[Hannah]: Wisdom of our Forefathers

This made me laugh out loud. Written, when he was still a student at Harvard, by Dr. Nathaniel Ames the younger, and quoted by George Kittredge in the preface to his The Old Farmer and His Almanack:

"They who see this in future times may know that it is the covering of an old Almanack 1758. And do not despise old times too much for remember that 2 or 3 centurys from the time of seeing this you will be counted old times folks as much as you count us to be so now, many People in these times think the Consumation very nigh much more may you think so, and do not think yourselves so much wiser than we are as to make yourselves proud for the last day is at hand in which you must give an account of what you have been about in this state of Probation & very likely you are more given to Vice than we are, and we than the last Century folks; if you have more arts than we have that you yourselves have found out impute it not to our inability that we could not find them out for if we had had only those very arts that we have now when we first came to settle in N. America very like we should have found out those very things which you have the honour to be the Inventors of. - Dinner is ready I must leave off."