Benjamin Franklin

United States
17 Jan 1706 // 17 Apr 1790
Writer/Scientist

Quotes

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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
Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue; it is hard for an empty bag to stand upright
Our necessities never equal our wants
Nothing gives an author so much pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by other learned authors
No nation was ever ruined by trade
Many have quarreled about religion that never practiced it
Man is a tool making animal
Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults
Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late
Let the child's first lesson be obedience, and the second will be what thou wilt
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays