Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790) quotes, sayings, aphorisms. American politician, diplomat, journalist and writer, publisher and inventor, leader in the struggle for American independence.
“The first degree of madness is to consider oneself wise, the second is to talk about it, the third is to refuse advice.”
He who falls in love with himself has no rivals.
Sobriety puts firewood in the oven, meat in the pan, bread on the table, credit in the state, money in the head, contentment in the family.
What cannot be corrected should not be mourned!
If you want to know all the shortcomings of a girl, praise her in front of her friends.
“The best doctor is the one who knows the uselessness of most drugs.”
Keep your eyes wide open before the wedding and close them after.
The best is the cheapest
A generous person must have a few faults so as not to upset his friends.
If you want to have leisure, do not waste time.
There are three things that are extremely difficult to do: break steel, crush diamond and know yourself.
If you want to sleep soundly, take a clear conscience with you to bed.
The real tragedy of life is that one becomes old too early and wise too late. 
Don’t rush to choose friends, and even less so to change them.
Choose one friend slowly, and be even less in a hurry to change him.
Corona does not cure headaches.
I won't refuse to live my life again from beginning to end. I will only ask the rights enjoyed by the authors to correct the errors of the first in the second edition.
Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead.
Idlers rarely visit a busy person; flies don’t fly to a boiling pot.
Nothing brings so much suffering as a lot of pleasure; nothing binds so much as unlimited freedom.
To be modest with superiors is a duty, with equals is good manners, and with subordinates is nobility.
Democracy is when two wolves and a lamb vote on the dinner menu. Freedom is when a well-armed lamb challenges the result of such a vote.
It is easier to suppress the first desire than to endure everything that follows it.
motivation is your dreams in “work clothes”.
If you do what you shouldn't, tolerate what you don't like.
Anyone who wants to live in peace and quiet should not say everything he knows and judge what he sees.
Since you are not sure of even one minute, do not waste even one hour.
In this world, nothing can be absolutely sure, except the inevitability of death and taxes.
The key that is used always shines. 
Labor is the father of happiness.
He who goes to bed early and gets up early becomes healthy, rich and wise.
Be polite to everyone, sociable to many, familiar to some.
Mine is better than ours.
There are three true friends: a smart book, an old dog and cash.
When you do good to others, you first do good to yourself.
You will have everything if you don’t worry about who will get the rewards for your achievements.
The master's eye will do more than both hands.
Beauty and stupidity are old comrades.
Before you consult your whim, consult your wallet.
Laziness, like rust, eats away faster than labor wears out.
Talents that go unused are like a sundial in the shadows.
(Don't hide your talents. They are given to you to use them. What is the use of a sundial in the shade?)
Tell me and I will forget, teach me and I can remember, involve me and I will learn.
Section topic: Thoughts of great people Benjamin Franklin: quotes, sayings, aphorisms.
1. The only inevitable things in this world are death and taxes.
2. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
3. Time is money
4. It is difficult to imagine what power a person can acquire over matter
5. Who deceives you as often as you do?
6. Never expect trouble and don’t worry about something that may never happen. Stay close to the sunshine
7. To be satisfied with your situation, you need to compare it with a worse situation
8. It is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy everything that follows it.
9. If scammers knew all the benefits of honesty, they would stop cheating for the sake of profit.
10. Nothing dishonest can be truly beneficial.
11. Labor is the father of happiness
12. A farmer standing on his feet is much taller than a gentleman kneeling
13. Idlers rarely visit a busy person - flies don’t fly to a boiling pot
14. Force your own work; don't wait for her to force you
15. Experience is a school where lessons are expensive, but it is the only school where you can learn
16. True honor is the decision to do in all circumstances what is useful to the most people.
17. Delight is the child of ignorance
18. Let the child's first lesson be obedience. Then the second one can be what you consider necessary
19. A person lives not by what he eats, but by what he digests. This position applies equally to the mind as to the body.
20. It is not correcting a mistake, but persisting in it that brings down the honor of any person or organization of people.
21. Silencing a fool is impolite, but allowing him to continue is simply cruel.
23. Free peoples must guard their freedom tirelessly and with zealous vigilance
24. He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither freedom nor security.
25. In rivers and bad governments, the lightest floats at the top
26. A big empire, like a big pie, is most easily eaten from the edges
27. We call them savages because their customs differ from ours, which we consider the height of courtesy; they think the same thing about their morals
28. Sobriety puts firewood in the stove, meat in the pan, bread on the table, credit in the state, money in the wallet, strength in the body, clothes on the back, intelligence in the head, contentment in the family.
29. He who is able to endure is able to achieve everything he wants
30. If you want to sleep soundly, take a clear conscience with you to bed.
31. Those who are absent always remain guilty; those present always have the opportunity to justify themselves
32. He who fans the flames of a quarrel and stirs up firebrands should not complain if sparks hit him in the face
33. Choose your friend slowly, and be even less in a hurry to change him.
34. A brother may not be a friend, but a friend is always a brother
35. There are no small enemies
36. If you want to know a girl’s flaws, praise her in front of her friends
37. Marriage without love is fraught with love without marriage
38. Be polite to everyone, sociable to many, familiar to some
39. I will not speak badly about anyone, but I will tell you all the good things I know about everyone
40. Proud people hate pride in other people
41. Perhaps of all our innate passions, pride is the most difficult to break; no matter how you disguise it, no matter how you fight it, souls, kill it - it still lives and from time to time breaks through and shows itself
42. Laziness makes everything difficult
43. Laziness is rusty mind and body; a key that is used frequently always shines like new
44. Laziness, like rust, eats away faster than labor wears out
45. Corruption breakfasts with Wealth, lunches with Poverty, dines with Poverty and goes to bed with Shame
46. Pride that dines on vanity gets contempt for dinner
47. Anger always has reasons, but rarely good enough
48. What began with anger ends in shame
49. The whole advantage of having money is being able to use it.
50. Remember that money has the ability to multiply
51. Wealth mainly depends on two things: on hard work and moderation, in other words - do not waste either time or money, and use both in the best possible way
52. Spend one penny less than you earn
53. A person is sometimes more generous when he has little money than when he has a lot of it; maybe to prevent anyone from thinking that he doesn’t have them at all...
54. Of all medicines, the best are rest and abstinence.
55. If you want to extend your life, shorten your meals.
56. The best doctor is the one who knows the uselessness of most drugs
57. Since people learned to cook food, they eat twice as much as nature requires
58. Do you love life? Then don't waste time; for time is the fabric of which life is made
59. Since you are not sure of even one minute, don’t waste a single hour.
60. If time is the most precious thing, then wasting time is the biggest waste.
61. If you want to have leisure, don’t waste time.
62. One today is worth two tomorrow
63. You cannot help someone who does not want to listen to advice.
64. I will not refuse to live my life from beginning to end again. I will only ask the rights enjoyed by the authors to correct the errors of the first in the second edition
65. No matter what situation people are in, they can always find comforts and inconveniences
66. He who multiplies wealth multiplies care
67. The heart of a fool is on his lips, and the lips of a wise man are in his heart
68. Greed and happiness have never met each other; how would they be able to meet?
69. When I serve other people, I believe that I am paying off debts rather than earning rewards.
70. Serving God means doing good, but many believe that prayer is an easier type of service and prefer it.
71. The greatest delusion is to think that it is possible to be great without being good; and I declare with full confidence that a truly great man cannot fail to be truly virtuous
72. A person immersed in himself turns out to be a very small bundle
73. I realized a long time ago that when I worked only for myself, those around me also worked only for themselves; but when I worked for others, they also worked for me
74. The greatest beauty, strength and wealth are in reality useless; but a kind heart surpasses everything in the world
75. Virtue does not always make a face beautiful, but vice always makes it ugly
76. Don’t wish to live a long life - wish to live a wonderful life
77. Do you love life? Then don't waste time; because life is made up of nonsense
78. The best sermon is a good example
79. There is no such bad person who would not secretly respect goodness
80. Be afraid of hurting people and you won't have to be afraid of anything else.
81. If you offend your conscience, it will carry out its retribution
82. The fastest way to glory is to do for the sake of conscience what we do for glory.
83. If you don’t want to be forgotten once you’re dead and rotten, write worthy books or do things worthy of being written about in books.
84. The most pleasing deeds to God are good deeds for the sake of people
85. Beware of minor expenses; a small leak will sink a big ship
86. No matter what you say, she bursts into laughter. Why? Because she has beautiful teeth
87. Three people keep a secret if two of them are in the grave
88. The best way to get rid of an annoying guest is to lend him money
89. Anyone who claims that money can do anything can very likely do anything for the sake of money.
90. There are no small enemies
91. Nothing extra. Early to bed and early to rise is what makes a person healthy, rich and smart
92. Experience is a school where lessons are expensive, but it is the only school where you can study
93. Since you are not sure of even one minute, don’t waste a single hour.
94. Easy to see, hard to foresee
95. What cannot be corrected should not be mourned
96. The master's eye will do more than both hands
97. Beauty without kindness dies unclaimed
98. A cat with gloves will not catch a mouse
99. A master at making excuses is rarely a master at anything else.
100. Not observing employees means leaving your wallet open to them.
101. Before consulting a whim, consult your wallet.
102. It’s easy to see, it’s hard to foresee
103. A great man usually destroys himself
104. Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel
105. All philosophers are wise in their maxims and fools in their behavior
106. How was the Earth on which I live formed? Is it the only inhabited planet? Where do I come from? Where I am? What is the nature of what I see? What is the nature of all these brilliant phantoms, the sight of which seduces me? Was I before I began to exist? Will I be when I'm no longer in the world? What state preceded the feeling of my existence? What state will occur after the disappearance of this sensation? The greatest geniuses will never know all this; they will talk nonsense with a philosophical look, just as I did
107. Knowledge is of two types. We ourselves know the subject - or we know where to find information about it
108. True honor is the decision to do in all circumstances what is useful to the most people.
109. He who waits for luck never knows whether he will have dinner today
110. He who lives in hope risks starvation
111. Man is a tool-producing animal
112. A bachelor is an unfinished being, he is like half a pair of scissors
113. Trade has not yet ruined a single nation
114. Spend less than you earn - here's the philosopher's stone
115. If you want to be rich, learn not only to earn money, but also to be frugal
116. If you buy what you don’t need, you will soon sell what you need.
117. Laziness drags on so slowly that poverty quickly catches up with it
118. If people are so bad at having religion, what would they be without it?
119. Fatigue is the best pillow
120. We eat for our own pleasure, dress for the pleasure of others.
121. Mine is better than ours
122. If you pour the contents of your wallet into your head, no one will take it away from you.
123. One move equals three fires
124. Creditors have better memory than debtors
125. Soft laws are rarely obeyed, harsh laws are rarely enforced
126. Teach your children to be silent. They will learn to speak on their own.
127. If you want to always be pleased, serve yourself
128. Keep your eyes wide before the wedding and close them after
129. If you argue, get irritated and object, you can sometimes win, but this victory will be meaningless, because you will never win the favor of your opponent
130. When you do good to others, you first do good to yourself.
(1706 - 1790) - an outstanding American politician, diplomat, inventor, writer and journalist. He was one of the authors of the United States Constitution and the only one of the Founding Fathers who affixed his signature to all three of the most important historical documents underlying the formation of the young state.
He left to his descendants not only scientific works and philosophical treatises, but also vivid notes about his life, which he created in the period from 1771 to 1790. They were compiled into the famous Autobiography, published after his death. In this work, Franklin talks with irony and humor about his extraordinary fate and what helped him become what he became.
We have selected 10 of the most remarkable quotes from this book:
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It is stupid to live in quarrels with those with whom you have to constantly deal. |
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Gradually I began to become convinced that truth, sincerity and honesty in relationships between people are of great importance for happiness in life. |
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The best way to bring back the past is to remember everything you have experienced; and in order for memories to last longer, it is better to put them on paper. |
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Some may say that these are all trifles that should not be remembered or told; but if they reflect that although the dust falling into the eyes of one person or into one shop on a windy day is not of great importance, then the large number of such cases in a populated city and their frequent repetition give this trifle weight and significance; Then, perhaps, they will not criticize so harshly those who pay some attention to matters so base in appearance. |
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Human happiness is created not so much by great successes, which happen rarely, as by small everyday improvements. |
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Most people do not tolerate vanity in their neighbors, no matter how much of it they themselves possess; but I give it its due whenever I encounter it, being convinced that vanity often benefits the one who possesses it, as well as others within the sphere of its action; whereby in many cases it would not be entirely senseless if a person thanked God for his vanity, as well as for other bounties. |
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An English proverb says: “If you want to succeed, ask your wife for it.” It was a great blessing for me that my wife was as hardworking and thrifty as I was. |
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Those who rule, as a rule, do not like to take on the trouble of considering and implementing new projects on top of their numerous affairs. The best public measures are rarely taken as a result of wise preliminary deliberation; they are usually dictated by circumstances. |
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“The one who has done you one favor is more likely to do you another than the one whom you yourself have served.” And this shows how much more profitable it is to leave a hostile attack against you unattended than to be offended, harbor a grudge and pay in the same coin. |
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Lack of modesty is a lack of intelligence. |
Quotes. Benjamin Franklin
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." Benjamin Franklin
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Benjamin Franklin
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." Benjamin Franklin
"Investing in knowledge brings the greatest return." Benjamin Franklin
"Well done is better than well said." Benjamin Franklin
"Well done is better than well said." Benjamin Franklin
"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning." Benjamin Franklin
“Without constant growth and progress, words like improvement, achievement and success have no meaning.” Benjamin Franklin
"It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it." Benjamin Franklin
“It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad deed to lose it.” Benjamin Franklin
"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Benjamin Franklin
“Whoever goes to bed early and gets up early will be healthy, rich and wise.” Benjamin Franklin
"Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship." Benjamin Franklin
"Beware of small expenses. A small leak sinks a big ship." Benjamin Franklin
"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain - and most fools do." Benjamin Franklin
"Any fool can criticize, judge and complain - most fools do." Benjamin Franklin
"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." Benjamin Franklin
“Remember that not only is it difficult to say the right thing in the right place, but it is even more difficult to leave the wrong thing unsaid at a tempting moment.” Benjamin Franklin
"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn." Benjamin Franklin
“Tell me and I’ll forget, teach me and I’ll probably remember, involve me and I’ll learn.” Benjamin Franklin
"He that can have patience can have what he will." Benjamin Franklin
"He who can have patience can have what he desires." Benjamin Franklin
"A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned" by Benjamin Franklin
"A penny saved is a penny earned." Benjamin Franklin
"Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out." Benjamin Franklin
"Don't be afraid to make mistakes. You will know failure. Keep trying." Benjamin Franklin
"Anger is never without a reason, but rarely with a good one." Benjamin Franklin
"Anger is never without a reason, but rarely with a good one." Benjamin Franklin
"Honesty is the best policy." Benjamin Franklin
"Honesty is the best policy." Benjamin Franklin
"Diligence is the mother of good luck." Benjamin Franklin
"Diligence is the mother of luck." Benjamin Franklin
"Hide not your talents. They were made for use. What"s a sundial in the shade?" Benjamin Franklin
"Don't hide your talents. They were made to be used. What's a sundial in the shadows?" Benjamin Franklin
The image of Benjamin Franklin is indelibly imprinted not only on the American psyche, but also on the largest currency made by the US Treasury, the $100. It would be difficult to choose a more suitable Founding Father to feature on this banknote. Because Franklin is one of America's most famous statesmen, scientist, philosopher, writer, businessman and free thinker.
Few people know, but Benjamin was also the founder and owner of the printing house. It was this entrepreneurial spirit that allowed him to not only become rich, but also serve his community and create a better world for future generations.
This article presents selected quotes and aphorisms from Benjamin Franklin that everyone should read.
Early age
- “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
- “Investing in knowledge always gives the best return.”
- “Being poor is not a shame, but you should be ashamed of it.”
- “Anyone who believes that money can do anything can be suspected of doing anything for the sake of money.”
- “It’s better to go to bed without dinner than to wake up in debt.”
- “If you have things to do tomorrow, do them today.”
- “Negligence does more harm than lack of knowledge.”
- “Laziness moves so slowly that poverty will soon overtake it.”
Benjamin Franklin: Quotes about Jews
At the time, Franklin was already an elder statesman. He showed worthy courage in issuing a warning to his political “colleagues” about the Jews. It was even included in the Constitutional Convention of 1789 and called the “miracle of prophecy.”
Let's look at some quotes about Jews:
“The Jews are a menace to this country and their entry must be prohibited by this Constitution.”
“I completely agree with General Washington that we must protect our young nation from the insidious influence of the Jews.”
- “For more than 1,700 years, Jews have been mourning their sad fate, which is that they were expelled from their homeland - Palestine. But they immediately found convincing reasons not to return there. Why? Because they are vampires, and vampires do not live among themselves."
“If you do not exclude them, in less than 200 years our descendants will be working in the fields to provide them (the Jews) with a means of subsistence, while they will be in counting houses, rubbing their hands.”
Selected wise sayings
“The symbol of the Renaissance in America,” this is how Benjamin Franklin was called, whose quotes are so wise and insightful that they remain popular today:
“The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to happiness. You have to catch it yourself."
“The tragedy of life is that we get old too early and wisdom too late.”
- “Keep your eyes wide open before marriage and half closed after it.”
- “God helps those who help themselves.”
- “If a person goes to bed early and gets up early, he will be healthy, rich and wise.”
“After all, marriage is the natural state of man. A bachelor is not a full-fledged person. He is like the odd half of a pair of scissors."
- “Eat to please yourself, and dress to please others.”
- “Reverence for God is a duty. Listening to and reading sermons can be helpful.”
Autobiographical Quotes
Throughout his long life, Benjamin Franklin, whose quotes are very popular today, never despaired and achieved his goals. Thanks to the fact that he served freely for the benefit of his people, he always achieved success and was a happy person. And some of the secrets of a fulfilling life lie in his aphorisms:
“Reading was the only entertainment I allowed myself.”
“Perhaps there are no other natural passions that are more difficult to suppress than pride.”
- “Let your things have their places, let every part of your business have its time.”
- “Do not use harmful deception, think decently and fairly.”
- “Only virtuous people are capable of freedom.”
- “I grew up with the opinion that truth, sincerity and honesty in human-human relationships are of the utmost importance to bliss in life.”
- “One of my employees at the publishing house drank all the time, and the other only drank when he had completed all the work.”
And in conclusion, it is worth adding: Benjamin Franklin (whose quote about money became world famous) lived his life in the spirit of He was deeply interested in what was happening around him. He excelled in several different areas of human activity. Had a huge influence on the development of electricity and the forms of speech we still use today.
