Advice to Young Men

Designated a book of advice, Advice to Young Men is a pedantic work of considerable scope. Divided into letters: to youth, to a young man, to a lover, to a husband, to a father, and to the citizen. For the most part the advice is a call to solid time honored qualities of character: such as frugality and the refrain from vice. His attitudes are typical of what we would call the protestant work ethic, stressing the importance of early rising and diligent attention to responsibilities. "To live upon little", says Cobbett, "is the great security against slavery."