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Chess Is So Interesting In Itself, As Not To Need The View Of Gain To Induce Engaging In It; And Thence It Is Never Played For Money

-Benjamin Franklin

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Chess Is So Interesting

Benjamin Franklin

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Chess Is So Interesting In Itself, As Not To Need The View Of Gain To Induce Engaging In It; And Thence It Is Never Played For Money

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She That Paints Her Face, Thinks Of Her Tail.

In Other Men We Faults Can Spy,/ And Blame The Mote That Dims Their Eye;/ Each Little Speck And Blemish Find;/ To Our Own Stronger Errors Blind.

Remember, Sir, That [england] Began The Slave Trade!

I Early Found That When I Worked For Myself Alone, Myself Alone Worked For Me; But When I Worked For Others Also, Others Worked Also For Me.

To Be Thrown Upon One's Own Resources, Is To Be Cast In The Very Lap Of Fortune.

Ben Franklin Was A Little Stout Later In Life And It Was Said That In Paris A Young Woman, Tapping Him On His Protruding Abdomen, Said,"dr. Franklin, If This Were On A Woman, We'd Know What To Think." And Franklin Replied,"half An Hour Ago, Mademoiselle, It Was On A Woman, And Now What Do You Think?"

For Every Minute Spent In Organizing, An Hour Is Earned.

He Who Would Trade Liberty For Some Temporary Security, Deserves Neither Liberty Nor Security.

The Madness Of Mobs Or The Insolence Of Soldiers, Or Both, When Too Near To Each Other, Occasion Some Mischief.

Let The Experiment Be Made.

The Only Time Not Wasted Is Wasted Time.

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.

Interest Which Blinds Some People, Enlightens Others.

Wish Not So Much To Live Long As To Live Well.

Buy What Thou Hast No Need Of And Ere Long Thou Shalt Sell Thy Necessities.

And Where Is The Prince Who Can Afford To So Cover His Country With Troops For Its Defense, As That Ten Thousand Men Descending From The Clouds, Might Not In Many Places Do An Infinite Deal Of Mischief, Before A Force Could Be Brought Together To Repel Them?

Even Peace May Be Purchased At Too High A Price.

Don't Go To The Doctor With Every Distemper, Nor To The Lawyer With Every Quarrel, Nor To The Pot For Every Thirst.

Grace Thou Thy House And Let Not That Grace Thee.

He That Hath A Calling, Hath An Office Of Profit And Honor.

Let Thy Maid Servant Be Faithful, Strong, And Homely.

Who Is Rich? He That Rejoices In His Portion.

Early To Bed And Early To Rise Makes A Man Healthy, Wealthy And Wise.

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

Neglect Kills Injuries, Revenge Increases Them.

Love Your Neighbour; Yet Don't Pull Down Your Hedge.

None Are Deceived But They That Confide.

A Slip Of The Foot You May Soon Recover, But A Slip Of The Tongue You May Never Get Over.

The Pleasures Of This World Are Rather From God's Goodness Than Our Own Merit.

Write Your Injuries In Dust, Your Benefits In Marble.

Lost Time Is Never Found Again.

Keep Out Of The Sight Of Feasts And Banquets As Much As May Be; For 'tis More Difficult To Refrain Good Cheer, When It's Present, Than From The Desire Of It When It Is Away; The Like You May Observe In The Objects Of All The Other Senses.

When Confronted With Two Courses Of Action I Jot Down On A Piece Of Paper All The Arguments In Favor Of Each One, Then On The Opposite Side I Write The Arguments Against Each One. Then By Weighing The Arguments Pro And Con And Cancelling Them Out, One Against The Other, I Take The Course Indicated By What Remains.

If You Do Not Exclude Them, In Less Than 200 Years Our Descendants Will Be Working In The Fields To Furnish Them Substance, While They Will Be In The Counting Houses Rubbing Their Hands. I Warn You, Gentlemen, If You Do Not Exclude Jews For All Time, Your Children Will Curse You In Your Graves.

Prodigality Of Time Produces Poverty Of Mind As Well As Of Estate.

Use No Hurtful Deceit; Think Innocently And Justly And, If You Speak, Speak Accordingly.

If Passion Drives You, Let Reason Hold The Reins.

If I Could See One Live Show Before I Died, I'd See Lucy Angel

The King's Cheese Is Half Wasted In Parings: But No Matter, 'tis Made Of The People's Milk.

Enjoy The Present Hour, Be Mindful Of The Past; And Neither Fear Nor Wish The Approaches Of The Last. Learn Of The Skillful: He That Teaches Himself, Hath A Fool For His Master.

I Am A Mortal Enemy To Arbitrary Government And Unlimited Power.

Friends Are The True Sceptres Of Princes.

The Happy State Of Matrimony Is, Undoubtedly, The Surest And Most Lasting Foundation Of Comfort And Love . . . The Cause Of All Good Order In The World, And What Alone Preserves It From The Utmost Confusion.

Those Who Prefer Security To Liberty Deserve Neither.

That Which Hurts, Also Instructs.

[it Was] The Poverty Caused By The Bad Influence Of The English Bankers On The Parliament Which Has Caused In The Colonies Hatred Of The English And . . . The Revolutionary War.

If You Wou'd Be Reveng'd Of Your Enemy, Govern Your Self

Those Disputing, Contradicting, And Confuting People Are Generally Unfortunate In Their Affairs. They Get Victory, Sometimes, But They Never Get Good Will, Which Would Be Of More Use To Them.

Dangerous, Therefore, Is It To Take Shelter Under A Tree, During A Thunder-gust. It Has Been Fatal To Many, Both Men And Beasts.

If We Restrict Liberty To Attain Security We Will Lose Them Both.

History Affords Us Many Instances Of The Ruin Of States, By The Prosecution Of Measures Ill Suited To The Temper And Genius Of Their People. The Ordaining Of Laws In Favor Of One Part Of The Nation, To The Prejudice And Oppression Of Another, Is Certainly The Most Erroneous And Mistaken Policy. ... These Measures Never Fail To Create Great And Violent Jealousies And Animosities Between The People Favored And The People Oppressed; Whence A Total Separation Of Affections, Interests, Political Obligations, And All Manner Of Connections, By Which The Whole State Is Weakened.

As Pride Increases, Fortune Declines.

It Takes Many Good Deeds To Build A Good Reputation, And Only One Bad One To Lose It.

Keep Flax From Fire, And Youth From Gaming.

Savages We Call Them Because Their Manners Differ From Ours.

A Full Belly Is The Mother Of All Evil.

Don't You Know, That All Wives Are In The Right? It May Be You Don't, For You Are Yet A Young Husband.

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

Be Studious In Your Profession, And You Will Be Learned. Be Industrious And Frugal, And You Will Be Rich. Be Sober And Temperate, And You Will Be Healthy. Be In General Virtuous, And You Will Be Happy.

Indeed The General Natural Tendency Of Reading Good History, Must Be, To Fix In The Minds Of Youth Deep Impressions Of The Beauty And Usefulness Of Virtue Of All Kinds, Publick Spirit, Fortitude.

Be Sober And Temperate, And You Will Be Healthy.

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.

In Prosperous Fortunes Be Modest And Wise, The Greatest May Fall, And The Lowest May Rise: But Insolent People That Fall In Disgrace, Are Wretched And Nobody Pities Their Case.

That There Is One God, Who Made All Things. That He Governs The World By His Providence. That He Might Be Worshipped By Adoration, Prayer, And Thanksgiving. But That The Most Acceptable Service Of God Is Doing Good To Man. That The Soul Is Immortal. And That God Will Certainly Reward Virtue And Punish Vice, Either Here Or Hereafter.

A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned.

There Are Lazy Minds As Well As Lazy Bodies.

Remember, That Money Is Of The Prolific, Generating Nature. Money Can Beget Money, And Its Offspring Can Beget More, And So On. Five Shillings Turned Is Six, Turned Again It Is Seven And Threepence, And So On, Till It Becomes A Hundred Pounds. The More There Is Of It, The More It Produces Every Turning, So That The Profits Rise Quicker And Quicker. He That Kills A Breeding Sow, Destroys All Her Offspring To The Thousandth Generation. He That Murders A Crown, Destroys All That It Might Have Produced, Even Scores Of Pounds.

If You Have Time Don't Wait For Time.

Take Counsel In Wine, But Resolve Afterwards In Water.

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

Men's Minds Do Not Die With Their Bodies But Are Made More Happy Or Miserable After This Life According To Their Actions.

If You Would Not Be Forgotten, Do Things Worth Remembering.

Who Has Deceived Thee As Oft As Thyself.

The Apostle Paul Very Seriously Advised Timothy To Put Some Wine In His Water For Health's Sake, But Not One Of The Apostles Nor Any Of The Holy Fathers Have Ever Recommended Putting Water In Wine

Outside Independence Hall When The Constitutional Convention Of 1787 Ended, Mrs. Powel Of Philadelphia Asked Benjamin Franklin, "well, Doctor, What Have We Got, A Republic Or A Monarchy?" With No Hesitation Whatsoever, Franklin Responded, "a Republic, If You Can Keep It."

We Must, Indeed, All Hang Together Or, Most Assuredly, We Shall All Hang Separately.

If Your Riches Are Yours, Why Don't You Take Them With You To The Other World?

Moses Lifting Up His Wand, And Dividing The Red Sea, And Pharaoh In His Chariot Overwhelmed With The Waters. This Motto: "rebellion To Tyrants Is Obedience To God."

I Have Thought That Wild Flowers Might Be The Alphabet Of Angels, — Whereby They Write On Hills And Fields Mysterious Truths, Which It Is Not Given Our Fallen Nature To Understand.

The People Heard It, And Approved The Doctrine, And Immediately Practiced The Contrary.

Patience In Market, Is Worth Pounds In A Year.

Fear To Do Ill, And You Need Fear Else.

A Spoonful Of Honey Will Catch More Flies Than A Gallon Of Vinegar.

Abuses Of The Freedom Of Speech Ought To Be Repressed, But To Whom Are We To Commit The Power Of Doing It?

Freedom Of Speech

Covetousness Is Ever Attended With Solicitude And Anxiety.

Never Take A Wife Till Thou Hast A House (and A Fire) To Put Her In.

Out Of Adversity Comes Opportunity.

We Are All Born Without Knowledge, But Curious. With Curiosity We Should Be Able To Learn As Much As Possible. With Curiosity, It Has To Take A Lot Of Work To Remain Ignorant.

A Dying Man Can Do Nothing Easy.

I Wish It (christianity) Were More Productive Of Good Works ... I Mean Real Good Works ... Not Holy Day Keeping, Sermon-hearing ... Or Making Long Prayers, Filled With Flatteries And Compliments Despised By Wise Men, And Much Less Capable Of Pleasing The Deity.

Anger Warms The Invention, But Overheats The Oven.

Rules Too Soft Are Seldomly Followed; Rules Too Harsh Are Seldomly Executed.

Don't Throw Stones At Your Neighbors, If Your Own Windows Are Glass.

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

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

Bad Gains Are True Losses.

Marry Your Son When You Will, But You Daughter When You Can.

Many Have Quarreled About Religion That Never Practice It.

Time Is Money'... Waste It Now. Pay For It Later!

A Quarrelsome Man Has No Good Neighbours.

Wine Makes Daily Living Easier, Less Hurried With Fewer Tensions And More Tolerance.

On Being Asked What Condition Of Man He Considered The Most Pitiable: A Lonesome Man On A Rainy Day Who Does Not Know How To Read.

If You Have No Honey In Your Pot, Have Some In Your Mouth.

Where There's No Law, There's No Bread.

Flesh Eating Is Unprovoked Murder.

Sarcasm Is The Lowest Form Of Humor But The Highest Form Of Flattery.

Rather Go To Bed With Out Dinner Than To Rise In Debt.

Wise Men Learn By Others' Harms, Fools Scarcely By Their Own.

Industry Pays Debts, While Despair Increases Them.

If The Elbow Had Been Placed Closer To The Hand, The Forearm Would Have Been Too Short To Bring The Glass To The Mouth; And If It Had Been Closer To The Shoulder, The Forearm Would Have Been So Long That It Would Have Carried The Glass Beyond The Mouth.

Genius Is The Ability To Hold One's Vision Steady Until It Becomes Reality

Outside Independence Hall When The Constitutional Convention Of 1787 Ended

A Wicked Hero Will Turn His Back To An Innocent Coward.

A Great Empire, Like A Great Cake, Is Most Easily Diminished At The Edges.

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

The Golden Age Was Never The Present Age.

Who Is Rich? He That Is Content. Who Is That? Nobody.

A Child Thinks 20 Shillings And 20 Years Can Never Be Spent.

While The Path To Wealth Is Clearly Marked, Few Are Willing To Adapt Themselves To The Modest Discipline That The Journey Requires. Instead, Most Choose The Shinier Track Of Debt-driven Consumption, Which They Find Further Along Is Covered In Vines And Thorns.

The Way To Wealth Depends On Just Two Words, Industry And Frugality.

Death Takes No Bribes.

Don't Halloo Until You're Out Of The Wood.

If You Wou'd Have Guests Merry With Your Cheer, Be So Your Self, Or So At Least Appear.

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

The Best Doctor Gives The Least Medicines.

You Don't Get Somebody To Like You By Doing Them A Favor. That Only Tends To Build Resentment Over The Fact That They Are Needy And You Are Not. No, You Ask Them To Do You A Favor.

He That Resolves To Mend Hereafter, Resolves Not To Mend Now.

How Few There Are Who Have Courage Enough To Own Their Faults, Or Resolution Enough To Mend Them.

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.

A Temperate Diet Frees From Diseases; Such Are Seldom Ill, But If They Are Surprised With Sickness, They Bear It Better, And Recover Sooner; For Most Distempers Have Their Original From Repletion.

Unless The Stream Of Their Importation Could Be Turned... They Will Soon So Outnumber Us, That All The Advantages We Have, Will Not In My Opinion Be Able To Preserve Our Language, And Even Our Government Will Become Precarious.

Be Ashamed To Catch Yourself Idle.

Christianity Commands Us To Pass By Injuries; Policy, To Let Them Pass By Us.

Many Complain Of Their Memory, Few Of Their Judgment.

Anger And Folly Walk Cheeck By Jowl.

The Wise And The Brave Dares Own That He Was Wrong.

One Of The Greatest Tragedies Of Life Is The Murder Of A Beautiful Theory By A Gang Of Brutal Facts.

Joy Doesn't Exist In The World, It Exists In Us.

Industry Need Not Wish.

If We Look Back Into History For The Character Of The Present Sects In Christianity, We Shall Find Few That Have Not In Their Turns Been Persecutors, And Complainers Of Persecution. The Primitive Christians Thought Persecution Extremely Wrong In The Pagans, But Practised It On One Another.

Promises May Get Thee Friends, But Non-performance Will Turn Them Into Enemies.

Keeping Promises

Broken Promises

Do You Love Life? Then Don't Waste Time, Because Time Is Life!

Time Management

Do You Love Truth For Truth's Sake, And Will You Endeavor Impartially To Find And Receive It Yourself, And Communicate It To Others?

I Believe Long Habits Of Virtue Have A Sensible Effect On The Countenance.

He That Hath A Trade Hath An Estate; And He That Hath A Calling Hath A Place Of Profit And Honor. A Ploughman On His Legs Is Higher Than A Gentleman On His Knees.

Nothing Is More Important For The Public Wealth Than To Form And Train Youth In Wisdom And Virtue. Only A Virtuous People Are Capable Of Freedom.

They Who Can Give Up Essential Liberty To Obtain A Little Temporary Safety Deserve Neither Liberty Nor Safety.

Liberality Is Not Giving Much, But Giving Wisely.

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

Genius Without Education Is Like Silver In The Mine.

This Gave Me Occasion To Observe, That When Men Are Employ'd They Are Best Contented. For On The Days They Work'd They Were Good-natur'd And Chearful; And With The Consciousness Of Having Done A Good Days Work They Spent The Evenings Jollily; But On The Idle Days They Were Mutinous And Quarrelsome, Finding Fault With Their Pork, The Bread, And In Continual Ill-humour. (autobiography, 1771)

Masonic Labor Is Purely A Labor Of Love. He Who Seeks To Draw Masonic Wages In Gold And Silver Will Be Disappointed. The Wages Of A Mason Are In The Dealings With One Another; Sympathy Begets Sympathy, Kindness Begets Kindness, Helpfulness Begets Helpfulness, And These Are The Wages Of A Mason.

Why Should I Give My Readers Bad Lines Of My Own When Good Ones Of Other People's Are So Plenty?

He That's Secure Is Not Safe.

The Church, The State, And The Poor, Are 3 Daughters Which We Should Maintain, But Not Portion Off.

In Free Governments The Rulers Are The Servants, And The People Their Superiors And Sovereigns.

People Who Are Willing To Give Up Freedom For The Sake Of Short Term Security, Deserve Neither Freedom Nor Security.

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.

I've Striven My Whole Life For Humility, But If I'd Ever Achieved It, I'd Probably Be Pretty Damn Proud Of That.

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.

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

After All, Wedlock Is The Natural State Of Man. A Bachelor Is Not A Complete Human Being. He Is Like The Odd Half Of A Pair Of Scissors, Which Has Not Yet Found Its Fellow, And Therefore Is Not Even Half So Useful As They Might Be Together.

I Think That Humanity Brings Much Misery On Itself By The False Value They Put On Things.

A Lighthouse Is More Useful Than A Church.

A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed!

Friendship Memories

To Get The Bad Customs Of A Country Changed And New Ones, Though Better, Introduced, It Is Necessary First To Remove The Prejudices Of The People, Enlighten Their Ignorance, And Convince Them That Their Interests Will Be Promoted By The Proposed Changes; And This Is Not The Work Of A Day.

When Wine Enters, Out Goes The Truth.

Arguing Is A Game That Two Can Play At. But It Is A Strange Game In That Neither Opponent Ever Wins.

Admiration Is The Daughter Of Ignorance.

If We Are Industrious, We Shall Never Starve; For, At The Workingman's House Hunger Looks In, But Dares Not Enter. Nor Will The Bailiff Or The Constable Enter, For Industry Pays Debts, While Despair Increaseth Them.

Make The Best Use Of Both Time And Money. Add Industry And Frugal Dealings If They Pay Very Well And If You're Free To It.

Fiction Or Fable Allures To Instruction.

'tis More Noble To Forgive, And More Manly To Despise, Than To Revenge An Injury.

Don't Think So Much Of Your Own Cunning, As To Forget Other Men's; A Cunning Man Is Overmatched By A Cunning Man And A Half.

Twas Noah Who First Planted The Vine And Mended His Morals By Drinking Its Wine.

Every Pot Must Sit On Its Own Bottom.

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

Each Year One Vicious Habit Discarded, In Time Might Make The Worst Of Us Good.

I Believe There Is One Supreme Most Perfect Being.

Every Accent, Every Emphasis, Every Modulation Of Voice, Was So Perfectly Well Turned And Well Placed, That, Without Being Interested In The Subject, One Could Not Help Being Pleased With The Discourse; A Pleasure Of Much The Same Kind With That Received From An Excellent Piece Of Music. This Is An Advantage Itinerant Preachers Have Over Those Who Are Stationary, As The Latter Can Not Well Improve Their Delivery Of A Sermon By So Many Rehearsals.

A Wolf Eats Sheep But Now And Then, Ten Thousands Are Devour'd By Men.

A Single Man Has Not Nearly The Value He Would Have In A State Of Union. He Is An Incomplete Animal. He Resembles The Odd Half Of A Pair Of Scissors.

Evils Come Not, Then Our Fears Are Vain; And If They Do Fear But Augments The Pain.

If You Can't Pay For A Thing, Don't Buy It. If You Can't Get Paid For It, Don't Sell It.

Marry Above Thy Match And You Will Get A Master.

Savages We Call Them, Because Their Manners Differ From Ours, Which We Think The Perfection Of Civility; They Think The Same Of Theirs.

One Good Husband Is Worth Two Good Wives, For The Scarcer Things Are, The More They Are Valued.

Let Each New Year Find You A Better Person.

A Little Sturdiness When Superiors Are Much In The Wrong Sometimes Occasions Consideration. And There Is Truth In The Old Saying That If You Make Yourself A Sheep, The Wolves Will Eat You.

If I Knew A Miser, Who Gave Up Every Kind Of Comfortable Living, All The Pleasure Of Doing Good To Others, All The Esteem Of His Fellow-citizens, And The Joys Of Benevolent Friendship, For The Sake Of Accumulating Wealth. Poor Man, Said I, You Pay Too Much For Your Whistle.

Our Constitution Is In Actual Operation; Everything Appears To Promise That It Will Last; But In This World Nothing Is Certain But Death And Taxes.

Let Every One Ascertain His Special Business And Calling, And Then Stick To It If He Wants To Be Successful.

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.

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."

The Proof Of Gold Is Fire.

Fond Pride Of Dress Is Sure A Very Curse

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

We Must Not In The Course Of Public Life Expect Immediate Approbation And Immediate Grateful Acknowledgment Of Our Services. But Let Us Persevere Through Abuse And Even Injury. The Internal Satisfaction Of A Good Conscience Is Always Present, And Time Will Do Us Justice In The Minds Of The People, Even Those At Present The Most Prejudiced Against Us.

Take Courage, Mortal; Death Can't Banish Thee Out Of The Universe.

It Is Much Easier To Suppress A First Desire Than To Satisfy Those That Follow.

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