Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706. He was the tenth son of soap maker, Josiah Franklin. Benjamin's mother was Abiah Folger, the second wife of Josiah. In all, Josiah would father 17 children.
Josiah intended for Benjamin to enter into the clergy. However, Josiah could only afford to send his son to school for one year and clergymen needed years of schooling. But, as young Benjamin loved to read he had him apprenticed to his brother James, who was a printer. After helping James compose pamphlets and set type which was grueling work, 12-year-old Benjamin would sell their products in the streets.
Apprentice Printer
When Benjamin was 15 his brother started The New England Courant the first "newspaper" in Boston. Though there were two papers in the city before James's Courant, they only reprinted news from abroad. James's paper carried articles, opinion pieces written by James's friends, advertisements, and news of ship schedules.
Benjamin wanted to write for the paper too, but he knew that James would never let him. After all, Benjamin was just a lowly apprentice. So Ben began writing letters at night and signing them with the name of a fictional widow, Silence Dogood. Dogood was filled with advice and very critical of the world around her, particularly concerning the issue of how women were treated. Ben would sneak the letters under the print shop door at night so no one knew who was writing the pieces. They were a smash hit, and everyone wanted to know who was the real "Silence Dogood."
After 16 letters, Ben confessed that he had been writing the letters all along. While James's friends thought Ben was quite precocious and funny, James scolded his brother and was very jealous of the attention paid to him.
Before long the Franklins found themselves at odds with Boston's powerful Puritan preachers, the Mathers. Smallpox was a deadly disease in those times, and the Mathers supported inoculation; the Franklins' believed inoculation only made people sicker. And while most Bostonians agreed with the Franklins, they did not like the way James made fun of the clergy, during the debate. Ultimately, James was thrown in jail for his views, and Benjamin was left to run the paper for several issues.
Upon release from jail, James was not grateful to Ben for keeping the paper going. Instead he kept harassing his younger brother and administering beatings from time to time. Ben could not take it and decided to run away in 1723.
Escape to Philadelphia
Running away was illegal. In early America, people all had to have a place in society and runaways did not fit in anywhere. Regardless Ben took a boat to New York where he hoped to find work as a printer. He didn't, and walked across New Jersey, finally arriving in Philadelphia via a boat ride. After debarking, he used the last of his money to buy some rolls. He was wet, disheveled, and messy when his future wife, Deborah Read, saw him on that day, October, 6, 1723. She thought him odd-looking, never dreaming that seven years later they would be married.
Franklin found work as an apprentice printer. He did so well that the governor of Pennsylvania promised to set him up in business for himself if young Franklin would just go to London to buy fonts and printing equipment. Franklin did go to London, but the governor reneged on his promise and Benjamin was forced to spend several months in England doing print work.
Benjamin had been living with the Read family before he left for London. Deborah Read, the very same girl who had seen young Benjamin arrive in Philadelphia, started talking marriage, with the young printer. But Ben did not think he was ready. While he was gone, she married another man.
Upon returning to Philadelphia, Franklin tried his hand at helping to run a shop, but soon went back to being a printer's helper. Franklin was a better printer than the man he was working for, so he borrowed some money and set himself up in the printing business. Franklin seemed to work all the time, and the citizens of Philadelphia began to notice the diligent young businessman. Soon he began getting the contract to do government jobs and started thriving in business.
In 1728, Benjamin fathered a child named William. The mother of William is not known. However, in 1730 Benjamin married his childhood sweetheart, Deborah Read. Deborah's husband had run off, and now she was able to marry.
In addition to running a print shop, the Franklins also ran their own store at this time, with Deborah selling everything from soap to fabric. Ben also ran a book store. They were quite enterprising.
The Pennsylvania Gazette
In 1729, Benjamin Franklin bought a newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin not only printed the paper, but often contributed pieces to the paper under aliases. His newspaper soon became the most successful in the colonies. This newspaper, among other firsts, would print the first political cartoon, authored by Ben himself.
During the 1720s and 1730s, the side of Franklin devoted to public good started to show itself. He organized the Junto, a young working-man's group dedicated to self- and-civic improvement. He joined the Masons. He was a very busy man socially.
Poor Richard's Almanack
But Franklin thrived on work. In 1733 he started publishing Poor Richard's Almanack. Almanacs of the era were printed annually, and contained things like weather reports, recipes, predictions and homilies. Franklin published his almanac under the guise of a man named Richard Saunders, a poor man who needed money to take care of his carping wife. What distinguished Franklin's almanac were his witty aphorisms and lively writing. Many of the famous phrases associated with Franklin, such as, "A penny saved is a penny earned" come from Poor Richard.
Fire Prevention
Franklin continued his civic contributions during the 1730s and 1740s. He helped launch projects to pave, clean and light Philadelphia's streets. He started agitating for environmental clean up. Among the chief accomplishments of Franklin in this era was helping to launch the Library Company in 1731. During this time books were scarce and expensive. Franklin recognized that by pooling together resources, members could afford to buy books from England. Thus was born the nation's first subscription library. In 1743, he helped to launch the American Philosophical Society, the first learned society in America. Recognizing that the city needed better help in treating the sick, Franklin brought together a group who formed the Pennsylvania Hospital in 1751. The Library Company, Philosophical Society, and Pennsylvania Hospital are all in existence today.
Fires were very dangerous threat to Philadelphians, so Franklin set about trying to remedy the situation. In 1736, he organized Philadelphia's Union Fire Company, the first in the city. His famous saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," was actually fire-fighting advice.
Those who suffered fire damage to their homes often suffered irreversible economic loss. So, in 1752, Franklin helped to found the Philadelphia Contribution for Insurance Against Loss by Fire. Those with insurance policies were not wiped out financially. The Contributionship is still in business today.
Electricity
Franklin's printing business was thriving in this 1730s and 1740s. He also started setting up franchise printing partnerships in other cities. By 1749 he retired from business and started concentrating on science, experiments, and inventions. This was nothing new to Franklin. In 1743, he had already invented a heat-efficient stove — called the Franklin stove — to help warm houses efficiently. As the stove was invented to help improve society, he refused to take out a patent.
Among Franklin's other inventions are swim fins, the glass armonica (a musical instrument) and bifocals.
In the early 1750's he turned to the study of electricity. His observations, including his kite experiment which verified the nature of electricity and lightning brought Franklin international fame.
The Political Scene
Politics became more of an active interest for Franklin in the 1750s. In 1757, he went to England to represent Pennsylvania in its fight with the descendants of the Penn family over who should represent the Colony. He remained in England to 1775, as a Colonial representative not only of Pennsylvania, but of Georgia, New Jersey and Massachusetts as well.
Early in his time abroad, Franklin considered himself a loyal Englishman. England had many of the amenities that America lacked. The country also had fine thinkers, theater, witty conversation — things in short supply in America. He kept asking Deborah to come visit him in England. He had thoughts of staying there permanently, but she was afraid of traveling by ship.
In 1765, Franklin was caught by surprise by America's overwhelming opposition to the Stamp Act. His testimony before Parliament helped persuade the members to repeal the law. He started wondering if America should break free of England. Franklin, though he had many friends in England, was growing sick of the corruption he saw all around him in politics and royal circles. Franklin, who had proposed a plan for united colonies in 1754, now would earnestly start working toward that goal.
Franklin's big break with England occurred in the "Hutchinson Affair." Thomas Hutchinson was an English-appointed governor of Massachusetts. Although he pretended to take the side of the people of Massachusetts in their complaints against England, he was actually still working for the King. Franklin got a hold of some letters in which Hutchinson called for "an abridgment of what are called English Liberties" in America. He sent the letters to America where much of the population was outraged. After leaking the letters Franklin was called to Whitehall, the English Foreign Ministry, where he was condemned in public.
A New Nation
Franklin came home.
He started working actively for Independence. He naturally thought his son William, now the Royal governor of New Jersey, would agree with his views. William did not. William remained a Loyal Englishman. This caused a rift between father and son which was never healed.
Franklin was elected to the Second Continental Congress and worked on a committee of five that helped to draft the Declaration of Independence. Though much of the writing is Thomas Jefferson's, much of the contribution is Franklin's. In 1776 Franklin signed the Declaration, and afterward sailed to France as an ambassador to the Court of Louis XVI.
The French loved Franklin. He was the man who had tamed lightning, the humble American who dressed like a backwoodsman but was a match for any wit in the world. He spoke French, though stutteringly. He was a favorite of the ladies. Several years earlier his wife Deborah had died, and Benjamin was now a notorious flirt.
In part via Franklin's popularity, the government of France signed a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans in 1778. Franklin also helped secure loans and persuade the French they were doing the right thing. Franklin was on hand to sign the Treaty of Paris in 1783, after the Americans had won the Revolution.
Now a man in his late seventies, Franklin returned to America. He became President of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania. He served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and signed the Constitution. One of his last public acts was writing an anti-slavery treatise in 1789.
Franklin died on April 17, 1790 at the age of 84. 20,000 people attended the funeral of the man who was called, "the harmonious human multitude."
His electric personality, however, still lights the world.
Josiah intended for Benjamin to enter into the clergy. However, Josiah could only afford to send his son to school for one year and clergymen needed years of schooling. But, as young Benjamin loved to read he had him apprenticed to his brother James, who was a printer. After helping James compose pamphlets and set type which was grueling work, 12-year-old Benjamin would sell their products in the streets.
Apprentice Printer
When Benjamin was 15 his brother started The New England Courant the first "newspaper" in Boston. Though there were two papers in the city before James's Courant, they only reprinted news from abroad. James's paper carried articles, opinion pieces written by James's friends, advertisements, and news of ship schedules.
Benjamin wanted to write for the paper too, but he knew that James would never let him. After all, Benjamin was just a lowly apprentice. So Ben began writing letters at night and signing them with the name of a fictional widow, Silence Dogood. Dogood was filled with advice and very critical of the world around her, particularly concerning the issue of how women were treated. Ben would sneak the letters under the print shop door at night so no one knew who was writing the pieces. They were a smash hit, and everyone wanted to know who was the real "Silence Dogood."
After 16 letters, Ben confessed that he had been writing the letters all along. While James's friends thought Ben was quite precocious and funny, James scolded his brother and was very jealous of the attention paid to him.
Before long the Franklins found themselves at odds with Boston's powerful Puritan preachers, the Mathers. Smallpox was a deadly disease in those times, and the Mathers supported inoculation; the Franklins' believed inoculation only made people sicker. And while most Bostonians agreed with the Franklins, they did not like the way James made fun of the clergy, during the debate. Ultimately, James was thrown in jail for his views, and Benjamin was left to run the paper for several issues.
Upon release from jail, James was not grateful to Ben for keeping the paper going. Instead he kept harassing his younger brother and administering beatings from time to time. Ben could not take it and decided to run away in 1723.
Escape to Philadelphia
Running away was illegal. In early America, people all had to have a place in society and runaways did not fit in anywhere. Regardless Ben took a boat to New York where he hoped to find work as a printer. He didn't, and walked across New Jersey, finally arriving in Philadelphia via a boat ride. After debarking, he used the last of his money to buy some rolls. He was wet, disheveled, and messy when his future wife, Deborah Read, saw him on that day, October, 6, 1723. She thought him odd-looking, never dreaming that seven years later they would be married.
Franklin found work as an apprentice printer. He did so well that the governor of Pennsylvania promised to set him up in business for himself if young Franklin would just go to London to buy fonts and printing equipment. Franklin did go to London, but the governor reneged on his promise and Benjamin was forced to spend several months in England doing print work.
Benjamin had been living with the Read family before he left for London. Deborah Read, the very same girl who had seen young Benjamin arrive in Philadelphia, started talking marriage, with the young printer. But Ben did not think he was ready. While he was gone, she married another man.
Upon returning to Philadelphia, Franklin tried his hand at helping to run a shop, but soon went back to being a printer's helper. Franklin was a better printer than the man he was working for, so he borrowed some money and set himself up in the printing business. Franklin seemed to work all the time, and the citizens of Philadelphia began to notice the diligent young businessman. Soon he began getting the contract to do government jobs and started thriving in business.
In 1728, Benjamin fathered a child named William. The mother of William is not known. However, in 1730 Benjamin married his childhood sweetheart, Deborah Read. Deborah's husband had run off, and now she was able to marry.
In addition to running a print shop, the Franklins also ran their own store at this time, with Deborah selling everything from soap to fabric. Ben also ran a book store. They were quite enterprising.
The Pennsylvania Gazette
In 1729, Benjamin Franklin bought a newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin not only printed the paper, but often contributed pieces to the paper under aliases. His newspaper soon became the most successful in the colonies. This newspaper, among other firsts, would print the first political cartoon, authored by Ben himself.
During the 1720s and 1730s, the side of Franklin devoted to public good started to show itself. He organized the Junto, a young working-man's group dedicated to self- and-civic improvement. He joined the Masons. He was a very busy man socially.
Poor Richard's Almanack
But Franklin thrived on work. In 1733 he started publishing Poor Richard's Almanack. Almanacs of the era were printed annually, and contained things like weather reports, recipes, predictions and homilies. Franklin published his almanac under the guise of a man named Richard Saunders, a poor man who needed money to take care of his carping wife. What distinguished Franklin's almanac were his witty aphorisms and lively writing. Many of the famous phrases associated with Franklin, such as, "A penny saved is a penny earned" come from Poor Richard.
Fire Prevention
Franklin continued his civic contributions during the 1730s and 1740s. He helped launch projects to pave, clean and light Philadelphia's streets. He started agitating for environmental clean up. Among the chief accomplishments of Franklin in this era was helping to launch the Library Company in 1731. During this time books were scarce and expensive. Franklin recognized that by pooling together resources, members could afford to buy books from England. Thus was born the nation's first subscription library. In 1743, he helped to launch the American Philosophical Society, the first learned society in America. Recognizing that the city needed better help in treating the sick, Franklin brought together a group who formed the Pennsylvania Hospital in 1751. The Library Company, Philosophical Society, and Pennsylvania Hospital are all in existence today.
Fires were very dangerous threat to Philadelphians, so Franklin set about trying to remedy the situation. In 1736, he organized Philadelphia's Union Fire Company, the first in the city. His famous saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," was actually fire-fighting advice.
Those who suffered fire damage to their homes often suffered irreversible economic loss. So, in 1752, Franklin helped to found the Philadelphia Contribution for Insurance Against Loss by Fire. Those with insurance policies were not wiped out financially. The Contributionship is still in business today.
Electricity
Franklin's printing business was thriving in this 1730s and 1740s. He also started setting up franchise printing partnerships in other cities. By 1749 he retired from business and started concentrating on science, experiments, and inventions. This was nothing new to Franklin. In 1743, he had already invented a heat-efficient stove — called the Franklin stove — to help warm houses efficiently. As the stove was invented to help improve society, he refused to take out a patent.
Among Franklin's other inventions are swim fins, the glass armonica (a musical instrument) and bifocals.
In the early 1750's he turned to the study of electricity. His observations, including his kite experiment which verified the nature of electricity and lightning brought Franklin international fame.
The Political Scene
Politics became more of an active interest for Franklin in the 1750s. In 1757, he went to England to represent Pennsylvania in its fight with the descendants of the Penn family over who should represent the Colony. He remained in England to 1775, as a Colonial representative not only of Pennsylvania, but of Georgia, New Jersey and Massachusetts as well.
Early in his time abroad, Franklin considered himself a loyal Englishman. England had many of the amenities that America lacked. The country also had fine thinkers, theater, witty conversation — things in short supply in America. He kept asking Deborah to come visit him in England. He had thoughts of staying there permanently, but she was afraid of traveling by ship.
In 1765, Franklin was caught by surprise by America's overwhelming opposition to the Stamp Act. His testimony before Parliament helped persuade the members to repeal the law. He started wondering if America should break free of England. Franklin, though he had many friends in England, was growing sick of the corruption he saw all around him in politics and royal circles. Franklin, who had proposed a plan for united colonies in 1754, now would earnestly start working toward that goal.
Franklin's big break with England occurred in the "Hutchinson Affair." Thomas Hutchinson was an English-appointed governor of Massachusetts. Although he pretended to take the side of the people of Massachusetts in their complaints against England, he was actually still working for the King. Franklin got a hold of some letters in which Hutchinson called for "an abridgment of what are called English Liberties" in America. He sent the letters to America where much of the population was outraged. After leaking the letters Franklin was called to Whitehall, the English Foreign Ministry, where he was condemned in public.
A New Nation
Franklin came home.
He started working actively for Independence. He naturally thought his son William, now the Royal governor of New Jersey, would agree with his views. William did not. William remained a Loyal Englishman. This caused a rift between father and son which was never healed.
Franklin was elected to the Second Continental Congress and worked on a committee of five that helped to draft the Declaration of Independence. Though much of the writing is Thomas Jefferson's, much of the contribution is Franklin's. In 1776 Franklin signed the Declaration, and afterward sailed to France as an ambassador to the Court of Louis XVI.
The French loved Franklin. He was the man who had tamed lightning, the humble American who dressed like a backwoodsman but was a match for any wit in the world. He spoke French, though stutteringly. He was a favorite of the ladies. Several years earlier his wife Deborah had died, and Benjamin was now a notorious flirt.
In part via Franklin's popularity, the government of France signed a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans in 1778. Franklin also helped secure loans and persuade the French they were doing the right thing. Franklin was on hand to sign the Treaty of Paris in 1783, after the Americans had won the Revolution.
Now a man in his late seventies, Franklin returned to America. He became President of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania. He served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and signed the Constitution. One of his last public acts was writing an anti-slavery treatise in 1789.
Franklin died on April 17, 1790 at the age of 84. 20,000 people attended the funeral of the man who was called, "the harmonious human multitude."
His electric personality, however, still lights the world.
quotation from poor Richards Almanak
1734
Would you live with ease? Do what you ought, not what you please.
Better slip with foot than tongue.
You cannot pluck roses without fear of thorns, Nor enjoy fair wife without danger of horns.
Without justice, courage is weak.
Blame-all and Praise-all are two blockheads.
No man e'er was glorious, who was not laborious.
Whate'ers begun in anger ends in shame.
What one relishes, nourishes.
Fools multiply folly.
Beauty & Folly are old companions.
Hope of gain, lessens pain.
All things are easy to Industry, All things difficult to Sloth.
If you ride a horse, sit close and tight, if you ride a man, sit easy and light.
Don't think to hunt two hares with one dog.
Who pleasure gives, Shall joy receive.
Where there is Marriage without Love, there will be Love without Marriage.
Be neither silly, nor cunning, but wise.
Neither a Fortress nor a Maidenhead will hold out long after they begin to parly.
Jack Little sow'd little, & little he'll reap.
All things are cheap to the saving, dear to the wasteful.
Would you persuade, speak of Interest, not of Reason.
Happy's the Woing, that's not long a doing.
Don't value a man for the Quality he is of, but for the Qualities he possesses.
Be good to thy Friend to keep him, to thy enemy to gain him.
A good Man is seldom uneasy, an ill one never easie.
Teach your child to hold his tongue, he'll learn fast enough to speak.
He that cannot obey, cannot command.
An innocent Plowman is more worthy than a vicious Prince.
As Charms are nonsense, Nonsence is a Charm.
An Egg to day is better than a Hen to-morrow.
Drink Water, Put the Money in your Pocket, and leave the Dry-bellyach in the Punchbowl.
He that is rich need not live sparingly, and he that can live sparingly need not be rich.
If you wou'd be reveng'd of your enemy, govern your self.
A wicked Hero will turn his back to an innocent coward.
Laws like to Cobwebs catch small Flies, Great one break thro' before your eyes.
Strange, that he who lives by Shifts, can seldom shift himself.
As sore places meet most rubs, proud folks meet most affronts.
He does not possess Wealth, it possesses him.
Necessity has no Law; I know some Attorneys of the name.
Onions can make ev'n heirs and Widows weep.
Avarice and Happiness never saw each other, how then shou'd they become acquainted.
The thrifty maxim of the wary Dutch, is to save all the Money they can touch.
He that waits upon Fortune, is never sure of a Dinner.
A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one.
Marry your Son when you will, but your Daughter when you can.
If you woul'd have Guests merry with your cheer, be so your self, or so at least appear.
[edit] 1735
Look before, or you'll find yourself behind.
Bad Commentators spoil the best of books,So God sends meat (they say) the devil Cooks.
Compare: "God sends meat, and the Devil sends cooks", John Taylor, Works, vol. ii. p. 85 (1630); "Are these the choice dishes the Doctor has sent us? Is this the great poet whose works so content us? This Goldsmith’s fine feast, who has written fine books? Heaven sends us good meat, but the Devil sends cooks?", David Garrick, Epigram on Goldsmith’s Retaliation. Vol. ii. p. 157.; "God sendeth and giveth both mouth and the meat", Thomas Tusser, A Hundred Points of Good Husbandry (1557).
Approve not of him who commends all you say.
By diligence and patience, the mouse bit in two the cable.
Full of courtesie, full of craft.
A little House well fill'd, a little Field well till'd, and a little Wife well will'd, are great Riches.
Some are weatherwise, some are otherwise.
The poor man must walk to get meat for his stomach, the rich man to get a stomach to his meat.
Eyes and Priests bear no Jests.
The family of Fools is ancient.
Necessity never made a good bargain.
If Pride leads the Van, Beggary brings up the Rear.
There's many witty men whose brains can't fill their bellies.
Weighty Questions ask for deliberate Answers.
Be slow in chusing a Friend, slower in changing.
Modern spelling: Be slow in choosing a Friend, slower in changing.
Pain wastes the Body, Pleasures the Understanding.
The cunning man steals a horse, the wise man lets him alone.
Nothing but Money, is Sweeter than Honey.
Keep thy shop, & thy shop will keep thee.
Humility makes great men twice honourable.
What's given shines,What's receiv'd is rusty.
Sloth and Silence are a Fool's Virtues.
Of learned Fools I have seen ten times ten,Of unlearned wise men I have seen a hundred.
Three may keep a Secret, if two of them are dead.
Poverty wants some things, Luxury many things, Avarice all things.
A lie stands on 1 leg, the Truth on 2.
There's small Revenge in Words, but Words may be greatly revenged.
A man is never so ridiculous by those Qualities that are his own as by those that he affects to have.
Deny Self for Self's sake.
Ever since Follies have pleas'd, Fools have been able to divert.
It is better to take many Injuries than to give one.
Opportunity is the great Bawd.
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
An old young man, will be a young old man.
To be humble to Superiors is Duty, to Equals Courtesy, to Inferiors Nobleness.
If what most men admire, they would despise,'Twould look as if mankind were growing wise.
The Sun never repents of the good he does, nor does he ever demand a recompence.
Are you angry that others disappoint you? remember you cannot depend upon yourself.
One Mend-fault is worth two Findfaults, but one Findfault is better than two Makefaults.
Here comes the Orator! with his Flood of Words, and his Drop of Reason.
[edit] 1736
He is no clown that drives the plow, but he that doth clownish things.
If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the Philosophers-Stone.
The good Paymaster is Lord of another man's Purse.
Fish & Visitors stink in 3 days.
Diligence is the mother of Good-Luck.
He that lives upon Hope, dies fasting.
Do not do what you would not have known.
Never praise your Cyder, Horse, or Bedfellow.
Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it.
Tis easy to see, hard to foresee.
In a discreet man's mouth, a publick thing is private.
Let thy maidservant be faithful, strong, and homely.
Keep flax from fire, and youth from gaming.
Bargaining has neither friends nor relations.
Admiration is the Daughter of Ignorance.
There are more old Drunkards than old Doctors.
She that paints her face, thinks of her Tail.
He that takes a wife, takes care.
He that can have Patience, can have what he will.
God helps them that help themselves.
None preaches better than the ant, and she says nothing.
The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse.
Gifts burst rocks.
If wind blows on you thro' a hole, make your will and take care of your soul.
The rotton Apple spoils his Companions.
He that sells upon trust, loses many friends, and always wants money.
Don't throw stones at your neighbours, if your own windows are glass.
The excellency of hogs is fatness, of men virtue.
Good wives and good plantations are made by good husbands.
Pox take you, is no curse to some people.
Force shites upon Reason's Back.
Lovers, Travellers, and Poets, will give money to be heard.
He that speaks much, is much mistaken.
Creditors have better memories than debtors.
Forwarn'd, forearm'd, unless in the case of Cuckolds, who are often forearm's before warn'd.
Three things are men most liable to be cheated in, a Horse, a Wig, and a Wife.
He that lives well, is learned enough.
Poverty, Poetry and new Titles of Honour, make Men ridiculous.
He that scatters Thorns, let him not go barefoot.
There's none deceived but he that trusts.
God heals, and the Doctor takes the Fees.
If you desire many things, many things will seem but a few.
Mary's mouth costs her nothing, for she never opens it but at others expense.
Receive before you write, but write before you pay.
I saw few die of Hunger, of Eating 100000.
He that would live in peace & at ease, Must not speak all he knows, nor judge all he sees.
[edit] 1737
The greatest monarch on the proudest throne, is oblig'd to sit upon his own arse. (Perhaps a prosaic translation of Michel de Montaigne's earlier aphorism: au plus élevé trône du monde, si ne sommes assis que sur notre cul.)
The Master-piece of Man, is to live to the purpose.
He that steals an old man's support, do's him no wrong.
A countryman between 2 Lawyers, is like a fish between two cats.
He that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities.
The misers cheese is the wholesomest.
Love and lordship hate companions.
The nearest way to come at glory, is to do that for conscience which we do for glory.
There is much money given to be laught at, though the purchases don't know it; witness A's fine horse, & B's fine house.
He that can compose himself, is wiser than he that composes books.
Poor Dick, eats like a well man, and drinks like a sick.
After crosses and losses men grow humbler and wiser.
Love, Cough, & a Smoke, can't be well hid.
Well done is better than well said.
He that can travel well afoot, keeps a good horse.
There are no ugly Loves, nor handsome Prisons.
No better relation than a prudent & faithful Friend.
A Traveller should have a hog's nose, deer's legs, and an ass's back.
At the working man's house hunger looks in but dares not enter.
A good Lawyer is a bad Neighbour.
Certainlie these things agree, the Priest, the Lawyer, & Death all three: Death takes both the weak and the strong. The lawyer takes from both right and wrong, and the priest from the living and the dead has his Fee.
The worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise.
Don't misinform your Docter nor your Lawyer.
I never saw an oft-transplanted tree, nor yet an oft-removed family, that throve so well as those that settled be.
Three good meals a day is a bad living.
To whom thy secret thou dost tell, to him thy freedom thou dost sell.
If you'd have a Servant that you like, serve your self.
He that pursues two Hares at once, does not catch one and lets t'other go.
If you have time don't wait for time.
Tell a miser he's rich, and a woman she's old, you'll get no money of one, nor kindness of t'other.
Don't go to the doctor with every distemper, nor to the lawyer with every quarrel, nor to the pot for every thirst.
The creditors are a superstitious sect, great observers of set days and times.
The noblest question in the world is What Good may I do in it?
Nothing is so popular as GOODNESS.
[edit] 1738
There are three faithful friends, an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.
Who has deceiv'd thee so oft as thy self?
Write with the learned, pronounce with the vulgar.
Hast thou virtue? acquire also the graces & beauties of virtue.
Buy what thou hast no need of; and e'er long thou shalt sell thy necessaries.
If thou hast wit & learning, add to it Wisdom and Modesty.
If you wou'd not be forgottenAs soon as you are dead and rotten,Either write things worth reading,Or do things worth the writing.
Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power.
Let thy vices die before thee.
Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.
The ancients tell us what is best; but we must learn of the moderns what is fittest.
Since I cannot govern my own tongue, tho' within my own teeth, how can I hope to govern the tongues of others?
'Tis less discredit to abridge petty charges, than to stoop to petty Gettings.
Since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour.
If you do what you should not, you must hear what you would not.
Wish not so much to live long as to live well.
As we must account for every idle word, so we must for every idle silence.
I have never seen the Philosopher's Stone that turns lead into Gold, but I have known the pursuit of it turn a Man's Gold into Lead.
Time is an herb that cures all Diseases.
Reading makes a full Man, Meditation a profound Man, discourse a clear Man.
If any man flatters me, I'll flatter him again; tho' he were my best Friend.
Wish a miser long life, and you wish him no good.
None but the well-bred man knows how to confess a fault, or acknowledge himself in an error.
Drive thy business; let not that drive thee.
There is much difference between imitating a good man, and counterfeiting him.
Wink at small faults; remember thou hast great ones.
Eat to please thyself, but dress to please others.
Search others for their virtues, thy self for thy vices.
Each year one vicious habit rooted out,In time might make the worst Man good throughout.
[edit] 1739
If thou wouldst live long, live well; for Folly and Wickedness shorten Life.
Trust thy self, and another shall not betray thee.
Historians relate, not so much what is done, as what they would have believed.
Thou canst not joke an Enemy into a Friend; but thou may'st a Friend into an Enemy.
He that falls in love with himself, will have no Rivals.
Let thy Discontents be Secrets.
No Resolution of Repenting hereafter, can be sincere.
Honour thy Father and Mother, i. e. Live so as to be an Honour to them tho' they are dead.
If thou injurest Conscience, it will have its Revenge on thee.
Hear no ill of a Friend, nor speak any of an Enemy.
Be not niggardly of what costs thee nothing, as courtesy, counsel, & countenance.
Beware of him that is slow to anger: He is angry for something, and will not be pleased for nothing.
Proclaim not all thou knowest, all thou owest, all thou hast, nor all thou canst.
Let our Fathers and Grandfathers be valued for their Goodness, ourselves for our own.
Industry need not wish.
Sin is not hurtful because it is forbidden but it is forbidden because it's hurtful. Nor is a Duty beneficial because it is commanded, but it is commanded, because it's beneficial.
Love, and be lov'd.
Great Beauty, great strength, & great Riches, are really & truly of no great Use; a right Heart exceeds all.
Food is essential to life, therefore make it good.
[edit] 1740
An empty bag will not stand upright.
[edit] 1741
Lying rides upon Debt's back.
[edit] 1742
When Knaves fall out, honest Men get their goods: When Priests dispute, we come at the Truth.
Strange! that a Man who has wit enough to write a Satyr; should have folly enough to publish it.
A comment on the dangers of writing of a satire.
Speak and speed: the close mouth catches no flies.
Ben beats his Pate, and fancys wit will come;But he may knock, there's no body at home.
Ill Customs & bad Advice are seldom forgotten.
He that sows thorns, should not go barefoot.
Death takes no bribes.
One good Husband is worth two good Wives; for the scarcer things are the more they're valued.
He that riseth late, must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night.
He that speaks ill of the Mare, will buy her.
You will be careful, if you are wise;How you touch Men's Religion, or Credit, or Eyes.
They who have nothing to trouble them, will be troubled at nothing.
Against Diseases here, the strongest Fence,Is the defensive Virtue, Abstinence.
If thou dost ill, the joy fades, not the pains;If well, the pain doth fade, the joy remains.
To err is human, to repent divine, to persist devilish.
Industry pays Debts, Despair encreases them.
The Difficulty lies, in finding out an exact Measure; but eat for Necessity, not Pleasure, for Lust knows not where Necessity ends.
If thou art dull and heavy after Meat, it's a sign thou hast exceeded the due Measure; for Meat and Drink ought to refresh the Body, and make it chearful, and not to dull and oppress it.
[edit] 1750
There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self.
Genius without education is like silver in the mine.
[edit] 1753
Tis against some Mens Principle to pay Interest, and seems against others Interest to pay the Principal.
Setting too good an Example is a Kind of Slander seldom forgiven; 'tis Scandalum Magnatum.
A great Talker may be no Fool, but he is one that relies on him.
If you would reap Praise you must sow the Seeds,Gentle Words and useful Deeds.
Ignorance leads Men into a Party, and Shame keeps them from getting out again.
Haste makes Waste.
Many have quarrel'd about Religion, that never practis'd it.
Sudden Power is apt to be insolent, Sudden Liberty saucy; that behaves best which has grown gradually.
Anger is never without a Reason, but seldom with a good One.
He that is of Opinion Money will do every Thing, may well be suspected of doing every Thing for Money.
Serving God is Doing Good to Man, but Praying is thought an easier Service, and therefore more generally chosen.
Nothing humbler than Ambition, when it is about to climb.
Gifts much expected, are paid, not given.
It has pleased God in his Goodness to Mankind, at length to discover to them the Means of securing their Habitations and other Buildings from Mischief by Thunder and Lightning. The Method is this: Provide a small Iron Rod (it may be made of the Rod-iron used by the Nailers) but of such a Length, that one End being three or four Feet in the moist Ground, the other may be six or eight Feet above the highest Part of the Building. To the upper End of the Rod fasten about a Foot of Brass Wire, the Size of a common Knitting- [nbneedle, sharpened to a fine Point; the Rod may be secured to the House by a few small Staples. If the House or Barn be long, there may be a Rod and Point at each End, and a middling Wire along the Ridge from one to the other. A House thus furnished will not be damaged by Lightning, it being attracted by the Points, and passing thro the Metal into the Ground without hurting any Thing. Vessels also, having a sharp pointed Rod fix'd on the Top of their Masts, with a Wire from the Foot of the Rod reaching down, round one of the Shrouds, to the Water, will not be hurt by Lightning.
When an Indian Child has been brought up among us, taught our language and habituated to our Customs, yet if he goes to see his relations and makes one Indian Ramble with them, there is no perswading him ever to return. [But] when white persons of either sex have been taken prisoners young by the Indians, and lived a while among them, tho’ ransomed by their Friends, and treated with all imaginable tenderness to prevail with them to stay among the English, yet in Short time they become disgusted with our manner of life…and take the first good Opportunity of escaping again into the Woods, when there is no reclaiming them.
[edit] 1758
Many quotations from the preamble of this edition are repeats of statements in previous editions, a sort of "Collected Wisdom" of Poor Richard.
The Way to see by Faith, is to shut the Eye of Reason: The Morning Daylight appears plainer when you put out your Candle.
In my Rambles, where I am not personally known, I have frequently heard one or other of my Adages repeated, with, as Poor Richard says, at the End on't; this gave me some Satisfaction, as it showed not only that my Instructions were regarded, but discovered likewise some Respect for my Authority; and I own, that to encourage the Practice of remembering and repeating those wise Sentences, I have sometimes quoted myself with great Gravity.
Father Abraham stood up, and reply'd, If you'd have my Advice, I'll give it you in short, for a Word to the Wise is enough, and many Words won't fill a Bushel, as Poor Richard says. They join'd in desiring him to speak his Mind, and gathering round him, he proceeded as follows;"Friends, says he, and Neighbours, the Taxes are indeed very heavy, and if those laid on by the Government were the only Ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our Idleness, three times as much by our Pride, and four times as much by our Folly, and from these Taxes the Commissioners cannot ease or deliver us by allowing an Abatement. However let us hearken to good Advice, and something may be done for us; God helps them that help themselves, as Poor Richard says, in his Almanack of 1733.It would be thought a hard Government that should tax its People one tenth Part of their Time, to be employed in its Service. But Idleness taxes many of us much more, if we reckon all that is spent in absolute Sloth, or doing of nothing, with that which is spent in idle Employments or Amusements, that amount to nothing. Sloth, by bringing on Diseases, absolutely shortens Life.
Sloth, like Rust, consumes faster than Labour wears, while the used Key is always bright.
Dost thou love Life, then do not squander Time, for that's the Stuff Life is made of.
There will be sleeping enough in the Grave.
Lost Time is never found again; and what we call Time-enough, always proves little enough: Let us then up and be doing, and doing to the Purpose; so by Diligence shall we do more with less Perplexity. Sloth makes all Things difficult, but Industry all easy
Want of Care does us more Damage than Want of Knowledge.
For want of a Nail the Shoe was lost; for want of a Shoe the Horse was lost; and for want of a Horse the Rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the Enemy, all for want of Care about a Horse-shoe Nail.
Earlier proverb, compare "For want of a nail the shoe is lost, for want of a shoe the horse is lost, for want of a horse the rider is lost." George Herbert, Jacula Prudentum (1651) No. 499
Pride that dines on Vanity sups on Contempt.
When you have got the Philosopher's Stone, sure you will no longer complain of bad Times, or the Difficulty of paying Taxes.
Experience keeps a dear School, but Fools will learn in no other, and scarce in that.
They that won't be counselled, can't be helped.
Thus the old Gentleman ended his Harangue. The People heard it, and approved the Doctrine, and immediately practised the contrary, just as if it had been a common Sermon; for the Vendue opened, and they began to buy extravagantly, notwithstanding all his Cautions, and their own Fear of Taxes. — I found the good Man had thoroughly studied my Almanacks, and digested all I had dropt on those Topicks during the Course of Five-and-twenty Years. The frequent Mention he made of me must have tired any one else, but my Vanity was wonderfully delighted with it, though I was conscious that not a tenth Part of the Wisdom was my own which he ascribed to me, but rather the Gleanings I had made of the Sense of all Ages and Nations. However, I resolved to be the better for the Echo of it; and though I had at first determined to buy Stuff for a new Coat, I went away resolved to wear my old One a little longer. Reader, if thou wilt do the same, thy Profit will be as great as mine.
When you're an Anvil, hold you still;When you're a Hammer, strike your Fill.
When Knaves betray each other, one can scarce be blamed, or the other pitied.
Fools need Advice most, but wise Men only are the better for it.
Silence is not always a Sign of Wisdom, but Babbling is ever a Mark of Folly.
Great Modesty often hides great Merit.
You may delay, but Time will not.
Virtue may not always make a Face handsome, but Vice will certainly make it ugly.
Content is the Philosopher's Stone, that turns all it touches into Gold.
Statement on the value of contentment.
He that's content, hath enough; He that complains, has too much.
Half the Truth is often a great Lie.
Good-Will, like the Wind, floweth where it listeth.
In a corrupt Age, the putting the World in order would breed Confusion; then e'en mind your own Business.
To serve the Publick faithfully, and at the same time please it entirely, is impracticable.
Rob not God, nor the Poor, lest thou ruin thyself; the Eagle snatcht a Coal from the Altar, but it fired her Nest.
Plough deep, while sluggards sleep, and you shall have corn to sell and keep.
Away then, with your expensive follies, and you will not have then so much reason to complain of hard times, heavy taxes, and chargeable families.
With bounteous Cheer,Conclude the Year.
He that lives on hope will die fasting.
[edit] 1772
Letter to his friend, Joseph Priestly, London, September 19, 1772
Dear Sir,
In the Affair of so much Importance to you, wherein you ask my Advice, I cannot for want of sufficient Premises, advise you what to determine, but if you please I will tell you how.
When these difficult Cases occur, they are difficult chiefly because while we have them under Consideration all the Reasons pro and con are not present to the Mind at the same time; but sometimes one Set present themselves, and at other times another, the first being out of Sight. Hence the various Purposes or Inclinations that alternately prevail, and the Uncertainty that perplexes us.
To get over this, my Way is, to divide half a Sheet of Paper by a Line into two Columns, writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con. Then during three or four Days Consideration I put down under the different Heads short Hints of the different Motives that at different Times occur to me for or against the Measure. When I have thus got them all together in one View, I endeavour to estimate their respective Weights; and where I find two, one on each side, that seem equal, I strike them both out: If I find a Reason pro equal to some two Reasons con, I strike out the three. If I judge some two Reasons con equal to some three Reasons pro, I strike out the five; and thus proceeding I find at length where the Ballance lies; and if after a Day or two of farther Consideration nothing new that is of Importance occurs on either side, I come to a Determination accordingly.
And tho' the Weight of Reasons cannot be taken with the Precision of Algebraic Quantities, yet when each is thus considered separately and comparatively, and the whole lies before me, I think I can judge better, and am less likely to take a rash Step; and in fact I have found great Advantage from this kind of Equation, in what may be called Moral or Prudential Algebra.
Wishing sincerely that you may determine for the best, I am ever, my dear Friend,
Yours most affectionately
B. Franklin
*Source: Mr. Franklin: A Selection from His Personal Letters. Contributors: Whitfield J. Bell Jr., editor, Franklin, author, Leonard W. Labaree, editor. Publisher: Yale University Press: New Haven, CT 1956. (http://www.procon.org/franklinletter.htm)
Would you live with ease? Do what you ought, not what you please.
Better slip with foot than tongue.
You cannot pluck roses without fear of thorns, Nor enjoy fair wife without danger of horns.
Without justice, courage is weak.
Blame-all and Praise-all are two blockheads.
No man e'er was glorious, who was not laborious.
Whate'ers begun in anger ends in shame.
What one relishes, nourishes.
Fools multiply folly.
Beauty & Folly are old companions.
Hope of gain, lessens pain.
All things are easy to Industry, All things difficult to Sloth.
If you ride a horse, sit close and tight, if you ride a man, sit easy and light.
Don't think to hunt two hares with one dog.
Who pleasure gives, Shall joy receive.
Where there is Marriage without Love, there will be Love without Marriage.
Be neither silly, nor cunning, but wise.
Neither a Fortress nor a Maidenhead will hold out long after they begin to parly.
Jack Little sow'd little, & little he'll reap.
All things are cheap to the saving, dear to the wasteful.
Would you persuade, speak of Interest, not of Reason.
Happy's the Woing, that's not long a doing.
Don't value a man for the Quality he is of, but for the Qualities he possesses.
Be good to thy Friend to keep him, to thy enemy to gain him.
A good Man is seldom uneasy, an ill one never easie.
Teach your child to hold his tongue, he'll learn fast enough to speak.
He that cannot obey, cannot command.
An innocent Plowman is more worthy than a vicious Prince.
As Charms are nonsense, Nonsence is a Charm.
An Egg to day is better than a Hen to-morrow.
Drink Water, Put the Money in your Pocket, and leave the Dry-bellyach in the Punchbowl.
He that is rich need not live sparingly, and he that can live sparingly need not be rich.
If you wou'd be reveng'd of your enemy, govern your self.
A wicked Hero will turn his back to an innocent coward.
Laws like to Cobwebs catch small Flies, Great one break thro' before your eyes.
Strange, that he who lives by Shifts, can seldom shift himself.
As sore places meet most rubs, proud folks meet most affronts.
He does not possess Wealth, it possesses him.
Necessity has no Law; I know some Attorneys of the name.
Onions can make ev'n heirs and Widows weep.
Avarice and Happiness never saw each other, how then shou'd they become acquainted.
The thrifty maxim of the wary Dutch, is to save all the Money they can touch.
He that waits upon Fortune, is never sure of a Dinner.
A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one.
Marry your Son when you will, but your Daughter when you can.
If you woul'd have Guests merry with your cheer, be so your self, or so at least appear.
[edit] 1735
Look before, or you'll find yourself behind.
Bad Commentators spoil the best of books,So God sends meat (they say) the devil Cooks.
Compare: "God sends meat, and the Devil sends cooks", John Taylor, Works, vol. ii. p. 85 (1630); "Are these the choice dishes the Doctor has sent us? Is this the great poet whose works so content us? This Goldsmith’s fine feast, who has written fine books? Heaven sends us good meat, but the Devil sends cooks?", David Garrick, Epigram on Goldsmith’s Retaliation. Vol. ii. p. 157.; "God sendeth and giveth both mouth and the meat", Thomas Tusser, A Hundred Points of Good Husbandry (1557).
Approve not of him who commends all you say.
By diligence and patience, the mouse bit in two the cable.
Full of courtesie, full of craft.
A little House well fill'd, a little Field well till'd, and a little Wife well will'd, are great Riches.
Some are weatherwise, some are otherwise.
The poor man must walk to get meat for his stomach, the rich man to get a stomach to his meat.
Eyes and Priests bear no Jests.
The family of Fools is ancient.
Necessity never made a good bargain.
If Pride leads the Van, Beggary brings up the Rear.
There's many witty men whose brains can't fill their bellies.
Weighty Questions ask for deliberate Answers.
Be slow in chusing a Friend, slower in changing.
Modern spelling: Be slow in choosing a Friend, slower in changing.
Pain wastes the Body, Pleasures the Understanding.
The cunning man steals a horse, the wise man lets him alone.
Nothing but Money, is Sweeter than Honey.
Keep thy shop, & thy shop will keep thee.
Humility makes great men twice honourable.
What's given shines,What's receiv'd is rusty.
Sloth and Silence are a Fool's Virtues.
Of learned Fools I have seen ten times ten,Of unlearned wise men I have seen a hundred.
Three may keep a Secret, if two of them are dead.
Poverty wants some things, Luxury many things, Avarice all things.
A lie stands on 1 leg, the Truth on 2.
There's small Revenge in Words, but Words may be greatly revenged.
A man is never so ridiculous by those Qualities that are his own as by those that he affects to have.
Deny Self for Self's sake.
Ever since Follies have pleas'd, Fools have been able to divert.
It is better to take many Injuries than to give one.
Opportunity is the great Bawd.
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
An old young man, will be a young old man.
To be humble to Superiors is Duty, to Equals Courtesy, to Inferiors Nobleness.
If what most men admire, they would despise,'Twould look as if mankind were growing wise.
The Sun never repents of the good he does, nor does he ever demand a recompence.
Are you angry that others disappoint you? remember you cannot depend upon yourself.
One Mend-fault is worth two Findfaults, but one Findfault is better than two Makefaults.
Here comes the Orator! with his Flood of Words, and his Drop of Reason.
[edit] 1736
He is no clown that drives the plow, but he that doth clownish things.
If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the Philosophers-Stone.
The good Paymaster is Lord of another man's Purse.
Fish & Visitors stink in 3 days.
Diligence is the mother of Good-Luck.
He that lives upon Hope, dies fasting.
Do not do what you would not have known.
Never praise your Cyder, Horse, or Bedfellow.
Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it.
Tis easy to see, hard to foresee.
In a discreet man's mouth, a publick thing is private.
Let thy maidservant be faithful, strong, and homely.
Keep flax from fire, and youth from gaming.
Bargaining has neither friends nor relations.
Admiration is the Daughter of Ignorance.
There are more old Drunkards than old Doctors.
She that paints her face, thinks of her Tail.
He that takes a wife, takes care.
He that can have Patience, can have what he will.
God helps them that help themselves.
None preaches better than the ant, and she says nothing.
The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse.
Gifts burst rocks.
If wind blows on you thro' a hole, make your will and take care of your soul.
The rotton Apple spoils his Companions.
He that sells upon trust, loses many friends, and always wants money.
Don't throw stones at your neighbours, if your own windows are glass.
The excellency of hogs is fatness, of men virtue.
Good wives and good plantations are made by good husbands.
Pox take you, is no curse to some people.
Force shites upon Reason's Back.
Lovers, Travellers, and Poets, will give money to be heard.
He that speaks much, is much mistaken.
Creditors have better memories than debtors.
Forwarn'd, forearm'd, unless in the case of Cuckolds, who are often forearm's before warn'd.
Three things are men most liable to be cheated in, a Horse, a Wig, and a Wife.
He that lives well, is learned enough.
Poverty, Poetry and new Titles of Honour, make Men ridiculous.
He that scatters Thorns, let him not go barefoot.
There's none deceived but he that trusts.
God heals, and the Doctor takes the Fees.
If you desire many things, many things will seem but a few.
Mary's mouth costs her nothing, for she never opens it but at others expense.
Receive before you write, but write before you pay.
I saw few die of Hunger, of Eating 100000.
He that would live in peace & at ease, Must not speak all he knows, nor judge all he sees.
[edit] 1737
The greatest monarch on the proudest throne, is oblig'd to sit upon his own arse. (Perhaps a prosaic translation of Michel de Montaigne's earlier aphorism: au plus élevé trône du monde, si ne sommes assis que sur notre cul.)
The Master-piece of Man, is to live to the purpose.
He that steals an old man's support, do's him no wrong.
A countryman between 2 Lawyers, is like a fish between two cats.
He that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities.
The misers cheese is the wholesomest.
Love and lordship hate companions.
The nearest way to come at glory, is to do that for conscience which we do for glory.
There is much money given to be laught at, though the purchases don't know it; witness A's fine horse, & B's fine house.
He that can compose himself, is wiser than he that composes books.
Poor Dick, eats like a well man, and drinks like a sick.
After crosses and losses men grow humbler and wiser.
Love, Cough, & a Smoke, can't be well hid.
Well done is better than well said.
He that can travel well afoot, keeps a good horse.
There are no ugly Loves, nor handsome Prisons.
No better relation than a prudent & faithful Friend.
A Traveller should have a hog's nose, deer's legs, and an ass's back.
At the working man's house hunger looks in but dares not enter.
A good Lawyer is a bad Neighbour.
Certainlie these things agree, the Priest, the Lawyer, & Death all three: Death takes both the weak and the strong. The lawyer takes from both right and wrong, and the priest from the living and the dead has his Fee.
The worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise.
Don't misinform your Docter nor your Lawyer.
I never saw an oft-transplanted tree, nor yet an oft-removed family, that throve so well as those that settled be.
Three good meals a day is a bad living.
To whom thy secret thou dost tell, to him thy freedom thou dost sell.
If you'd have a Servant that you like, serve your self.
He that pursues two Hares at once, does not catch one and lets t'other go.
If you have time don't wait for time.
Tell a miser he's rich, and a woman she's old, you'll get no money of one, nor kindness of t'other.
Don't go to the doctor with every distemper, nor to the lawyer with every quarrel, nor to the pot for every thirst.
The creditors are a superstitious sect, great observers of set days and times.
The noblest question in the world is What Good may I do in it?
Nothing is so popular as GOODNESS.
[edit] 1738
There are three faithful friends, an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.
Who has deceiv'd thee so oft as thy self?
Write with the learned, pronounce with the vulgar.
Hast thou virtue? acquire also the graces & beauties of virtue.
Buy what thou hast no need of; and e'er long thou shalt sell thy necessaries.
If thou hast wit & learning, add to it Wisdom and Modesty.
If you wou'd not be forgottenAs soon as you are dead and rotten,Either write things worth reading,Or do things worth the writing.
Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power.
Let thy vices die before thee.
Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.
The ancients tell us what is best; but we must learn of the moderns what is fittest.
Since I cannot govern my own tongue, tho' within my own teeth, how can I hope to govern the tongues of others?
'Tis less discredit to abridge petty charges, than to stoop to petty Gettings.
Since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour.
If you do what you should not, you must hear what you would not.
Wish not so much to live long as to live well.
As we must account for every idle word, so we must for every idle silence.
I have never seen the Philosopher's Stone that turns lead into Gold, but I have known the pursuit of it turn a Man's Gold into Lead.
Time is an herb that cures all Diseases.
Reading makes a full Man, Meditation a profound Man, discourse a clear Man.
If any man flatters me, I'll flatter him again; tho' he were my best Friend.
Wish a miser long life, and you wish him no good.
None but the well-bred man knows how to confess a fault, or acknowledge himself in an error.
Drive thy business; let not that drive thee.
There is much difference between imitating a good man, and counterfeiting him.
Wink at small faults; remember thou hast great ones.
Eat to please thyself, but dress to please others.
Search others for their virtues, thy self for thy vices.
Each year one vicious habit rooted out,In time might make the worst Man good throughout.
[edit] 1739
If thou wouldst live long, live well; for Folly and Wickedness shorten Life.
Trust thy self, and another shall not betray thee.
Historians relate, not so much what is done, as what they would have believed.
Thou canst not joke an Enemy into a Friend; but thou may'st a Friend into an Enemy.
He that falls in love with himself, will have no Rivals.
Let thy Discontents be Secrets.
No Resolution of Repenting hereafter, can be sincere.
Honour thy Father and Mother, i. e. Live so as to be an Honour to them tho' they are dead.
If thou injurest Conscience, it will have its Revenge on thee.
Hear no ill of a Friend, nor speak any of an Enemy.
Be not niggardly of what costs thee nothing, as courtesy, counsel, & countenance.
Beware of him that is slow to anger: He is angry for something, and will not be pleased for nothing.
Proclaim not all thou knowest, all thou owest, all thou hast, nor all thou canst.
Let our Fathers and Grandfathers be valued for their Goodness, ourselves for our own.
Industry need not wish.
Sin is not hurtful because it is forbidden but it is forbidden because it's hurtful. Nor is a Duty beneficial because it is commanded, but it is commanded, because it's beneficial.
Love, and be lov'd.
Great Beauty, great strength, & great Riches, are really & truly of no great Use; a right Heart exceeds all.
Food is essential to life, therefore make it good.
[edit] 1740
An empty bag will not stand upright.
[edit] 1741
Lying rides upon Debt's back.
[edit] 1742
When Knaves fall out, honest Men get their goods: When Priests dispute, we come at the Truth.
Strange! that a Man who has wit enough to write a Satyr; should have folly enough to publish it.
A comment on the dangers of writing of a satire.
Speak and speed: the close mouth catches no flies.
Ben beats his Pate, and fancys wit will come;But he may knock, there's no body at home.
Ill Customs & bad Advice are seldom forgotten.
He that sows thorns, should not go barefoot.
Death takes no bribes.
One good Husband is worth two good Wives; for the scarcer things are the more they're valued.
He that riseth late, must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night.
He that speaks ill of the Mare, will buy her.
You will be careful, if you are wise;How you touch Men's Religion, or Credit, or Eyes.
They who have nothing to trouble them, will be troubled at nothing.
Against Diseases here, the strongest Fence,Is the defensive Virtue, Abstinence.
If thou dost ill, the joy fades, not the pains;If well, the pain doth fade, the joy remains.
To err is human, to repent divine, to persist devilish.
Industry pays Debts, Despair encreases them.
The Difficulty lies, in finding out an exact Measure; but eat for Necessity, not Pleasure, for Lust knows not where Necessity ends.
If thou art dull and heavy after Meat, it's a sign thou hast exceeded the due Measure; for Meat and Drink ought to refresh the Body, and make it chearful, and not to dull and oppress it.
[edit] 1750
There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self.
Genius without education is like silver in the mine.
[edit] 1753
Tis against some Mens Principle to pay Interest, and seems against others Interest to pay the Principal.
Setting too good an Example is a Kind of Slander seldom forgiven; 'tis Scandalum Magnatum.
A great Talker may be no Fool, but he is one that relies on him.
If you would reap Praise you must sow the Seeds,Gentle Words and useful Deeds.
Ignorance leads Men into a Party, and Shame keeps them from getting out again.
Haste makes Waste.
Many have quarrel'd about Religion, that never practis'd it.
Sudden Power is apt to be insolent, Sudden Liberty saucy; that behaves best which has grown gradually.
Anger is never without a Reason, but seldom with a good One.
He that is of Opinion Money will do every Thing, may well be suspected of doing every Thing for Money.
Serving God is Doing Good to Man, but Praying is thought an easier Service, and therefore more generally chosen.
Nothing humbler than Ambition, when it is about to climb.
Gifts much expected, are paid, not given.
It has pleased God in his Goodness to Mankind, at length to discover to them the Means of securing their Habitations and other Buildings from Mischief by Thunder and Lightning. The Method is this: Provide a small Iron Rod (it may be made of the Rod-iron used by the Nailers) but of such a Length, that one End being three or four Feet in the moist Ground, the other may be six or eight Feet above the highest Part of the Building. To the upper End of the Rod fasten about a Foot of Brass Wire, the Size of a common Knitting- [nbneedle, sharpened to a fine Point; the Rod may be secured to the House by a few small Staples. If the House or Barn be long, there may be a Rod and Point at each End, and a middling Wire along the Ridge from one to the other. A House thus furnished will not be damaged by Lightning, it being attracted by the Points, and passing thro the Metal into the Ground without hurting any Thing. Vessels also, having a sharp pointed Rod fix'd on the Top of their Masts, with a Wire from the Foot of the Rod reaching down, round one of the Shrouds, to the Water, will not be hurt by Lightning.
When an Indian Child has been brought up among us, taught our language and habituated to our Customs, yet if he goes to see his relations and makes one Indian Ramble with them, there is no perswading him ever to return. [But] when white persons of either sex have been taken prisoners young by the Indians, and lived a while among them, tho’ ransomed by their Friends, and treated with all imaginable tenderness to prevail with them to stay among the English, yet in Short time they become disgusted with our manner of life…and take the first good Opportunity of escaping again into the Woods, when there is no reclaiming them.
[edit] 1758
Many quotations from the preamble of this edition are repeats of statements in previous editions, a sort of "Collected Wisdom" of Poor Richard.
The Way to see by Faith, is to shut the Eye of Reason: The Morning Daylight appears plainer when you put out your Candle.
In my Rambles, where I am not personally known, I have frequently heard one or other of my Adages repeated, with, as Poor Richard says, at the End on't; this gave me some Satisfaction, as it showed not only that my Instructions were regarded, but discovered likewise some Respect for my Authority; and I own, that to encourage the Practice of remembering and repeating those wise Sentences, I have sometimes quoted myself with great Gravity.
Father Abraham stood up, and reply'd, If you'd have my Advice, I'll give it you in short, for a Word to the Wise is enough, and many Words won't fill a Bushel, as Poor Richard says. They join'd in desiring him to speak his Mind, and gathering round him, he proceeded as follows;"Friends, says he, and Neighbours, the Taxes are indeed very heavy, and if those laid on by the Government were the only Ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our Idleness, three times as much by our Pride, and four times as much by our Folly, and from these Taxes the Commissioners cannot ease or deliver us by allowing an Abatement. However let us hearken to good Advice, and something may be done for us; God helps them that help themselves, as Poor Richard says, in his Almanack of 1733.It would be thought a hard Government that should tax its People one tenth Part of their Time, to be employed in its Service. But Idleness taxes many of us much more, if we reckon all that is spent in absolute Sloth, or doing of nothing, with that which is spent in idle Employments or Amusements, that amount to nothing. Sloth, by bringing on Diseases, absolutely shortens Life.
Sloth, like Rust, consumes faster than Labour wears, while the used Key is always bright.
Dost thou love Life, then do not squander Time, for that's the Stuff Life is made of.
There will be sleeping enough in the Grave.
Lost Time is never found again; and what we call Time-enough, always proves little enough: Let us then up and be doing, and doing to the Purpose; so by Diligence shall we do more with less Perplexity. Sloth makes all Things difficult, but Industry all easy
Want of Care does us more Damage than Want of Knowledge.
For want of a Nail the Shoe was lost; for want of a Shoe the Horse was lost; and for want of a Horse the Rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the Enemy, all for want of Care about a Horse-shoe Nail.
Earlier proverb, compare "For want of a nail the shoe is lost, for want of a shoe the horse is lost, for want of a horse the rider is lost." George Herbert, Jacula Prudentum (1651) No. 499
Pride that dines on Vanity sups on Contempt.
When you have got the Philosopher's Stone, sure you will no longer complain of bad Times, or the Difficulty of paying Taxes.
Experience keeps a dear School, but Fools will learn in no other, and scarce in that.
They that won't be counselled, can't be helped.
Thus the old Gentleman ended his Harangue. The People heard it, and approved the Doctrine, and immediately practised the contrary, just as if it had been a common Sermon; for the Vendue opened, and they began to buy extravagantly, notwithstanding all his Cautions, and their own Fear of Taxes. — I found the good Man had thoroughly studied my Almanacks, and digested all I had dropt on those Topicks during the Course of Five-and-twenty Years. The frequent Mention he made of me must have tired any one else, but my Vanity was wonderfully delighted with it, though I was conscious that not a tenth Part of the Wisdom was my own which he ascribed to me, but rather the Gleanings I had made of the Sense of all Ages and Nations. However, I resolved to be the better for the Echo of it; and though I had at first determined to buy Stuff for a new Coat, I went away resolved to wear my old One a little longer. Reader, if thou wilt do the same, thy Profit will be as great as mine.
When you're an Anvil, hold you still;When you're a Hammer, strike your Fill.
When Knaves betray each other, one can scarce be blamed, or the other pitied.
Fools need Advice most, but wise Men only are the better for it.
Silence is not always a Sign of Wisdom, but Babbling is ever a Mark of Folly.
Great Modesty often hides great Merit.
You may delay, but Time will not.
Virtue may not always make a Face handsome, but Vice will certainly make it ugly.
Content is the Philosopher's Stone, that turns all it touches into Gold.
Statement on the value of contentment.
He that's content, hath enough; He that complains, has too much.
Half the Truth is often a great Lie.
Good-Will, like the Wind, floweth where it listeth.
In a corrupt Age, the putting the World in order would breed Confusion; then e'en mind your own Business.
To serve the Publick faithfully, and at the same time please it entirely, is impracticable.
Rob not God, nor the Poor, lest thou ruin thyself; the Eagle snatcht a Coal from the Altar, but it fired her Nest.
Plough deep, while sluggards sleep, and you shall have corn to sell and keep.
Away then, with your expensive follies, and you will not have then so much reason to complain of hard times, heavy taxes, and chargeable families.
With bounteous Cheer,Conclude the Year.
He that lives on hope will die fasting.
[edit] 1772
Letter to his friend, Joseph Priestly, London, September 19, 1772
Dear Sir,
In the Affair of so much Importance to you, wherein you ask my Advice, I cannot for want of sufficient Premises, advise you what to determine, but if you please I will tell you how.
When these difficult Cases occur, they are difficult chiefly because while we have them under Consideration all the Reasons pro and con are not present to the Mind at the same time; but sometimes one Set present themselves, and at other times another, the first being out of Sight. Hence the various Purposes or Inclinations that alternately prevail, and the Uncertainty that perplexes us.
To get over this, my Way is, to divide half a Sheet of Paper by a Line into two Columns, writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con. Then during three or four Days Consideration I put down under the different Heads short Hints of the different Motives that at different Times occur to me for or against the Measure. When I have thus got them all together in one View, I endeavour to estimate their respective Weights; and where I find two, one on each side, that seem equal, I strike them both out: If I find a Reason pro equal to some two Reasons con, I strike out the three. If I judge some two Reasons con equal to some three Reasons pro, I strike out the five; and thus proceeding I find at length where the Ballance lies; and if after a Day or two of farther Consideration nothing new that is of Importance occurs on either side, I come to a Determination accordingly.
And tho' the Weight of Reasons cannot be taken with the Precision of Algebraic Quantities, yet when each is thus considered separately and comparatively, and the whole lies before me, I think I can judge better, and am less likely to take a rash Step; and in fact I have found great Advantage from this kind of Equation, in what may be called Moral or Prudential Algebra.
Wishing sincerely that you may determine for the best, I am ever, my dear Friend,
Yours most affectionately
B. Franklin
*Source: Mr. Franklin: A Selection from His Personal Letters. Contributors: Whitfield J. Bell Jr., editor, Franklin, author, Leonard W. Labaree, editor. Publisher: Yale University Press: New Haven, CT 1956. (http://www.procon.org/franklinletter.htm)
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