340 Famous Quotes by Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was an American statesman, writer, and inventor who played a key role in the founding of the United States. He was a prolific writer and his works include the famous "Poor Richard's Almanack," which contained aphorisms and advice on various topics. Franklin was also an inventor and is credited with the development of several important technologies, including the lightning rod and bifocal glasses. His contributions to science, politics, and society were numerous, and his legacy continues to inspire people around the world. (Benjamin Franklin Biography).
Benjamin Franklin Famous Quotes
He who would trade liberty for some temporary security, deserves neither liberty nor security. (Meaning)
If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking. (Meaning)
Make yourself sheep and the wolves will eat you. (Meaning)
The only thing that is more expensive than education is ignorance. (Meaning)
A long life may not be good enough, but a good life is long enough. (Meaning)
Security without liberty is called prison. (Meaning)
Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn. (Meaning)
Beware of the young doctor and the old barber. (Meaning)
When you are good to others, you are best to yourself. (Meaning)
Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God. (Meaning)
Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances. (Meaning)
Half the truth is often a great lie. (Meaning)
The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart. (Meaning)
For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned. (Meaning)
Never ruin an apology with an excuse. (Meaning)
Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are. (Meaning)
A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over. (Meaning)
A false friend and a shadow attend only while the sun shines. (Meaning)
When the well is dry, we know the worth of water. (Meaning)
Fear God, and your enemies will fear you. (Meaning)
In free governments the rulers are the servants, and the people their superiors and sovereigns. (Meaning)
Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor liberty to purchase power. (Meaning)
The best of all medicines is resting and fasting (Meaning)
Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes (Meaning)
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain - and most fools do. (Meaning)
A Brother may not be a Friend, but a Friend will always be a Brother. (Meaning)
The best doctor gives the least medicines. (Meaning)
Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle. (Meaning)
Speak little, do much. (Meaning)
Doing your best means never stop trying. (Meaning)
If better is possible, good is not enough (Meaning)
If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail! (Meaning)
A good example is the best sermon. (Meaning)
He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows nor judge all he sees. (Meaning)
Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead. (Meaning)
Your argument is sound, nothing but sound. (Meaning)
The best tranquilizer is a clear conscience. (Meaning)
Success is the residue of planning. (Meaning)
Idle hands are the devil's playthings. (Meaning)
The noblest question in the world is: 'What good may I do in it?' (Meaning)
Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor. (Meaning)
Genius is nothing but a greater aptitude for patience. (Meaning)
If you would persuade, you must appeal to interest rather than intellect. (Meaning)
He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money. (Meaning)
Lend money to an enemy, and thou will gain him, to a friend and thou will lose him. (Meaning)
To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals. (Meaning)
If a man could have half of his wishes, he would double his troubles. (Meaning)
God heals, and the doctor takes the fees. (Meaning)
He that cannot obey, cannot command. (Meaning)
A lie stands on one leg, truth on two. (Meaning)
The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our own ignorance. (Meaning)
Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults. (Meaning)
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. (Meaning)
To be humble to superiors is a duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness. (Meaning)
It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright. (Meaning)
He that composes himself is wiser than he that composes a book. (Meaning)
One day is worth a thousand tomorrows. (Meaning)
He's a fool who cannot conceal his wisdom. (Meaning)
No gains without pains. (Meaning)
You will find the key to success under the alarm clock. (Meaning)
Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away (Meaning)
Lose no time; be always employed in something useful. (Meaning)
you can do anything you set your mind to (Meaning)
Clean your finger before you point at my spots. (Meaning)
God helps them that help themselves. (Meaning)
A good conscience is a continual Christmas. (Meaning)
He that best understands the world, least likes it (Meaning)
Out of adversity comes opportunity. (Meaning)
Eat to live, not live to eat. (Meaning)
I saw few die of hunger; of eating, a hundred thousand. (Meaning)
Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing. (Meaning)
The way to see by Faith is to shut the Eye of Reason. (Meaning)
Keep conscience clear, then never fear. (Meaning)
Praise to the undeserving is severe satire. (Meaning)
He does not possess wealth; it possesses him. (Meaning)
The rotten apple spoils his companion. (Meaning)
Hope of gain lessens pain. (Meaning)
Wish not so much to live long as to live well. (Meaning)
Write your injuries in dust, your benefits in marble. (Meaning)
Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all things easy. (Meaning)
He's the best physician that knows the worthlessness of most medicines. (Meaning)
The strictest law sometimes becomes the severest injustice. (Meaning)
Plough deep while sluggards sleep. (Meaning)
Moderation in all things - including moderation. (Meaning)
The cat in gloves catches no mice. (Meaning)
The best investment is in the tools of one's own trade. (Meaning)
The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands. (Meaning)
Lying rides upon debt's back. (Meaning)
A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one. (Meaning)
The doors of wisdom are never shut. (Meaning)
Silence is not always a sign of wisdom, but babbling is ever a mark of folly. (Meaning)
Words may show a man's wit but actions his meaning. (Meaning)
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man. (Meaning)
Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. (Meaning)
Where there's marriage without love, there will be love without marriage. (Meaning)
The discontented man finds no easy chair. (Meaning)
To err is human, to repent divine; to persist devilish. (Meaning)
Leisure is the time for doing something useful. (Meaning)
He that speaks much, is much mistaken. (Meaning)
Waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. (Meaning)
Time is an herb that cures all Diseases. (Meaning)
Women and wine, game and deceit, make the wealth small, and the want great (Meaning)
Pride that dines on vanity, sups on contempt. (Meaning)
The tongue offends and the ears get the cuffing (Meaning)
Every pot must sit on its own bottom. (Meaning)
Necessity never made a good bargain. (Meaning)
Observe all men, thyself most. (Meaning)
He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing. (Meaning)
He that's secure is not safe. (Meaning)
Those things that hurt, instruct. (Meaning)
It is better to take many injuries than to give one. (Meaning)
Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. (Meaning)
Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears, while the used key is always bright. (Meaning)
Little leaks sink the ship. (Meaning)
In success be moderate. (Meaning)
There never was a good war, or a bad peace. (Meaning)
Remember that credit is money. (Meaning)
The proof of gold is fire. (Meaning)
He's a fool that makes his doctor his heir. (Meaning)
There is no little enemy (Meaning)
Lighthouses are more helpful than churches. (Meaning)
Practice makes perfect. (Meaning)
He that would fish, must venture his bait. (Meaning)
Don't throw stones at your neighbors, if your own windows are glass. (Meaning)
The second vice is lying, the first is running in debt. (Meaning)
There will be sleeping enough in the grave. (Meaning)
A penny saved is a penny earned. (Meaning)
Fish and visitors stink in three days. (Meaning)
Eat not to dullness, drink not to elevation. (Meaning)
Creditors have better memories than debtors. (Meaning)
Applause waits on success. (Meaning)
When Wine enters, out goes the Truth. (Meaning)
If you would be loved, love, and be loveable. (Meaning)
A man in a passion, rides a mad horse. (Meaning)
Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. (Meaning)
Laws too gentle are seldom obeyed; too severe, seldom executed. (Meaning)
Would you live with ease, Do what you ought, and not what you please. (Meaning)
Glass, China, and Reputation, are easily cracked, and never well mended. (Meaning)
Fatigue is the best pillow. (Meaning)
Let the experiment be made. (Meaning)
The way to be safe is never to be secure. (Meaning)
Beware the hobby that eats. (Meaning)
Look before, or you'll find yourself behind. (Meaning)
Take time for all things. (Meaning)
In the dark, all cats are grey. (Meaning)
The proud hate pride in others. (Meaning)
Pardoning the Bad, is injuring the Good. (Meaning)
The early morning has gold in its mouth. (Meaning)
Success has ruin'd many a man. (Meaning)
Bad gains are true losses. (Meaning)
If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting. (Meaning)
A little neglect may breed great mischief. (Meaning)
If you have no Honey in your Pot, have some in your Mouth. (Meaning)
When you are finished changing, you are finished. (Meaning)
A full Belly is the Mother of all Evil. (Meaning)
Little boats should keep near shore (Meaning)
Hunger never saw bad bread. (Meaning)
Admiration is the daughter of ignorance. (Meaning)
Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one. (Meaning)
An old young man, will be a young old man. (Meaning)
Experience is the best teacher, but a fool will learn from no other. (Meaning)
Without justice, courage is weak. (Meaning)
Laws without morals are in vain. (Meaning)
Death takes no bribes. (Meaning)
Little strokes fell great oaks. (Meaning)
Necessity knows no law; I know some attorneys of the same. (Meaning)
There are lazy minds as well as lazy bodies. (Meaning)
If you want to be loved, love and be loveable. (Meaning)
Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five. (Meaning)
Search others for their virtues, thyself for thy vices. (Meaning)
Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves. (Meaning)
A Republic, if you can keep it. (Meaning)
A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats. (Meaning)
The poor have little; beggars, none; the rich, too much; enough, not one. (Meaning)
For the best return on your money, pour your purse into your head. (Meaning)
He that hath a Trade, hath an Estate. (Meaning)
If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality. (Meaning)
What I am to be, I am now becoming. (Meaning)
Nothing but Money, Is sweeter than Honey. (Meaning)
Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is. (Meaning)
Genius without education is like silver in the mine. (Meaning)
Diligence overcomes difficulties; sloth makes them. (Meaning)
After crosses and losses men grow humbler and wiser. (Meaning)
There was never a good war, or a bad peace. (Meaning)
God helps those who help themselves. (Meaning)
All would live long, but none would be old. (Meaning)
Trouble springs from idleness, and grievous toil from needless ease. (Meaning)
Hear no ill of a friend, nor speak any of an enemy. (Meaning)
Men and Melons are hard to know. (Meaning)
A word to the wise is enough, and many words won't fill a bushel. (Meaning)
Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly and, if you speak, speak accordingly. (Meaning)
Some are weatherwise, some are otherwise. (Meaning)
There cannot be good living where there is not good drinking. (Meaning)
No nation was ever ruined by trade. (Meaning)
Wink at small faults; remember thou hast great ones. (Meaning)
Be not sick too late, nor well too soon (Meaning)
Distrust and caution are the parents of security. (Meaning)
A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges. (Meaning)
They who have nothing to trouble them,will be troubled at nothing. (Meaning)
If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately. (Meaning)
We may give advice, but we cannot give conduct. (Meaning)
When men are employed they are best contented. (Meaning)
Little rogues easily become great ones. (Meaning)
Great talkers are little doers. (Meaning)
Passion governs, and she never governs wisely. (Meaning)
There never was a good knife made of bad steel. (Meaning)
Most fools think they are only ignorant. (Meaning)
Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it. (Meaning)
To Follow by faith alone is to follow blindly. (Meaning)
Approve not of him who commends all you say. (Meaning)
Wine is constant proof that God loves us and likes to see us happy. (Meaning)
Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. (Meaning)
He that waits upon fortune, is never sure of a dinner. (Meaning)
Drive thy business or it will drive thee. (Meaning)
Beauty and folly are old companions. (Meaning)
There will be plenty of time to sleep once you are dead (Meaning)
In humility imitate Jesus and Socrates. (Meaning)
What maintains one vice would bring up two children. (Meaning)
He that drinks fast, pays slow. (Meaning)
Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried with fewer tensions and more tolerance. (Meaning)
A ploughman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees. (Meaning)
If it were not for the Belly, the Back might wear Gold. (Meaning)
Take counsel in wine, but resolve afterwards in water. (Meaning)
A nod from a lord is a breakfast for a fool. (Meaning)
The sleeping fox catches no poultry. (Meaning)
Better slip with foot than tongue. (Meaning)
The Sting of a reproach, is the Truth of it. (Meaning)
He that lives upon hope will die fasting. (Meaning)
Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge (Meaning)
He that rises late must trot all day. (Meaning)
One today is worth two tomorrows. (Meaning)
Let thy vices die before thee. (Meaning)
If your head is made of wax, don't walk in the sun (Meaning)
He that sows Thorns, should never go barefoot. (Meaning)
The things which hurt, instruct. (Meaning)
The wise man draws more advantage from his enemies than the fool from his friends (Meaning)
Neglect mending a small fault and 'twill soon be a great one. (Meaning)
He that lieth down with Dogs, shall rise up with Fleas. (Meaning)
Fools make feasts and wise men eat them. (Meaning)
A spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar (Meaning)
Constant dropping wears away stones (Meaning)
Where liberty is, there is my country. (Meaning)
There is no such thing as a good war or a bad peace. (Meaning)
Blame-all and Praise-all are two blockheads. (Meaning)
Many have quarreled about religion that never practice it. (Meaning)
Success has ruined many a man. (Meaning)
Vice knows she is ugly, so puts on her mask. (Meaning)
Those who would give up liberty for safety deserve neither. (Meaning)
Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee. (Meaning)
Do well by doing good. (Meaning)
Most people die at 25 but are buried at 75. (Meaning)
Handle your tools without mittens. (Meaning)
Let thy discontents be thy secrets (Meaning)
He that speaks ill of the mare will buy her. (Meaning)
What good shall I do this day? (Meaning)
In the affairs of this world, men are saved not by faith, but by the want of it. (Meaning)
A fine genius in his own country is like gold in the mine. (Meaning)
At the working man’s house, hunger looks in but dares not enter. (Meaning)
He that scatters thorns, let him not go barefoot. (Meaning)
Eat to please thyself, but dress to please others. (Meaning)
When befriended, remember it; when you befriend, forget it. (Meaning)
Tolerate no Uncleanliness in Body, Clothes, or Habitation. (Meaning)
Time is the stuff life is made of. (Meaning)
What you would seem to be, be really. (Meaning)
Don't cry over spilled milk (Meaning)
All cats are gray in the dark. (Meaning)
A light purse is a heavy curse. (Meaning)
In rivers and bad governments the lightest things swim at top. (Meaning)
There are no ugly loves nor handsome prisons. (Meaning)
There's no gain, without pain. (Meaning)
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. (Meaning)
He who multiplies riches multiplies cares. (Meaning)
Drink does not drown care, but waters it, and makes it grow faster. (Meaning)
A friend in need is a friend indeed! (Meaning)
People who are wrapped up in themselves make small packages. (Meaning)
What one relishes, nourishes. (Meaning)
A dying man can do nothing easy. (Meaning)
Not to oversee workmen is to leave them your purse open. (Meaning)
Great talkers, little doers. (Meaning)
Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure. (Meaning)
Half-wits talk much, but say little. (Meaning)
The Golden Age was never the present age. (Meaning)
Great Modesty often hides great Merit. (Meaning)
Half-wits talk much, but say little. (Meaning)
The Golden Age was never the present age. (Meaning)
Who has deceived thee as oft as thyself. (Meaning)
By diligence and patience, the mouse bit in two the cable. (Meaning)
The most exquisite folly is made of wisdom spun too fine. (Meaning)
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."
"It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it."
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."
"It is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them."
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."
"Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75."
"You may delay, but time will not."
"Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days."
"Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today."
"We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
"Energy and persistence conquer all things."
"Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead."
"Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship."
"Well done is better than well said."
"Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late."
"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning."
"Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame."
"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."
"Lost time is never found again."
"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."
"Honesty is the best policy."
"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."
"Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy."
"He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."
"Diligence is the mother of good luck."
"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
"A place for everything, everything in its place."
"He that can have patience can have what he will."
"He who falls in love with himself will have no rivals."
"Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other."
"Half a truth is often a great lie."
"At twenty years of age the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment."
"When in doubt, don't."
"When you're finished changing, you're finished."
"There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self."
"It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man."
"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body."
"How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them."
"I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong."
"If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins."
"Wise men don't need advice. Fools won't take it."
"Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest."
"Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God."
"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
"A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle."
"Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards."
"Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste."
"Many a man thinks he is buying pleasure, when he is really selling himself to it."
"Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?"
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."
"Never confuse motion with action."
― Benjamin Franklin Quotes
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Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
