Preparing for college, let us consider the words of
Polonius, a few lines at a time.
Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportion'd thought his act.
Seems like good advice, but is this two pieces of advice or one? Most would agree that it is a good idea to mind one's character. It is also a good idea to think before speaking, and to avoid saying outrageous things. But the second sentence does not really support the first, because there is much more to character than what one says. So this comes off more as the assertion:
Look thou character!, followed by the advice about shutting up.
Of course shutting up is only good advice if you do something useful, like listening to the other person or reading a book.
Also, avoiding "unproportion'd" thought is a good idea if you want to get a job in retail, but less helpful in advertising.
We continue.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar
See previous comment about careers in advertising.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg'd comrade.
I think this means that you should not offer to pick up the check on the first date.
Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in,
Bear't that th' opposed may beware of thee.
Excellent advice here. Avoid combat, physical or rhetorical. Choose your battles carefully; but if forced to fight, crush your opponent. Do not enter a fight until victory is certain.
Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice;
See previous point about "giving thy thoughts no tongue". Again, excellent advice. When you listen to people, they think you are smart. The credibility and weight of your words is inversely proportional to their volume.
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Listen to criticism, but avoid offering it. There is a simple reason for this: personal criticism is mostly nonsense, differences in taste wrapped in rhetoric. Go ahead and let others ventilate at you. Smile as they spin baloney. They will think you are a great person for listening, but inwardly you can simply note that they obviously haven't read Polonius.
You can save your criticism of others for the same reason. As Cooper says in
Mad Men, "Mr. Campbell, who cares?".
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are most select and generous, chief in that.
I think this means you should buy quality clothing of classic style, which makes sense.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This advice is difficult to implement in the modern world, as we can rarely pay cash for big purchases. It also makes no sense to avoid borrowing completely, if the economic returns from an investment exceed the cost of borrowing (as they often do).
Better advice: avoid borrowing, but if you're confident that the investment is a good one and the cost of money is low, borrow away. As to lending, well, that depends on how much capital you have and alternative uses for it. You can make a fortune lending to others, but make sure that you can collect.
Polonius is absolutely right where your friends are concerned. Don't make loans to your friends. If you can afford it, just give them stuff outright. And if you can't afford it, don't do it even if your friend calls it a "loan".
This above all- to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
In context, I think this means don't try to fool the man in the mirror. In practice, this is harder than it sounds. Lots of people in business go forward with lots of hope and wishful thinking. Investment bubbles are built on this.
There's an old saying, though, that you can't fool an honest man. Grifters and con artists always play on the greed of the mark. Always remember that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and you will develop a sharp eye for cant and nonsense.
Thus spake Dad.
