“The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”Library of Congress
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“Search others for their virtues, thy self for thy vices.”perpetualplum/Flickr
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"Wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy."Library of Congress
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“Better slip with foot than tongue.”The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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“No gains without pains.”The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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"He that lives upon hope, dies farting."
This represented Franklin's spin on an old Italian proverb: "The Man who lives by Hope, will die by Hunger."Wikimedia Commons
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“There cannot be good living where there is not good drinking.”Wikimedia Commons
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“Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults.”Wikimedia Commons
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“Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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“Well done is better than well said.”Library of Congress
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“He that lies down with dogs, shall rise up with fleas.”Archive.org
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“I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character...the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird.”Wikimedia Commons
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“Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What’s a sun-dial in the shade!”Wikimedia Commons
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“Glass, china, and reputation, are easily crack’d, and never well mended.”Wikimedia Commons
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“That it is better 100 guilty persons should escape than that one innocent person should suffer.”Wikimedia Commons
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“In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.”Library of Congress
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“If men are so wicked as we now see them with religion what would they be if without it?”Wikimedia Commons
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“Haste makes waste.”mikeparker/Flickr
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“There was never a bad peace or a good war.”Wikimedia Commons
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“If all Printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.”Library of Congress
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“Don’t throw stones at your neighbors, if your own windows are glass.”The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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“A right heart exceeds all.”The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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“In all your amours you should prefer old women to young ones.”Wikimedia Commons
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“Be not sick too late, nor well too soon.”Wikimedia Commons
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“A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges.”Library of Congress
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“Waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both.”Wikimedia Commons
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“Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom…”Wikimedia Commons
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“He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.”Archive.org
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“Look before, or you’ll find yourself behind.”The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that’s the stuff life is made of.”Library of Congress
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"Honesty is the best policy."Library of Congress
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“If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some…”Wikimedia Commons
33 Benjamin Franklin Quotes That Capture American Wisdom At Its Finest
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Benjamin Franklin accomplished much more throughout his life than even the bounty of well-known stories can recount. A talented polymath, Franklin was a scientist, inventor, diplomat, and writer.
All this came despite Franklin's severe lack of formal education. With just two years of schooling, Franklin had to chart his own course.
At just 16, after being denied the chance to publish in the New-England Courant, Franklin invented the persona of a middle-aged woman named "Silence Dogood" in order to finally get his writings in the paper. The popular editorials first printed in 1722 allowed Franklin to do something he'd prove adept at for the rest of his life: offer pithy, thoughtful, and humorous advice. In this case, "Silence Dogood" dispensed wisdom on topics including religion, marriage, and even women's fashion.
Soon enough, Franklin was doing much the same thing all over again, publishing the famous Poor Richard's Almanack (perhaps the greatest source of well-known Benjamin Franklin quotes) under the pseudonym "Richard Saunders" starting in 1732. This publication offered the budding philosopher another avenue to deliver his unique wit and wisdom to more readers. It's here that Franklin helped popularize the iconic proverb, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
He continued to hone that wit throughout his multifarious later career as a scientist and statesman. Today, we are left with dozens of Benjamin Franklin quotes that remain part of the very fabric of American wisdom.
An All That’s Interesting writer since 2013, Erin Kelly focuses on historic places, natural wonders, environmental issues, and the world of science. Her work has also been featured in Smithsonian and she’s designed several published book covers in her career as a graphic artist.
