Quotes from Benjamin Franklin

He is ill clothed, who is bare of virtue.

Never take a wife till thou hast a house(and a fire) to put her in.

The Things which hurt, instruct.

All the property that is necessary to a man for the conservation of the individual and his propagation of the species is his natural right, which none can justly deprive him of; but all property superfluous to such purposes is the property of the public, who by their laws have created it, and who may therefore by other laws dispose of it, whenever the welfare of the public shall demand such disposition. He that does not like civil society on these terms, let him retire and live among savages.

There are no fools so troublesome as those that have wit.

All wars are follies, very expensive and very mischievious ones.

How much more than necessary do we spend in sleep, forgetting that the sleeping fox catches no poultry, and that there will be sleeping enough in the grave, as Poor Richard says.

A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges.

People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both

a book indeed sometimes debauched me from my work....

Did not strong connections draw me elsewhere, I believe Scotland would be the country I would choose to end my days in.

A mob's a monster; heads enough but no brains.

No European who has tasted savage life can afterwards bear to live in our societies.

Don't throw stones at your neighbors', if your own windows are glass.

For when you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men, all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected?

Tis hard for an empty bag to stand upright.

That, as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.

Drive thy business or it will drive thee.

Work while it is called today for you know not how much you may be hindered tomorrow.

If you were a servant would you not be ashamed that a good master should catch you idle? Then if you are your own master be ashamed to catch yourself idle.

When I wake up in the morning, I immediately check the morning paper. If my name is not in the obituaries, I get up

Your Business is to shine; therefore you must by all means prevent the shining of others, for their Brightness may make yours the less distinguished.

Diplomacy is seduction in another guise, Mr. Adams. One improves with practice.

THE BODY of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Printer like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out, and stripped of its lettering and gilding lies here, food for worms; Yet the work itself shall not be lost, For it will (as he believed) appear once more, in a new, and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended By The AUTHOR