577-1259 (C&IT)
+1 (313) 577-8621 (English/Linguistics)

----- "Randy Alexander" <strangeguitars at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> From: "Randy Alexander" <strangeguitars at GMAIL.COM>
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 4:46:20 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: Re: Proverb: time is money (antedating exact phrase 1719 May 18)
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Randy Alexander <strangeguitars at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Proverb: time is money (antedating exact phrase 1719
> May 18)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Sat, Mar 27, 2010 at 4:17 PM, Garson O'Toole
> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Remember that time is money.
> >
> > That is the classic advice offered by Benjamin Franklin in 1748.
> OED
> > (DRAFT REVISION Mar. 2010) has the phrase "time is money" under:
> > money, n. P3. Proverbs. f. The first cite given is the wonderful
> and
> > historically resonant Franklin quote. Here is an instance of the
> exact
> > phrase "time is money" with the appropriate meaning dated 1719 May
> 18.
> >
> > Citation: 1719 May 18, The Free-Thinker, Page 128 (GN Page 119),
> > Number 121, London.
> >
> > I remember to have heard of a notable Woman, who was thoroughly
> > sensible of the intrinsick Value of Time: Her Husband was a
> > Shoe-maker, and an excellent Crafts-man; but never minded how the
> > Minutes passed. In vain did his Wife inculcate to him, That Time is
> > Money: He had too much Wit to apprehend her; and he cursed the
> > Parish-Clock, every Night; which at last brought him to his Ruin;
> >
> >
> http://books.google.com/books?id=zWFJAAAAMAAJ&q=%22is+money%22#v=snippet&
> >
> > The proverb has a long history but the earlier cites I have found
> in
> > references are stated somewhat differently. The online Oxford
> > Dictionary of Proverbs gives two cites before Franklin's. The first
> > cite is a version from Classical Greece "the most costly outlay is
> > time" attributed to Antiphon. The second cite is from 1572
> Discourse
> > upon Usury, "They saye tyme is precious."
> >
> > Above is the earliest cite I found with the phrase "time is money".
>
> Here it is in Chinese from the year 895:
>
> http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/117648824.html?si=1
>
> yi2 = one
> cun4 = bit
> guang1yin1 = time
> yi1 = one
> cun4 = bit
> jin1 = gold
>
> A bit of time (is like) a bit of gold.
>
> --
> Randy Alexander
> Jilin City, China
> Blogs:
> Manchu studies: http://www.sinoglot.com/manchu
> Chinese characters: http://www.sinoglot.com/yuwen
> Language in China (group blog): http://www.sinoglot.com/blog
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org