Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a polymath and a key figure in the American Enlightenment. Here are some key aspects of Benjamin Franklin's life and contributions:
1. Early Life: Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He had limited formal education but was an avid reader and a self-taught individual.
2. Printer and Writer: Franklin started his career as a printer and writer. His famous publication, "Poor Richard's Almanack," was known for its witty and practical advice, and it brought him considerable fame.
3. Inventions and Discoveries: Franklin was a prolific inventor. He is credited with the discovery of electricity through his famous kite experiment. He also invented the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among other things.
4. Statesman and Diplomat: Franklin played a crucial role in the American Revolution. He was part of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence and later served as a diplomat, representing the United States in France during the Revolutionary War.
5. Founding Father: Franklin was one of the signatories of the U.S. Constitution. His wisdom and diplomatic skills were highly valued during the constitutional debates.
6. Philosopher and Scientist: Franklin was an Enlightenment thinker and a proponent of rational thinking. His scientific experiments and writings on topics such as morality and ethics contributed to the intellectual foundation of the United States.
7. Civic Contributions: Franklin was involved in various civic and community initiatives. He helped establish the first public library in Philadelphia, the first volunteer fire department, and the University of Pennsylvania.
8. Quotes and Aphorisms: Franklin is known for his many famous quotes and aphorisms, often collected in "Poor Richard's Almanack." One of his well-known sayings is, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
9. Postmaster General: Franklin was appointed as the first Postmaster General of the United States, a position he held for many years. He played a key role in improving and organizing the postal system.
Benjamin Franklin's legacy is vast and multifaceted, encompassing his contributions to science, literature, politics, and civic life. His ideas and writings continue to influence and inspire people to this day.
1. "Well done is better than well said."
2. "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
3. "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn."
4. "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
5. "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."
6. "Honesty is the best policy."
7. "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
8. "Fish and visitors stink after three days."
9. "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
10. "Genius without education is like silver in the mine."
11. "Lost time is never found again."
12. "Distrust and caution are the parents of security."
13. "He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."
14. "Well done is better than well said."
15. "Energy and persistence conquer all things."
16. "To find out a girl's faults, praise her to her girlfriends."
17. "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days."
18. "Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards."
19. "Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one."
20. "Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn."
21. "Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy."
22. "Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning."
23. "Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame."
24. "When you're testing to see how deep water is, never use two feet."
25. "Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other."
26. "If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting."
27. "He that can have patience can have what he will."
28. "A penny saved is a penny earned."
29. "To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions."
30. "There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know oneself."
31. "To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals."
32. "When you're finished changing, you're finished."
33. "The doors of wisdom are never shut."
34. "There never was a good war or a bad peace."
35. "Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest."
36. "It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man."
37. "He that lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas."
38. "Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame."
39. "Fear not death for the sooner we die, the longer we shall be immortal."
40. "The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."
41. "Well done is better than well said."
42. "If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some."
43. "Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?"
44. "A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body."
45. "To follow by faith alone is to follow blindly."
46. "He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals."
47. "If you would be loved, love, and be loveable."
48. "The way to be safe is never to be secure."
49. "Serving God is doing good to man, but praying is thought an easier service, and therefore more generally chosen."
50. "You may delay, but time will not."
1. "Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late."
2. "Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight."
3. "The longer I live, the more I am certain that the great difference between the great and the insignificant, is energy, invincible determination, a purpose once fixed, and then death or victory."
4. "Many people die at twenty-five and aren't buried until they are seventy-five."
5. "Lost time is never found again."
6. "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."
7. "Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved."
8. "Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it."
9. "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
10. "Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man."
11. "When you're finished changing, you're finished."
12. "The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all others, charity."
13. "Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones."
14. "We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."
15. "Eat to live, and not live to eat."
16. "He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."
17. "To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals."
18. "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
19. "He that can have patience can have what he will."
20. "There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know oneself."
Benjamin Franklin didn't focus extensively on love in his writings, as he was often more concerned with topics such as virtue, industry, and civic responsibility. However, here are some quotes that touch on the theme of love or relationships, inspired by Franklin's general sentiments:
1. "Love thy neighbor as thyself and thy country more than thyself."
2. "A true friend is the best possession."
3. "He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals."
4. "Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards."
5. "Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults."
6. "Marriage is the most natural state of man, and... the state in which you will find solid happiness."
7. "He that can have patience can have what he will."
8. "Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead."
9. "Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new."
10. "Love and be loved, do good and lend, hoping for nothing again; this is the golden rule."
Benjamin Franklin had a strong belief in the value of education. Here are some quotes attributed to him that highlight his thoughts on education:
1. "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
2. "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn."
3. "Genius without education is like silver in the mine."
4. "Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn."
5. "The doors of wisdom are never shut."
6. "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."
7. "You may delay, but time will not."
8. "If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."
9. "The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance."
10. "Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society."
Benjamin Franklin had several insightful quotes about the concept of time. Here are some quotes attributed to him that emphasize the value and management of time:
1. "Lost time is never found again."
2. "You may delay, but time will not."
3. "Time is money."
4. "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."
5. "He that can have patience can have what he will."
6. "The key is in not spending time, but in investing it."
7. "Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today."
8. "Time is the wisest counselor of all."
9. "The way to be safe is never to be secure."
10. "Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight."
Benjamin Franklin, with his diverse experiences and achievements, shared insightful thoughts on success. Here are some quotes attributed to him that touch on the theme of success:
1. "Well done is better than well said."
2. "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
3. "Energy and persistence conquer all things."
4. "To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions."
5. "He that can have patience can have what he will."
6. "Diligence is the mother of good luck."
7. "The way to be safe is never to be secure."
8. "The doors of wisdom are never shut."
9. "To succeed, work as if you're going to live forever; live as if you're going to die today."
10. "You may delay, but time will not."
11. "Well done is better than well said."
12. "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."
13. "The harder I work, the luckier I get."
14. "Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today."
15. "Success has ruined many a man."
16. "Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?"
17. "The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all others, charity."
18. "A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. There will be sleeping enough in the grave."
19. "He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."
20. "Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out."
Benjamin Franklin played a crucial role in the drafting of the United States Constitution. Here are some quotes attributed to him that touch on the Constitution or related themes:
1. "We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."
2. "A republic, if you can keep it."
- Franklin's response when asked about the type of government created by the Constitutional Convention.
3. "Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech."
- From "The New England Courant," 1722.
4. "I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion about the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it."
- From a letter to Benjamin Vaughn, March 1786.
5. "They who can give up essential Liberty to obtain a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
- Often quoted in various forms, this sentiment reflects Franklin's belief in the importance of civil liberties.
6. "In free governments, the rulers are the servants, and the people their superiors and sovereigns."
- From "Poor Richard's Almanack," 1736.
7. "The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."
8. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country."
- Although commonly attributed to Franklin, the exact origin of this quote is uncertain.
9. "Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature."
- From a letter to Caleb Whitefoord, July 1779.
10. "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
- This quote is similar to another one listed earlier and is often paraphrased.
Benjamin Franklin was a strong advocate for liberty and individual freedoms. Here are some quotes attributed to him that reflect his thoughts on the importance of liberty:
1. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country."
2. "Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature."
3. "Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech."
- From "The New England Courant," 1722.
4. "They who can give up essential Liberty to obtain a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
5. "In free governments, the rulers are the servants, and the people their superiors and sovereigns."
- From "Poor Richard's Almanack," 1736.
6. "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."
7. "A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins."
8. "Freedom is not doing what we like but having the right to do what we ought."
9. "The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."
10. "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Benjamin Franklin is often associated with the proverb "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." This saying reflects his emphasis on the importance of a disciplined and industrious lifestyle. While the full quote is commonly attributed to him, it's worth noting that the exact wording might vary due to the evolution of language over time.
Here are a few quotes related to the idea of rising early:
1. "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
2. "The early morning has gold in its mouth."
3. "The sun never repents of the good he does, nor does he ever demand a recompence."
4. "Employ thy time well if thou meanest to gain leisure."
5. "Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions."
6. "He that rises late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night."
7. "The early bird catches the worm."
These quotes reflect Franklin's belief in the virtues of diligence, time management, and the benefits of starting the day early.
