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An Iron Rod Being Placed On The Outside Of A Building From The Highest Part Continued Down Into The Moist Earth, In Any Direction Strait Or Crooked, Following The Form Of The Roof Or Other Parts Of The Building, Will Receive The Lightning At Its Upper End, Attracting It So As To Prevent It's Striking Any Other Part; And, Affording It A Good Conveyance Into The Earth, Will Prevent Its Damaging Any Part Of The Building.

-Benjamin Franklin

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An Iron Rod Being

Benjamin Franklin

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An Iron Rod Being Placed On The Outside Of A Building From The Highest Part Continued Down Into The Moist Earth, In Any Direction Strait Or Crooked, Following The Form Of The Roof Or Other Parts Of The Building, Will Receive The Lightning At Its Upper End, Attracting It So As To Prevent It's Striking Any Other Part; And, Affording It A Good Conveyance Into The Earth, Will Prevent Its Damaging Any Part Of The Building.

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There Seems To Be Three Ways For A Nation To Acquire Wealth: The First Is By War...this Is Robbery; The Second By Commerce, Which Is Generally Cheating; The Third By Agriculture, The Only Honest Way.

Whoever Shall Introduce Into Public Affairs The Principles Of Primitive Christianity Will Change The Face Of The World.

A Place For Everything, Everything In Its Place.

A Lighthouse Is More Useful Than A Church.

He That Lieth Down With Dogs, Shall Rise Up With Fleas.

Mine Is Better Than Ours.

I Grew Convinced That Truth, Sincerity And Integrity In Dealings Between Man And Man Were Of The Utmost Importance To The Felicity Of Life, And I Formed Written Resolutions . . . To Practice Them Ever While I Lived.

He That Can Have Patience Can Have What He Will.

Every Pot Must Sit On Its Own Bottom.

Great Talkers Are Little Doers.

Wink At Small Faults; Remember Thou Hast Great Ones.

Look Round The Habitable World, How Few Know Their Own Good, Or, Knowing It, Pursue!

The Way To See By Faith Is To Shut The Eye Of Reason: The Morning Daylight Appears Plainer When You Put Out Your Candle.

What Signifies Knowing The Names, If You Know Not The Natures Of Things.

Praise Little, Dispraise Less.

Where There's Marriage Without Love, There Will Be Love Without Marriage.

When Men And Woman Die, As Poets Sung, His Heart's The Last Part Moves, Her Last, The Tongue.

Wars Are Not Paid For In Wartime. The Bill Comes Later.

...it Is Prodigious The Quantity Of Good That May Be Done By One Man If He Will Make A Business Of It.

Many Have Quarreled About Religion That Never Practice It.

So Much For Industry, My Friends, And Attention To One's Own Business; But To These We Must Add Frugality If We Would Make Our Industry More Certainly Successful. A Man May, If He Knows Not How To Save As He Gets, Keep His Nose All His Life To The Grindstone, And Die Not Worth A Grout At Last.

Life Is A Kind Of Chess, With Struggle, Competition, Good And Ill Events.

There Was Never A Good War, Or A Bad Peace.

A Dying Man Can Do Nothing Easy.

I Am About Courting A Girl I Have Had But Little Acquaintance With. How Shall I Come To A Knowledge Of Her Faults, And Whether She Has The Virtues I Imagine She Has? Answer. Commend Her Among Her Female Acquaintances.

Christians Are Directed To Have Faith In Christ, As The Effectual Means Of Obtaining The Change They Desire.

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.

A Perfect Character Might Be Attended With The Inconvenience Of Being Envied And Hated; And That A Benevolent Man Should Allow A Few Faults In Himself, To Keep His Friends In Countenance.

Pride Is Said To Be The Last Vice The Good Man Gets Clear Of.

Some Men Grow Mad By Studying Much To Know, But Who Grows Mad By Studying Good To Grow.

I Am The Laziest Man In The World. I Invented All Those Things To Save Myself From Toil.

The Height Of Foolishness Is To Discard An Opportunity Without Full Investigation

No Man Ever Was Glorious, Who Was Not Laborious.

No Employment Can Be Managed Without Arithmetic, No Mechanical Invention Without Geometry.

If Men Are So Wicked As We Now See Them With Religion What Would They Be If Without It?

Observe All Men, Thyself Most.

Self Observation

If A Man Empties His Purse Into His Head, No One Can Take It From Him.

That The Vegetable Creation Should Restore The Air Which Is Spoiled By The Animal Part Of It, Looks Like A Rational System, And Seems To Be Of A Piece With The Rest.

The Punishment Of Murder By Death Is Contrary To Reason, And To The Order And Happiness Of Society, And Contrary To Divine Revelation.

Divine Revelation

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.

No Better Relation Than A Prudent And Faithful Friend.

Tis A Well Spent Penny That Saves A Groat.

Our Friend And We Were Invited Aboard On A Party Of Pleasure, Which Is To Last Forever. His Chair Was Ready First, And He Has Gone Before Us. We Could Not All Conveniently Start Together; And Why Should You And I Be Grieved At This, Since We Are Soon To Follow, And Know Where To Find Him.

It Would Be Thought A Hard Government That Should Tax Its People One Tenth Part.

Libertarian Party

Grace Thou Thy House And Let Not That Grace Thee.

A Quarrelsome Man Has No Good Neighbours.

Here Is My Creed. I Believe In One God, Creator Of The Universe. That He Governs It By His Providence. That He Ought To Be Worshiped. That The Most Acceptable Service We Render Him Is Doing Good To His Other Children. That The Soul Of Man Is Immortal, And Will Be Treated With Justice In Another Life Respecting Its Conduct In This.

Two Passions Have Powerful Influence On The Affairs Of Men: The Love Of Power And The Love Of Money.

I Scarce Ever Heard Or Saw The Introductory Words, "without Vanity I May Say," Etc., But Some Vain Thing Immediately Followed.

Liberality Is Not Giving Much, But Giving Wisely.

No Man Ought To Own More Property Than Needed For His Livelihood; The Rest, By Right, Belonged To The State.

The Great Secret Of Succeeding In Conversation Is To Admire Little, To Hear Much; Always To Distrust Our Own Reason, And Sometimes That Of Our Friends; Never To Pretend To Wit, But To Make That Of Others Appear As Much As Possibly We Can; To Hearken To What Is Said And To Answer To The Purpose.

Not To Oversee Workmen Is To Leave Them Your Purse Open.

Are You Angry That Others Disappoint You? Remember You Cannot Depend Upon Yourself.

The Things Which Hurt, Instruct.

The Greatest Inventions Are Those Inquiries Which Tend To Increase The Power Of Man Over Matter.

To All Apparent Beauties Blind, Each Blemish Strikes An Envious Mind.

That Quantity That Is Sufficient, The Stomach Can Perfectly Concoct And Digest, And It Sufficeth The Due Nourishment Of The Body.

Be Not Niggardly Of What Costs Thee Nothing, As Courtesy, Counsel, & Countenance.

Doing An Injury Puts You Below Your Enemy; Revenging One Make You But Even With Him; Forgiving It Sets You Above Him.

Industry And Frugality, As The Means Of Procuring Wealth . . . Thereby [secures] Virtue, It Being More Difficult For A Man In Want To Act Always Honestly. . . .

It Is The Working Man Who Is The Happy Man. It Is The Idle Man Who Is The Miserable Man.

Two Dry Sticks Will Burn A Green One.

When You Are Good To Others, You Are Best To Yourself.

We Are Not Certain, We Are Never Certain. If We Were We Could Reach Some Conclusions, And We Could, At Last, Make Others Take Us Seriously. In This World Nothing Can Be Said To Be Certain, Except Death And Taxes.

Sin Is Not Hurtful Because It Is Forbidden, But It Is Forbidden Because It Is Hurtful.

Forbidden Fruit

Did Not Strong Connections Draw Me Elsewhere, I Believe Scotland Would Be The Country I Would Choose To End My Days In.

Fear God, And Your Enemies Will Fear You.

Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither.

Beauty And Folly Are Old Companions.

If It Were Not For The Belly, The Back Might Wear Gold.

If Any Man Flatters Me, I'll Flatter Him Again; Tho' He Were My Best Friend.

Speak Little, Do Much.

Without Freedom Of Thought, There Can Be No Such Thing As Wisdom; And No Such Thing As Public Liberty Without Freedom Of Speech; Which Is The Right Of Every Man As Far As By It He Does Not Hurt Or Control The Right Of Another; And This Is The Only Check It Ought To Suffer And The Only Bounds It Ought To Know.... Whoever Would Overthrow The Liberty Of A Nation Must Begin By Subduing The Freedom Of Speech, A Thing Terrible To Traitors.

Acquire Riches By Industry And Frugality.

Would You Live With Ease, Do What You Ought, And Not What You Please.

The Good Education Of Youth Has Been Esteemed By Wise Men In All Ages, As The Surest Foundation Of The Happiness Both Of Private Families And Of Common-wealths. Almost All Governments Have Therefore Made It A Principal Object Of Their Attention, To Establish And Endow With Proper Revenues, Such Seminaries Of Learning, As Might Supply The Succeeding Age With Men Qualified To Serve The Publick With Honour To Themselves, And To Their Country.

We Are All Born Ignorant, But One Must Work Hard To Remain Stupid.

Men Are Subject To Various Inconveniences Merely Through Lack Of A Small Share Of Courage, Which Is A Quality Very Necessary In The Common Occurrences Of Life, As Well As In A Battle. How Many Impertinences Do We Daily Suffer With Great Uneasiness, Because We Have Not Courage Enough To Discover Our Dislike.

Virtue Alone Is Sufficient To Make A Man Great, Glorious, And Happy.

I Saw Few Die Of Hunger; Of Eating, A Hundred Thousand.

What Good Shall I Do This Day?

He That Rises Late Must Trot All Day.

That Man Alone Loves Himself Rightly Who Procures The Greatest Possible Good To Himself Through The Whole Of His Existence And So Pursues Pleasure As Not To Give For It More Than It Is Worth.

God Bless The King, And Grant Him Long To Reign.

Money Is Of A Prolific Generating Nature. Money Can Beget Money, And Its Offspring Can Beget More.

He That Speaks Much, Is Much Mistaken.

Hold Your Council Before Dinner; The Full Belly Hates Thinking As Well As Acting.

Love Of Country Is The Mason's Deed; World Citizenship Is His Thought.

Diligence Is The Mother Of Good Luck, And God Gives All Things To Industry. Work While It Is Called Today, For You Know Not How Much You May Be Hindered By Tomorrow. One Today Is Worth Two Tomorrows; Never Leave That Till Tomorrow Which You Can Do To-day.

Procrastination

Strangers Are Welcome Because There Is Room Enough For Them All, And Therefore The Old Inhabitants Are Not Jealous Of Them; The Laws Protect Them Sufficiently So That They Have No Need Of The Patronage Of Great Men; And Every One Will Enjoy Securely The Profits Of His Industry. But If He Does Not Bring A Fortune With Him, He Must Work And Be Industrious To Live.

A Republic, If You Can Keep It.

Experience Keeps A Dear School, But Fools Will Learn In No Other.

Do Good To Your Friends To Keep Them, To Your Enemies To Win Them.

When Will Mankind Be Convinced And Agree To Settle Their Difficulties By Arbitration?

Righteousness, Or Justice, Is, Undoubtedly Of All The Virtues, The Surest Foundation On Which To Create And Establish A New State. But There Are Two Nobler Virtues, Industry And Frugality, Which Tend More To Increase The Wealth, Power And Grandeur Of The Community, Than All The Others Without Them.

Admiration Is The Daughter Of Ignorance.

There Is No Little Enemy

My List Of Virtues Contain'd At First But Twelve: But A Quaker Friend Having Kindly Inform'd Me That I Was Generally Thought Proud; That My Pride Show'd Itself Frequently In Conversation; That I Was Not Content With Being In The Right When Discussing Any Point, But Was Overbearing & Rather Insolent; Of Which He Convinc'd Me By Mentioning Several Instances; - I Determined Endeavouring To Cure Myself ..., And I Added Humility To My List, Giving An Extensive Meaning To The Word.

The Securest Place Is A Prison Cell, But There Is No Liberty

Death Takes No Bribes.

If Time Be Of All Things The Most Precious, Wasting Time Must Be, As Poor Richard Says, “the Greatest Prodigality'; Since, As He Elsewhere Tells Us, '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.

Nothing Brings More Pain Than Too Much Pleasure; Nothing More Bondage Than Too Much Liberty.

Those Who Govern, Having Much Business On Their Hands, Do Not Generally Like To Take The Trouble Of Considering And Carrying Into Execution New Projects. The Best Public Measures Are Therefore Seldom Adopted From Previous Wisdom, But Forced By The Occasion.

Idleness Is The Dead Sea That Swallows All Virtues

What Can Laws Do Without Morals?

Alas, I Know If I Ever Became Truly Humble, I Would Be Proud Of It.

Don't Judge Men's Wealth Or Godliness By Their Sunday Appearance.

There Is Much Difference Between Imitating A Good Man And Counterfeiting Him.

And Whether You're An Honest Man, Or Whether You're A Thief, Depends On Whose Solicitor Has Given Me My Brief.

An Old Man In A House Is A Good Sign.

It Is The Duty Of Mankind On All Suitable Occasions To Acknowledge Their Dependence On The Divine Being... Almighty God Would Mercifully Interpose And Still The Rage Of War Among The Nations... He Would Take This Province Under His Protection, Confound The Designs And Defeat The Attempts Of Its Enemies, And Unite Our Hearts And Strengthen Our Hands In Every Undertaking That May Be For The Public Good, And For Our Defense And Security In This Time Of Danger.

In Order To Be Happy You Need A Good Dog, A Good Woman, And Ready Money.

The Only Time Not Wasted Is Wasted Time.

Life's Tragedy Is That We Get Old Too Soon And Wise Too Late.

The Only Thing That Is More Expensive Than Education Is Ignorance.

That Which Hurts, Also Instructs.

The Most Exquisite Folly Is Made Of Wisdom Spun Too Fine.

Revealed Religion Has No Weight With Me.

There Is Nothing Wrong With Retirement As Long As One Doesn't Allow It To Interfere With One's Work.

When Passion Rules, She Never Rules Wisely.

In Short, I Conceive That Great Part Of The Miseries Of Mankind Are Brought Upon Them By The False Estimates They Have Made Of The Value Of Things, And By Their Giving Too Much For Their Whistles.

Laziness Travels So Slowly That Poverty Soon Overtakes It.

Women Are Books, And Men The Readers Be, Who Sometimes In Those Books Erratas See; Yet Oft The Reader's Raptured With Each Line, Fair Print And Paper, Fraught With Sense Divine; Tho' Some, Neglectful, Seldom Care To Read, And Faithful Wives No More Than Bibles Heed. Are Women Books? Says Hodge, Then Would Mine Were An Almanack, To Change Her Every Year.

The Cunning Man Steals A Horse, The Wise Man Lets Him Alone.

Creditors Are A Superstitious Sect, Great Observers Of Set Days And Times.

Hope Is An Essential Constituent Of Human Life.

When You Speak To A Man, Look On His Eyes; When He Speaks To You, Look On His Mouth.

Willows Are Weak, But They Bind The Faggot.

Kill No More Pigeons Than You Can Eat.

A Full Belly Is The Mother Of All Evil.

Experience Keeps A Dear School, But Fools Will Learn In No Other, And Scarce In That; For It Is True We May Give Advice, But We Cannot Give Conduct.

Truth And Sincerity Have A Certain Distinguishing Native Lustre About Them Which Cannot Be Perfectly Counterfeited; They Are Like Fire And Flame, That Cannot Be Painted.

Pardoning The Bad, Is Injuring The Good.

In The Affairs Of This World, Men Are Saved Not By Faith, But By The Want Of It.

Pay What You Owe And You'll Know What's Your Own.

Constant Complaint Is The Poorest Sort Of Pay For All The Comforts We Enjoy.

That Wise Men Have In All Ages Thought Government Necessary For The Good Of Mankind; And, That Wise Governments Have Always Thought Religion Necessary For The Well Ordering And Well-being Of Society, And Accordingly Have Been Ever Careful To Encourage And Protect The Ministers Of It, Paying Them The Highest Publick Honours, That Their Doctrines Might Thereby Meet With The Greater Respect Among The Common People.

Grief For A Dead Wife, And A Troublesome Guest, Continues To The Threshold, And There Is At Rest; But I Mean Such Wives As Are None Of The Best

I Think Also, That General Virtue Is More Probably To Be Expected And Obtained From The Education Of Youth, Than From Exhortations Of Adult Persons; Bad Habits And Vices Of The Mind Being, Like Diseases Of The Body, More Easily Prevented Than Cured. I Think Moreover, That Talents For The Education Of Youth Are The Gift Of God; And That He On Whom They Are Bestowed, Whenever A Way Is Opened For Use Of Them, Is As Strongly Called As If He Heard A Voice From Heaven.

Want Of Care Does Us More Damage Than Want Of Knowledge

It Is Better To Let 100 Criminals Go Free Than To Imprison 1 Innocent Man.

The Us Constitution Only Guarantees Your Rights As A Citizen, It Doesn't Guarantee Happiness. It May Take Work, But If You Have Your Rights, Happiness Is Very Possible.

Necessity Knows No Law; I Know Some Attorneys Of The Same.

You Must Always Be Prepared. Make Sure To Look At Things From All Angles. If You Are Not Prepared You Will Fail.

Sloth Makes All Things Difficult, But Industry All Easy; And He That Riseth Late Must Trot All Day, And Shall Scarce Overtake His Business At Night; While Laziness Travels So Slowly, That Poverty Soon Overtakes Him.

Fish & Visitors Stink In 3 Days.

Many Have Been Ruined By Buying Good Pennyworths.

He That Doth What He Should Not, Shall Feel What He Would Not.

Let All Men Know Thee, But No Man Know Thee Thoroughly: Men Freely Ford That See The Shallows.

If You Would Be Loved, Love, And Be Loveable.

Inspirational Life

If Time Be Of All Things The Most Precious, Wasting Time Must Be The Greatest Prodigality.

If You, Do What You Should Not, You Must Bear What You Would Not.

The Good Will Of The Governed Will Be Starved If Not Fed By The Good Deeds Of The Governors.

When A Religion Is Good, I Conceive It Will Support Itself; And When It Does Not Support Itself, And God Does Not Take Care To Support It So That Its Professors Are Obliged To Call For Help Of The Civil Power, 'tis A Sign, I Apprehend, Of Its Being A Bad One.

Wine Is Constant Proof That God Loves Us And Loves To See Us Happy.

An Episcopalian Divine Once Told The Pope That The Only Difference Between Their Denominations Was That "the Church Of Rome Is Infallible And The Church Of England Is Never In The Wrong."

Most People Dislike Vanity In Others, Whatever Share They Have Of It Themselves; But I Give It Fair Quarter, Wherever I Meet With It, Being Persuaded That It Is Often Productive Of Good To The Possessor, And To Others Who Are Within His Sphere Of Action: And Therefore, In Many Cases, It Would Not Be Altogether Absurd If A Man Were To Thank God For His Vanity Among The Other Comforts Of Life.

Pride Breakfasted With Plenty, Dined With Poverty, And Supped With Infamy.

Idleness And Pride Tax With A Heavier Hand Than Kings And Parliaments. If We Can Get Rid Of The Former, We May Easily Bear The Latter.

If You'd Be Wealthy, Think Of Saving, More Than Of Getting: The Indies Have Not Made Spain Rich, Because Her Outgoes Equal Her Incomes.

When Men Differ In Opinion, Both Sides Ought Equally To Have The Advantage Of Being Heard By The Public; When Truth And Error Have Fair Play, The Former Is Always An Overmatch For The Latter.

When Befriended, Remember It; When You Befriend, Forget It.

A Virtuous And Industrious People May Be Cheaply Governed.

No Nation Has Ever Been Ruined By Trade.

Lost Time Is Never Found Again, And What We Call Time Enough, Always Proves Little Enough.

The World Is Full Of Fools And Faint Hearts; And Yet Everyone Has Courage Enough To Bear The Misfortunes, And Wisdom Enough To Manage The Affairs, Of His Neighbor.

Vicious Actions Are Not Hurtful Because They Are Forbidden, But Forbidden Because They Are Hurtful.

But They Have Two Other Rights; Those Of Sitting When They Please, And As Long As They Please, In Which Methinks They Have The Advantage Of Your Parliament; For They Cannot Be Dissolved By The Breath Of A Minister, Or Sent Packing As You Were The Other Day, When It Was Your Earnest Desire To Have Remained Longer Together.

Time Like A Petal In The Wind Flows Softly By As Old Lives Are Taken New Ones Begin A Continual Chain Which Lasts Throughout Eternity Every Life But A Minute In Time But Each Of Equal Importance

The Greatest Monarch On The Proudest Throne Is Obliged To Sit Upon His Own Arse.

Trouble Springs From Idleness.

The Best Is The Cheapest.

The Moral And Religious System Which Jesus Christ Transmitted To Us Is The Best The World Has Ever Seen, Or Can See.

Here You Would Know, And Enjoy, What Prosperity Will Way Of Washington. For A Thousand Leagues Have Nearly The Same Effect With A Thousand Years.

Fond Pride Of Dress Is Sure A Very Curse

Where There Is Hunger, Law Is Not Regarded; And Where Law Is Not Regarded, There Will Be Hunger.

A People Who Chose Security Over Liberty Will Receive Neither Nor Deserve Either.

The Nearest I Can Make It Out, "love Your Enemies" Means, "hate Your Friends"

Write Your Injuries In Dust, Your Benefits In Marble.

I Should Have No Objection To Go Over The Same Life From Its Beginning To The End: Requesting Only The Advantage Authors Have, Of Correcting In A Second Edition The Faults Of The First.

The Rotten Apple Spoils His Companion.

A [desire] To Abolish Slavery Prevails In North America, Many Of The Pennsylvanians Have Set Their Slaves At Liberty, And [virginia Legislators] Have Petitioned The King For Permission To Make A Law For Preventing The Importation Of More [slaves] Into That Colony. This Request, However, Will Probably Not Be Granted, As Their Former Laws Of That Kind Have Always Been Repealed.

All Would Live Long, But None Would Be Old.

It Is The First Responsibility Of Every Citizen To Question Authority.

Getting Into Debt, Is Getting Into A Tanglesome Net.

I Wake Up Every Morning At Nine And Grab For The Morning Paper. Then I Look At The Obituary Page. If My Name Is Not On It, I Get Up.

Have A Good Day

A Brother May Not Be A Friend, But A Friend Will Always Be A Brother.

If A Man Would Reap Praise, You Must Sow The Seeds, Gentle Words And Useful Deeds.

By Improving Yourself, The World Is Made Better. Be Not Afraid Of Growing Too Slowly. Be Afraid Only Of Standing Still.

A Little Neglect May Breed Great Mischief. ... For Want Of A Nail, The Shoe Was Lost; For Want Of A Shoe, The Horse Was Lost; For Want Of A Horse, The Battle Was Lost; For Want Of The Battle, The War Was Lost.

Common Sense Is Something That Everyone Needs, Few Have, And None Think They Lack.

Instead Of Cursing The Darkness, Light A Candle.

No Gains Without Pains.

I Think With You, That Nothing Is Of More Importance For The Public Weal, Than To Form And Train Up Youth In Wisdom And Virtue. Wise And Good Men Are In My Opinion, The Strength Of The State; More So Than Riches Or Arms.

I Am For Doing Good To The Poor, But I Differ In Opinion About The Means. I Think The Best Way Of Doing Good To The Poor Is Not Making Them Easy In Poverty, But Leading Or Driving Them Out Of It.

Idleness And Pride Tax With A Heavier Hand Than Kings And Governments.

Now I've A Sheep And A Cow, Every Body Bids Me Good Morrow.

Genius Is Nothing But A Greater Aptitude For Patience.

It Is A Bad Temper Of Mind That Takes Delight In Opposition.

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