He that swells in prosperity will shrink in adversity

When things go well for you, you begin to think you must be clever. People look up to you and you get a thrill from their envious stares. They obviously recognise how important and successful you are. They try to imitate you but you can leave them standing.

Sometimes success is false. You imagine it is your own effort and ability that has brought it about. But what if circumstances change? And they often do. Can you adapt or is the new situation beyond you. The masters of sailing ships who could win any race were confronted by steam. All their skills and experience were suddenly valueless.

Suddenly you are no longer cock o' the walk but an old has been. A source of amusement to the eager young men with their newfangled machinery. It is a big comedown.

We are being told here not to get too conceited "pride comes before a fall" so make sure your success is firmly based and take nothing for granted.

A snow year, a rich year

Or as the French say, "neige qui tombe, engraisse". This saying probably grew from observation by experienced peasants who saw a connection between years of high snow fall and subsequent good crop yields. Modern scientists tell us that the snow contains nitrogen from the air, and as we all know, this is an important fertilizer. Cold also helps to kill off harmful pests.

Proverbs often have layers of meaning, and perhaps there is a general concept here of tough times leading to better ones. Recessions have the positive effect of removing weak and badly run businesses so that the better ones prosper. At the time of writing, much of the Northern part of the world shivers under snow and frost, and also has a deep recession, but the future will be sunny and prosperous for those who come through it.

Prosperity takes no counsel and fears no calamity

Put bluntly: being well off makes you big headed. If you have plenty of spending power you feel powerful and, subconsciously at least, start assuming you must be an important person whose opinions and ideas are good.

Alas, pride comes before a fall and we can become so convinced of our wisdom and invulnerability that we prefer whatever ideas comes from our own minds and will tend to ignore wise advice from cooler heads.

History is full of people who suffer hubris - an overwhelming self confidence that leads to disaster. Self belief and confidence are important but it has to be based on sound foundations. He who is too secure is not.

Prosperity destroys fools and endangers the wise

Success breeds complacency. If you are not very wise you will tend to assume that riches and happiness are your right and entitlement. You might even assume that your good fortune is part of the natural order of things.

The wise person might not be so naive and have some awareness that good times can vanish but when things have been good for a long time even the knowledgeable can be lulled into a false sense of security. They know things can go wrong but not always when. As a result they can be caught napping.

Just as Caesar employed someone to stand behind him, as he received the adulation of the crowds, to remind him he was not a god, you might be wise to put a note of this saying somewhere as an aide memoire.

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Prosperity lets go the bridle

Prosperity lets go the bridle.

When learning to ride a horse you make sure to keep a firm grip of the reins and pay close attention to the actions of your mount. If you get over confident, let your attention wander and the horse gets spooked, you could be in for a hard landing.

People experiencing financial hardship learn the disciplines necessary for their survival. Money must be carefully budgeted, earnings must be maximized where possible, savings must be made whenever they can be, and waste eliminated. Your affairs must be constantly scrutinized to make sure you are making the most of what you have. If, after a time, your prudent management and hard work brings a measure of prosperity the tendency is to relax and enjoy. Soon relax becomes slack and then downright excess leading to debt and galloping expenses.

In the old mill towns of Industrial Age Britain they had a saying: "clogs to clogs in three generations". The first generation were poor and worked hard to get on. Their children knew poverty in childhood but witnessed their parents struggles and learned the habits of thrift and industry, and with the meager gains of mom and pop went on to do well and achieve such prosperity that their children never knew hardship. The unfortunate result was a squandered inheritance by the third generation and back to poverty - no more expensive leather shoes but a return to the cheap wooden clogs of their grandparents.

By all means enjoy success but never forget the hard lessons and keep a tight rein on spending.

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