Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

Benjamin Franklin Statesman

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United States
  • Born: Jan 17, 1706
  • Died: Apr 17, 1790

Benjamin Franklin (1706 1790) was an inventor, publisher. scientist, and statesman, who is known as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. He was a major figure in the Enlightenment, known as a printer, satirist, political theorist, civic activist, and a diplomat, famous for his theories of electricity. He founded the first public lending library in America and first fire department in Pennsylvania.

Applause waits on success. success

I conceive that the great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by false estimates they have made of the value of things. great

The art of acting consists in keeping people from coughing. art

Observe all men, thyself most. men

I look upon death to be as necessary to our constitution as sleep. We shall rise refreshed in the morning. death & morning

A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges. great

Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards. marriage

The way to see by Faith is to shut the Eye of Reason. faith

God helps those who help themselves. God

Half a truth is often a great lie. great & truth

Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing. friendship

He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or all he sees. peace

Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants. happiness, money & nature

Do good to your friends to keep them, to your enemies to win them. good

Remember that credit is money. money

How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them. courage

If you would be loved, love, and be loveable. love

He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money. money

At twenty years of age the will reigns at thirty, the wit and at forty, the judgment. age

A place for everything, everything in its place. inspirational

Wise men don't need advice. Fools won't take it. men

Where there's marriage without love, there will be love without marriage. love & marriage

To Follow by faith alone is to follow blindly. alone & faith

Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other. experience

Diligence is the mother of good luck. good

I saw few die of hunger of eating, a hundred thousand. death

The doors of wisdom are never shut. wisdom

Speak ill of no man, but speak all the good you know of everybody. good

Marriage is the most natural state of man, and... the state in which you will find solid happiness. anniversary, happiness & marriage

The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. happiness

The use of money is all the advantage there is in having it. money

The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our own ignorance. knowledge & wisdom

Content makes poor men rich discontent makes rich men poor. men

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. learning

To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals. life

Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones. finance & good

Each year one vicious habit discarded, in time might make the worst of us good. good & time

Hunger is the best pickle. best

A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. There will be sleeping enough in the grave. life

Beauty and folly are old companions. beauty

There was never a good war, or a bad peace. good, peace & war

The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. happiness

It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man. work

If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some. money

Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God. God

Beware the hobby that eats. food

It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it. good

Leisure is the time for doing something useful. This leisure the diligent person will obtain the lazy one never. time

Well done is better than well said. motivational

Work as if you were to live a hundred years. Pray as if you were to die tomorrow. work

Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure. time

Human felicity is produced not as much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day. good & great

You may delay, but time will not. time

There are three faithful friends - an old wife, an old dog, and ready money. money & wisdom

Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn. learning

Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one. anger & good

All who think cannot but see there is a sanction like that of religion which binds us in partnership in the serious work of the world. religion & work

Fatigue is the best pillow. best

Life's Tragedy is that we get old to soon and wise too late. life

In the affairs of this world, men are saved not by faith, but by the want of it. faith & men

Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. life, love & time

Many foxes grow gray but few grow good. good

There is no kind of dishonesty into which otherwise good people more easily and frequently fall than that of defrauding the government. good & government

There never was a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous. great & time

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. best, education & knowledge

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man. peace & war

Honesty is the best policy. best & wisdom

Lost time is never found again. time

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. motivational

If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality. time

The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands. work

Even peace may be purchased at too high a price. peace

A good conscience is a continual Christmas. Christmas & good

Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste. great & time

In general, mankind, since the improvement of cookery, eats twice as much as nature requires. nature

He who falls in love with himself will have no rivals. love

He that can have patience can have what he will. patience

Genius without education is like silver in the mine. education

Necessity never made a good bargain. good

Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship. great

God works wonders now and then Behold a lawyer, an honest man. God

We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid. work

Time is money. money & time

I wake up every morning at nine and grab for the morning paper. Then I look at the obituary page. If my name is not on it, I get up. morning

In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. business & death

Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame. anger

He that lives upon hope will die fasting. hope

A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body. food & home

Nine men in ten are would be suicides. men

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. good

The first mistake in public business is the going into it. business

Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy. funny & God

Laws too gentle are seldom obeyed too severe, seldom executed. government

When men and woman die, as poets sung, his heart's the last part moves, her last, the tongue. men

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. success

Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out. failure & fear