He that riseth late, must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night.

This maxim is one of Benjamin Franklin’s many proverbs promoting industry and time-discipline, associated with the moral and practical advice he popularized for colonial American readers. Franklin regularly circulated such sayings through his annual almanac persona “Poor Richard,” using homely, memorable phrasing to encourage habits thought essential for economic success—early rising, steady work, and avoidance of idleness. The line reflects the world of artisans, farmers, and merchants in which daylight and punctuality strongly shaped productivity. It belongs to Franklin’s broader program of self-improvement and civic virtue, where personal thrift and diligence were presented as both private benefits and public goods.

Franklin’s image is kinetic and practical: if you start the day late, you spend the rest of it rushing, yet still fall behind. “Trot all day” suggests anxious, inefficient effort—work driven by panic rather than planning—while “scarce overtake his business at night” implies that lost morning hours cannot be fully recovered. The proverb therefore praises not merely hard work but timely work: beginning early creates margin, calm, and control over one’s tasks. It also carries a moral edge typical of Franklin’s aphorisms, implying that lateness is a form of self-inflicted disorder that turns ordinary obligations into exhausting pursuit.

He that rises late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night.