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Do You Sincerely Declare That You Love Mankind In General, Of What Profession Or Religion Soever? Do You Think Any Person Ought To Be Harmed In His Body, Name, Or Goods, For Mere Speculative Opinions, Or His External Way Of Worship? Do You Love Truth For Truth's Sake; And Will You Endeavor Impartially To Find And Receive It Yourself, And Communicate It To Others.

-Benjamin Franklin

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Do You Sincerely Declare

Benjamin Franklin

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Do You Sincerely Declare That You Love Mankind In General, Of What Profession Or Religion Soever? Do You Think Any Person Ought To Be Harmed In His Body, Name, Or Goods, For Mere Speculative Opinions, Or His External Way Of Worship? Do You Love Truth For Truth's Sake; And Will You Endeavor Impartially To Find And Receive It Yourself, And Communicate It To Others.

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Order - Let All Your Things Have Their Places; Let Each Part Of Your Business Have Its Time.

Moral Perfection

If You Have A Secret And Tell Someone Everyone Will Know. You Can Only Keep A Secret If You Don't Tell Anyone.

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

The Ancients Tell Us What Is Best; But We Must Learn Of The Moderns What Is Fittest.

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

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

Laws Too Gentle Are Seldom Obeyed; Too Severe, Seldom Executed.

There's Many Witty Men Whose Brains Can't Fill Their Bellies.

If You Teach A Poor Young Man To Shave Himself, And Keep His Razor In Order, You May Contribute More To The Happiness Of His Life Than In Giving Him A Thousand Guineas. This Sum May Be Soon Spent, The Regret Only Remaining Of Having Foolishly Consumed It; But In The Other Case, He Escapes The Frequent Vexation Of Waiting For Barbers, And Of Their Sometimes Dirty Fingers, Offensive Breaths, And Dull Razors.

By Playing At Chess Then, We May Learn: First: Foresight... Second: Circumspection... Third: Caution...and Lastly, We Learn By Chess The Habit Of Not Being Discouraged By Present Bad Appearances In The State Of Our Affairs, The Habit Of Hoping For A Favorable Chance, And That Of Persevering In The Secrets Of Resources

Those Who Are Content Have Enough; Those That Complain, Have Too Much.

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

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.

Security Without Liberty Is Called Prison.

None Are Deceived But They That Confide.

How Many Observe Christ's Birthday! How Few, His Precepts!

Were The Offer Made True, I Would Engage To Run Again, From Beginning To End, The Same Career Of Life. All I Would Ask Should Be The Privilege Of An Author, To Correct, In A Second Edition, Certain Errors Of The First.

Gain May Be Temporary And Uncertain; But Ever While You Live, Expense Is Constant And Certain: And It Is Easier To Build Two Chimneys Than To Keep One In Fuel.

Do Not Let Fancy Outrun Your Means.

Scarcely Was I Arrived At Fifteen Years Of Age, When, After Having Doubted In Turn Of Different Tenets, According As I Found Them Combated In The Different Books That I Read, I Began To Doubt Of Revelation Itself.

He That Takes A Wife, Takes Care

Love And Marriage

Epitaph On A Scolding Wife By Her Husband: Here My Poor Bridget's Corpse Doth Lie, She Is At Rest - And So Am I!

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

Idleness Is The Dead Sea That Swallows All Virtues

Hide Not Your Talents. They For Use Were Made. What's A Sundial In The Shade?

Here's To Our Beloved George Washington, The Joshua Of America, Who Commanded The Sun And The Moon To Stand Still - And They Obeyed.

Great Spenders Are Bad Lenders.

The Proof Of Gold Is Fire.

Those Who In Quarrels Interpose, Must Often Wipe A Bloody Nose.

Human Happiness Comes Not From Infrequent Pieces Of Good Fortune, But From The Small Improvements To Daily Life.

Notwithstanding My Experiments With Electricity The Thunderbolt Continues To Fall Under Our Noses And Beards; And As For The Tyrant, There Are A Million Of Us Still Engaged At Snatching Away His Sceptre.

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

The Honey Is Sweet, But The Bee Has A Sting.

We May Give Advice, But We Cannot Give Conduct.

What Is Best For People Is What They Do For Themselves.

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.

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

Out Of Adversity Comes Opportunity.

Want Of Care Does Us More Damage Than Want Of Knowledge

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.

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

Those Who Sacrifice Essential Liberty For Temporary Safety Are Not Deserving Of Either Liberty Or Safety.

If Principle Is Good For Anything, It Is Worth Living Up To.

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

Pen, Wax And Parchment Govern The World.

Interest Which Blinds Some People, Enlightens Others.

Human Felicity Is Produced Not As Much By Great Pieces Of Good Fortune That Seldom Happen As By Little Advantages That Occur Every Day.

Here Comes The Orator With His Flood Of Words And His Drop Of Reason.

He Was So Learned That He Could Name A Horse In Nine Languages; So Ignorant That He Bought A Cow To Ride On.

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

Write Your Injuries In Dust, Your Benefits In Marble.

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.

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

Some Of The Domestic Evils Of Drunkenness Are Houses Without Windows, Gardens Without Fences, Fields Without Tillage, Barns Without Roofs, Children Without Clothing, Principles, Morals Or Manners.

When Religion Is Good, It Will Take Care Of Itself. When It Is Not Able To Take Care Of Itself, And God Does Not See Fit To Take Care Of It, So That It Has To Appeal To The Civil Power For Support, It Is Evidence To My Mind That Its Cause Is A Bad One.

As We Must Account For Every Idle Word, So Must We Account For Every Idle Silence.

There Is No Such Thing As A Good War Or A Bad Peace.

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

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

Tolerate No Uncleanliness In Body, Clothes, Or Habitation.

A Man Is Sometimes More Generous When He Has But A Little Money Than When He Has Plenty, Perhaps Through Fear Of Being Thought To Have But Little.

Idle Hands Are The Devil's Playthings.

If You Teach A Poor Young Man To Shave Himself, And Keep His Razor In Order, You May Contribute More To The Happiness Of His Life Than In Giving Him A Thousand Guineas.

Beauty And Folly Are Old Companions.

For Having Lived Long, I Have Experienced Many Instances Of Being Obliged, By Better Information Or Fuller Consideration, To Change Opinions, Even On Important Subjects, Which I Once Thought Right But Found To Be Otherwise.

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.

The Eye Of The Master Will Do More Work Than Both His Hands.

A Lighthouse Is More Useful Than A Church.

The Heart Of A Fool Is In His Mouth, But The Mouth Of A Wise Man Is In His Heart.

Time Eateth All Things, Could Old Poets Say, The Times Are Chang'd, Our Times Drink All Away.

Dally Not With Other Folk's Spouses Or Money.

How Can Any Action Be Meritorious Of Praise Or Dispraise, Reward Or Punishment, When The Natural Principle Of Self-love Is The Only And The Irresistible Motive To It?

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

If You Do Tomorrow What You Did Today , You Will Get Tomorrow What You Got Today

It Is The Duty Of Mankind On All Suitable Occasions To Acknowledge Their Dependence On The Divine Being.

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

One Today Is Worth Two Tomorrows. Lost Time Is Never Found Again. Time Is Money. Dost Thou Love Life? Then Do Not Squander Time, For That's The Stuff That Life Is Made Of. You May Delay, But Time Will Not.

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.

Remember, That Money Is Of The Prolific, Generating Nature.

The United States Constitutional Convention, Except For Three Or Four Persons, Thought Prayers Unnecessary.

Time Is Money, Be A Better You.

Eat To Please Thyself, But Dress To Please Others.

Beware The Hobby That Eats.

Take Courage, Mortal... Death Cannot Banish You From The Universe.

The Most Acceptable Service Of God Is Doing Good To Man.

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.

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

Silence - Speak Not But What May Benefit Others Or Yourself; Avoid Trifling Conversation.

Necessity Is Our Quickest Excuse.

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

Before You Consult Your Fancy, Consult Your Purse.

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.

But In This World Nothing Is Sure But Death And Taxes. [fr., Mais Dons Ce Monde, Il N'y A Rien D'assure Que Le Mort Et Les Impots.]

Admiration Is The Daughter Of Ignorance.

Beer Is God's Way Of Telling Us That He Loves Us And Wants Us To Be Happy.

He That Won't Be Counseled Can't Be Helped. He That Would Have A Short Lent, Let Him Borrow Money To Be Repaid At Easter.

Get What You Can, And What You Get Hold; 'tis The Stone That Will Turn All Your Lead Into Gold.

One Mend-fault Is Worth Two Find-faults, But One Find-fault Is Better Than Two Make-faults.

Little Strokes Fell Great Oaks.

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

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

Inspirational Life

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

The Best Tranquilizer Is A Clear Conscience.

Clear Conscience

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. At Least You Will, By Such Conduct, Stand The Be.

But The Eyes Of Other People Are The Eyes That Ruin Us. If All But Myself Were Blind, I Should Want Neither Fine Clothes, Fine Houses Nor Fine Furniture.

Never Spare The Parson's Wine Nor The Baker's Pudding

Knowledge Of The Investment Is Most Profitable

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.

He That Lives Well, Is Learned Enough.

If You Want A Neat Wife, Choose Her On A Saturday.

The Refusal Of King George To Allow The Colonies To Operate An Honest Money System, Which Freed The Ordinary Man From Clutches Of The Money Manipulators Was Probably The Prime Cause Of The Revolution.

What Is A Butterfly? At Best He's But A Caterpiller Drest. The Gaudy Fop's His Picture Just.

Death Takes No Bribes.

A Man Of Knowledge Like A Rich Soil, Feeds If Not A World Of Corn, A World Of Weeds.

Constant Dropping Wears Away Stones

It Is A Grand Mistake To Think Of Being Great Without Goodness And I Pronounce It As Certain That There Was Never A Truly Great Man That Was Not At The Same Time Truly Virtuous.

Forewarn'd, Forearm'd.

As We Benefit From The Inventions Of Others, We Should Be Glad To Share Our Own ... Freely And Gladly.

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?"

It Is The Will Of God And Nature That These Mortal Bodies Be Laid Aside, When The Soul Is To Enter Into Real Life; 'tis Rather An Embrio State, A Preparation For Living; A Man Is Not Completely Born Until He Be Dead: Why Then Should We Grieve That A New Child Is Born Among The Immortals?

He That Hath A Trade, Hath An Estate.

And We Daily In Our Experiments Electrise Bodies Plus Or Minus, As We Think Proper. [these Terms We May Use Till Your Philosophers Give Us Better.] To Electrise Plus Or Minus, No More Needs To Be Known Than This, That The Parts Of The Tube Or Sphere, That Are Rubb'd, Do, In The Instant Of Friction, Attract The Electrical Fire, And Therefore Take It From The Thin Rubbing; The Same Parts Immediately, As The Friction Upon Them Ceases, Are Disposed To Give The Fire They Have Received, To Any Body That Has Less.

Pain Wastes The Body, Pleasures The Understanding.

You May Sometimes Be Much In The Wrong, In Owning Your Being In The Right.

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

Avoid Dishonest Gain: No Price Can Recompence The Pangs Of Vice.

Be Slow In Choosing A Friend, Slower In Changing.

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

He That Pursues Two Hares At Once, Does Not Catch One And Lets The Other Go.

I Have Been Apt To Think That There Has Never Been, Nor Ever Will Be, Any Such Thing As A Good War, Or A Bad Peace.

Anger Warms The Invention, But Overheats The Oven.

When Knaves Betray Each Other, One Can Scarce Be Blamed Or The Other Pitied.

I Made The Greater Progress, From That Clearness Of Head And Quicker Apprehension Which Generally Attend Temperance In Eating And Drinking.

When The Well Is Dry, People Know The Worth Of Water. [so Appreciate What You Have While You Have It]

Fatigue Is The Best Pillow.

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

Take One Thing With Another, And The World Is A Pretty Good Sort Of A World, And It Is Our Duty To Make The Best Of It, And Be Thankful.

Hope And Faith May Be More Firmly Built Upon Charity, Than Charity Upon Faith And Hope.

We Must Hang Together, Gentlemen...else, We Shall Most Assuredly Hang Separately.

The Man Who Does Things Makes Mistakes, But He Doesn't Make The Biggest Mistake Of All-doing Nothing.

The Noblest Question In The World Is: 'what Good May I Do In It?'

Love Well, Whip Well.

Bad Gains Are True Losses.

Drink Does Not Drown Care, But Waters It, And Makes It Grow Faster.

Some Volumes Against Deism Fell Into My Hands ... They Produced An Effect Precisely The Reverse To What Was Intended By The Writers; For The Arguments Of The Deists, Which Were Cited In Order To Be Refuted, Appeared To Me Much More Forcibly Than The Refutation Itself; In A Word, I Soon Became A Thorough Deist.

The Expenses Required To Prevent A War Are Much Lighter Than Those That Will, If Not Prevented, Be Absolutely Necessary To Maintain It.

If The New Universal History Were Also Read, It Would Give A Connected Idea Of Human Affairs, So Far As It Goes, Which Should Be Followed By The Best Modern Histories, Particularly Of Our Mother Country; Then Of These Colonies; Which Should Be Accompanied With Observations On Their Rise, Increase, Use To Great Britain, Encouragements And Discouragements, The Means To Make Them Flourish, And Secure Their Liberties.

The Person Who Deserves Most Pity Is A Lonesome One On A Rainy Day Who Doesn't Know How To Read.

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

A Man Is Not Completely Born Until He Is Dead.

Where Security Exists, Liberty And Opportunity Do Not.

Without Industry And Frugality, Nothing Will Do; With Them, Everything.

Who Is Wise? He That Learns From Everyone. Who Is Powerful? He That Governs His Passions. Who Is Rich? He That Is Content. Who Is That? Nobody.

I Looked Around For God's Judgments, But Saw No Signs Of Them.

I Resolve To Speak Ill Of No Man Whatever, Not Even In A Matter Of Truth; But Rather By Some Means Excuse The Faults I Hear Charged Upon Others, And Upon Proper Occasions Speak All The Good I Know Of Everybody.

A New Truth Is A Truth, An Old Error Is An Error.

A Virtuous Heretic Shall Be Saved Before A Wicked Christian.

Covetousness Is Ever Attended With Solicitude And Anxiety.

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.

As Often As We Do Good, We Sacrifice.

The States Acceded To The Union.

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

Content And Riches Seldom Meet Together, Riches Take Thou, Contentment I Had Rather.

A Lie Stands On One Leg, Truth On Two.

He That Rises Late Must Trot All Day.

Tomorrow, Every Fault Is To Be Amended; But That Tomorrow Never Comes.

Tomorrow Never Comes

Kings Have Long Arms, But Misfortune Longer: Let None Think Themselves Out Of Her Reach.

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."

Industry And Patience Are The Surest Means Of Plenty.

All Who Think Cannot But See There Is A Sanction Like That Of Religion Which Binds Us In Partnership In The Serious Work Of The World.

Reckless Youth Makes Rueful Age.

To Err Is Human, To Repent Divine; To Persist Devilish.

Sell Not Virtue To Purchase Wealth, Nor Liberty To Purchase Power.

The Things Of This World Take Up Too Much Of My Time, Of Which Indeed I Have Too Little Left, To Undertake Anything Like A Reformation In Religion.

Success Has Ruined Many A Man.

Anger Is Never Without A Reason, But Seldom With A Good One.

Little Rogues Easily Become Great Ones.

I Am On This Account Not Displeased That The Figure Is Not Known As A Bald Eagle, But Looks More Like A Turkey. For The Truth The Turkey Is In Comparison A Much More Respectable Bird, And Withal A True Original Native Of America... He Is Besides, Though A Little Vain & Silly, A Bird Of Courage, And Would Not Hesitate To Attack A Grenadier Of The British Guards Who Should Presume To Invade His Farm Yard With A Red Coat On.

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.

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

Thirteen Virtues Necessary For True Success: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, And Humility.

To Succeed, Jump As Quickly At Opportunities As You Do At Conclusions.

In Truth I Found Myself Incorrigible With Respect To Order; And Now I Am Grown Old, And My Memory Bad, I Feel Very Sensibly The Want Of It.

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

The Sun Of Liberty Is Set; You Must Light Up The Candle Of Industry And Economy.

My Father's Little Library Consisted Chiefly Of Books In Polemic Divinity, Most Of Which I Read, And Have Since Often Regretted That, At A Time When I Had Such A Thirst For Knowledge, More Proper Books Had Not Fallen In My Way Since It Was Now Resolved I Should Not Be A Clergyman.

Most Men Die At 25, We Just Don't Bury Them Until They Are 70.

Necessity Never Made A Good Bargain.

We Have Been Assured, Sir, In The Sacred Writings, That 'except The Lord Build The House, They Labor In Vain That Build It' I Firmly Believe This; By Our Partial Local Interests; Our Projects Will Be Confounded, And We Ourselves Shall Become A Reproach And A By Word Down To Future Ages.

Trouble Springs From Idleness, And Grievous Toil From Needless Ease.

Half The Truth Is Often A Great Lie.

Many Estates Are Spent In The Getting, Since Women For Tea Forsake Spinning And Knitting, And Men For Punch Forsake Hewing And Splitting.

Hereafter, If You Should Observe An Occasion To Give Your Officers And Friends A Little More Praise Than Is Their Due, And Confess More Fault Than You Can Justly Be Charged With, You Will Only Become The Sooner For It, A Great Captain.

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

In Every Animal That Walks Upright, The Deficiency Of The Fluids That Fill The Muscles Appears First In The Highest Part: The Face First Grows Lank And Wrinkled; Then The Neck; Then The Breast And Arms; The Lower Parts Continuing To The Last As Plump As Ever; So That Covering All Above With A Basket, And Regarding Only What Is Below The Girdle, It Is Impossible Of Two Women To Know An Old From A Young One.

Great Good Nature Without Prudence Is A Great Misfortune.

Do Not Do That Which You Would Not Have Known.

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

The Cat In Gloves Catches No Mice.

What One Relishes, Nourishes.

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