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If By The Liberty Of The Press Were Understood Merely The Liberty Of Discussing The Propriety Of Public Measures And Political Opinions, Let Us Have As Much Of It As You Please: But If It Means The Liberty Of Affronting, Calumniating And Defaming One Another, I, For My Part, Own Myself Willing To Part With My Share Of It, Whenever Our Legislators Shall Please So To Alter The Law And Shall Chearfully Consent To Exchange My Liberty Of Abusing Others For The Privilege Of Not Being Abused Myself.

-Benjamin Franklin

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If By The Liberty

Benjamin Franklin

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If By The Liberty Of The Press Were Understood Merely The Liberty Of Discussing The Propriety Of Public Measures And Political Opinions, Let Us Have As Much Of It As You Please: But If It Means The Liberty Of Affronting, Calumniating And Defaming One Another, I, For My Part, Own Myself Willing To Part With My Share Of It, Whenever Our Legislators Shall Please So To Alter The Law And Shall Chearfully Consent To Exchange My Liberty Of Abusing Others For The Privilege Of Not Being Abused Myself.

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Political Opinions

More From Benjamin Franklin

What Vast Additions To The Conveniences And Comforts Of Living Might Mankind Have Acquired, If The Money Spent In Wars Had Been Employed In Works Of Public Utility; What An Extension Of Agriculture Even To The Tops Of Our Mountains; What Rivers Rendered Navigable, Or Joined By Canals; What Bridges, Aqueducts, New Roads, And Other Public Works, Edifices, And Improvements Might Not Have Been Obtained By Spending Those Millions In Doing Good, Which In The Last War Have Been Spent In Doing Mischief.

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

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

Then Plough Deep While Sluggards Sleep, And You Shall Have Corn To Sell And To Keep.

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.

There Are Three Sorts Of People In The World: Those Who Are Immovable, People Who Don't Get It, Or Don't Want To Do Anything About It; There Are People Who Are Movable, People Who See The Need For Change And Are Prepared To Listen To It; And There Are People Who Move, People Who Make Things Happen.

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.

Cunning Proceeds From Want Of Capacity.

Why Does The Blind Man's Wife Paint Herself.

He That Drinks Fast, Pays Slow.

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

The Tongue Offends And The Ears Get The Cuffing

Prayers And Provender Hinder No Journey.

You Have Two Choices, Write About Something Of Significance Or Do Something Someone Wants To Write About.

Those Who Would Give Up Liberty For Safety Deserve Neither.

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

Early To Bed And Early To Rise, Makes A Man Healthy, Wealthy And Wise." He Planned His Routine Around Waking Up At 5 A.m. And Asking Himself "what Good Shall I Do This Day?

Many Foxes Grow Gray But Few Grow Good.

Plough Deep While Sluggards Sleep.

Three Things Are Men Most Likely To Be Cheated In, A Horse, A Wig, And A Wife.

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.

Your Argument Is Sound, Nothing But Sound.

He Does Not Possess Wealth; It Possesses Him.

A Long Life May Not Be Good Enough, But A Good Life Is Long Enough.

All Human Situations Have Their Inconveniences. We Feel Those Of The Present But Neither See Nor Feel Those Of The Future; And Hence We Often Make Troublesome Changes Without Amendment, And Frequently For The Worse.

We Constantly Change The World, Even By Our Inaction. Therefore, Let Us Change It Responsibly.

Changing The World

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.

Most People Die At 25 But Are Buried At 75.

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

Some Books We Read, Tho' Few There Are That Hit The Happy Point Where Wisdom Joins With Wit.

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.

Love Well, Whip Well.

The Only Things Of Certainty Are Death And Taxes.

A Virtuous And Industrious People May Be Cheaply Governed.

Wherever Desirable Superfluities Are Imported, Industry Is Excited, And Thereby Plenty Is Produced. Were Only Necessaries Permitted To Be Purchased, Men Would Work No More Than Was Necessary For That Purpose.

Admiration Is The Daughter Of Ignorance.

O Lazy Bones! Dost Thou Think God Would Have Given Thee Arms And Legs, If He Had Not Design'd Thou Should'st Use Them?

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

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

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.

Nothing Is So Tiresome To One's Self, As Well As So Odious To Others, As Disguise And Affectation.

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

In Humility Imitate Jesus And Socrates.

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

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.

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.

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.

Perhaps I Was Too Saucy And Provoking.

That It Is Better 100 Guilty Persons Should Escape Than That One Innocent Person Should Suffer, Is A Maxim That Has Been Long And Generally Approved.

Innocent Person

The Importation Of Foreigners Into A Country That Has As Many Inhabitants As The Present Employments And Provisions For Subsistence Will Bear, Will Be In The End No Increase Of People, Unless The New Comers Have More Industry And Frugality Than The Natives, And Then They Will Provide More Subsistence, And Increase In The Country; But They Will Gradually Eat The Natives Out. Nor Is It Necessary To Bring In Foreigners To Fill Up Any Occasional Vacancy In A Country For Such Vacancy Will Soon Be Filled By Natural Generation.

Anger And Folly Walk Cheeck By Jowl.

Taxes Are Indeed Very Heavy - We Are Taxed Twice As Much By Our Idleness. Three Times As Much By Our Pride. And Four Times As Much By Our Folly.

Search Others For Their Virtues, Thyself For Thy Vices.

By Playing At Chess Then, We May Learn... First: Foresight. Second: Circumspection. Third: Caution.

I Would Rather Have It Said, 'he Lived Usefully,' Than, 'he Died Rich.'

There Is Always Room For The Man Of Force.

Let The Child's First Lesson Be Obedience, And The Second Will Be What Thou Wilt.

Philosophy As Well As Foppery Often Changes Fashion.

Here Skugg Lies Snug As A Bug In A Rug.

Do Not Anticipate Trouble, Or Worry About What May Never Happen. Keep In The Sunlight.

If You Give Up Your Freedom For Safety, You Don't Deserve Either One

Men Take More Pains To Mask Than Mend.

The First Mistake In Public Business Is The Going Into It.

Fear God, And Your Enemies Will Fear You.

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

What Signifies Philosophy That Does Not Apply To Some Use? May We Not Learn From Hence, That Black Clothes Are Not So Fit To Wear In A Hot Sunny Climate Or Season, As White Ones; Because In Such Cloaths The Body Is More Heated By The Sun When We Walk Abroad, And Are At The Same Time Heated By The Exercise, Which Double Heat Is Apt To Bring On Putrid Dangerous Fevers? The Soldiers And Seamen, Who Must March And Labour In The Sun, Should In The East Or West Indies Have An Uniform Of White?

Most Men Die From The Neck Up At Age Twenty-five Because They Stop Dreaming.

Inspirational Life

Scarcely Have I Ever Heard Or Read The Introductory Phrase, "i May Say Without Vanity," But Some Striking And Characteristic Instance Of Vanity Has Immediately Followed.

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.

If You Have Time Don't Wait For Time.

Men Differ Daily About Things Which Are Subject To Sense, Is It Likely Then They Should Agree About Things Invisible.

Nor Eye In A Letter, Nor Hand In A Purse, Nor Ear In The Secret Of Another.

Rebellion To Tyrants Is Obedience To God.

One Today Is Worth Two Tomorrows.

Never Praise Your Cider Or Your Horse

The Best Thing To Give To Your Enemy Is Forgiveness; To An Opponent, Tolerance; To A Friend, Your Heart; To Your Child, A Good Example; To A Father, Deference; To Your Mother, Conduct That Will Make Her Proud Of You; To Yourself, Respect; To All Others, Charity.

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

Industry Pays Debts, While Despair Increases Them.

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

Sloth Makes All Things Difficult, But Industry All Things Easy.

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

Presumption First Blinds A Man, Then Sets Him A Running.

Ill Customs And Bad Advice Are Seldom Forgotten.

What Is The Recipe For Successful Achievement? Choose A Career You Love. Give It The Best There Is In You. Seize Your Opportunities. And Be A Member Of The Team.

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

I Wish To Live Without Committing Any Fault At Any Time.

Moral Perfection

The Only Time Not Wasted Is Wasted Time.

He That Won't Be Counseled Can't Be Helped.

Rebellion Against Tyrants Is Obedience To God.

Suspicion May Be No Fault, But Showing It May Be A Great One.

Applause Waits On Success.

Congratulations

He That Goes A Borrowing Goes A Sorrowing.

Debt By Founding Fathers

If You'd Lose A Troublesome Visitor, Lend Him Money.

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

Let No Pleasure Tempt Thee, No Profit Allure Thee, No Persuasion Move Thee, To Do Anything Which Thou Knowest To Be Evil; So Shalt Thou Always Live Jollity; For A Good Conscience Is A Continual Christmas.

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

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.

Nothing In The World Is Certain Except For Death And Taxes.

Do Not Fear Mistakes.

Great Talkers Should Be Cropt, For They've No Need Of Ears.

There Is No Kind Of Dishonesty Into Which Otherwise Good People More Easily And Frequently Fall Than That Of Defrauding The Government.

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.

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.

He Who Gives Up Freedom For Safety Deserves Neither.

Reckless Haste Makes Poor Speed.

When About 16 Years Of Age, I Happened To Meet With A Book Written By One Tryon, Recommending A Vegetable Diet. I Determined To Go Into It.... My Refusing To Eat Flesh Occasioned An Inconveniency, And I Was Frequently Chid For My Singularity.

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

The Way To Secure Peace Is To Be Prepared For War. They That Are On Their Guard, And Appear Ready To Receive Their Adversaries, Are In Much Less Danger Of Being Attacked, Than The Supine, Secure, And Negligent.

'tis His Honesty That Brought Upon Him The Character Of A Heretic.

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.

We Are A Kind Of Posterity In Respect To Them.

Constant Dropping Wears Away Stones

He That Cannot Obey, Cannot Command.

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

There Never Was A Truly Great Man That Was Not At The Same Time Truly Virtuous.

He That Would Live In Peace And At Ease, Must Not Speak All He Knows Nor Judge All He Sees.

Self Improvement

Who Judges Best Of A Man, His Enemies Or Himself?

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.

People Are Best Convinced By Things They Themselves Discover.

Motivational Business

Keep Conscience Clear, Then Never Fear.

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

God Helps Them That Help Themselves.

There's No Gain, Without Pain.

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.

There Never Was A Good Knife Made Of Bad Steel.

Before You Consult Your Fancy, Consult Your Purse.

He Who Will Not Be Counseled Cannot Be Helped.

How Do You Become Better Tomorrow? By Improving Yourself, The World Is Made Better. Be Not Afraid Of Growing Too Slowly. Be Afraid Of Standing Still. Forget Your Mistakes, But Remember What They Taught You. So How Do You Become Better Tomorrow? By Becoming Better Today.

Becoming Better

Bad Gains Are True Losses.

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.

I Was Surprised To Find Myself So Much Fuller Of Faults Than I Had Imagined, But I Had The Satisfaction Of Seeing Them Diminish.

I Have Always Thought That One Man Of Tolerable Abilities May Work Great Changes, And Accomplish Great Affairs Among Mankind, If He First Forms A Good Plan, And, Cutting Off All Amusements Or Other Employments That Would Divert His Attention, Make The Execution Of That Same Plan His Sole Study And Business.

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

Annual Giving Is The Custom Of Making A Gift-a-year To An Institution In Which One Has Faith.

Half The Truth Is Often A Great Lie.

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

No Nation Has Ever Been Ruined By Trade.

I Believe In One God, Creator Of The Universe In That He Ought To Be Whipped From Pilar To Post And Back Again For His Shameful Actions Toward Humanity.

Great Good Nature Without Prudence Is A Great Misfortune.

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.

Who Pleasure Gives, Shall Joy Receive

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away.

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.

As Charms Are Nonsense, Nonsense Is A Charm.

Some Are Weatherwise, Some Are Otherwise.

An Investment In Knowledge Pays The Best Interest. When It Comes To Investing, Nothing Will Pay Off More Than Educating Yourself. Do The Necessary Research, Study And Analysis Before Making Any Investment Decisions.

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

He Is Not Well Bred, That Cannot Bear Ill Breeding In Others

Those Who Are Willing To Forfeit Liberty For Security Will Have Neither.

The Same Man Cannot Be Both Friend And Flatterer.

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

Great Talkers, Little Doers.

By Heaven We Understand A State Of Happiness Infinite In Degree, And Endless In Duration.

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.

Those Who Beat Their Swords Into Plowshares Usually End Up Plowing For Those Who Kept Their Swords.

Right To Bear Arms

Praise To The Undeserving Is Severe Satire.

Be Ashamed To Catch Yourself Idle.

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

Success Has Ruin'd Many A Man.

By The Word Simplicity, Is Not Always Meant Folly Or Ignorance; But Often, Pure And Upright Nature, Free From Artifice, Craft Or Deceitful Ornament.

I Have Heard That Nothing Gives An Author So Great Pleasure, As To Find His Works Respectfully Quoted By Other Learned Authors.

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

Do Not Let Fancy Outrun Your Means.

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

Libertarian Party

When Men Are Employed They Are Best Contented.

When In Doubt, Don't.

Overcoming Doubt

A Nod From A Lord Is A Breakfast For A Fool.

Life With Fools Consists In Drinking; With The Wise Man, Living's Thinking.

Vice Knows [its] Ugly, So [it] Puts On [a] Mask.

The Key That Unlocks A Door Is A Key To Keep If You Want To Go Through That Door Again.

Speak With Contempt Of None, From Slave To King, The Meanest Bee Hath, And Will Use, A Sting.

Eat What You Like, But Dress For Other People.

Happiness Consists More In Small Conveniences Or Pleasures That Occur Every Day, Than In Great Pieces Of Good Fortune That Happen But Seldom To A Man In The Course Of His Life.

The Best Tranquilizer Is A Clear Conscience.

Clear Conscience

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

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.

I Cannot Conceive Otherwise Than That He, The Infinite Father, Expects Or Requires No Worship Or Praise From Us, But That He Is Even Infinitely Above It.

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

God Heals, And The Doctor Takes The Fees. Energy And Persistence Conquer All Things. He That Is Good For Making Excuses Is Seldom Good For Anything Else. How Many Observe Christ's Birthday! How Few, His Precepts! Oh, It's Easier To Keep Holidays Than Commandments. Well Done Is Better Than Well Said.

The Sting Of A Reproach, Is The Truth Of It.

Virtues, Of ... Moderation: Avoid Extremes. Forbear Resenting Injuries So Much As You Think They Deserve.

The Only Certain Things In Life Are Death And Taxes!

A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed!

Friendship Memories

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

Freedom Is Not A Gift Bestowed Upon Us By Other Men, But A Right That Belongs To Us By The Laws Of God And Nature.

If You Have A Bald Head Don't Walk Out In The Sun Because You Will Get Burned.

Take A Coin From Your Purse And Invest It In Your Mind. It Will Come Pouring Out Of Your Mind And Overflow Your Purse.

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

The Doors Of Wisdom Are Never Shut.

The Best Way To Help The Poor Is To Make Them Uncomfortable In Their Own Poverty.

Disdain The Chain, Preserve Your Freedom; And Maintain Your Independency: Be Industrious And Free; Be Frugal And Free.

Let Thy Discontents Be Thy Secrets

If You Would Not Be Laughed At, Be The First To Laugh At Yourself.

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

That Is Simple. In The Colonies We Issue Our Own Money. It Is Called Colonial Scrip. We Issue It In Proper Proportion To The Demands Of Trade And Industry To Make The Products Pass Easily From The Producers To The Consumers. In This Manner Creating For Ourselves Our Own Paper Money, We Control Its Purchasing Power, And We Have No Interest To Pay.

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

Whatever Is Begun In Anger Ends In Shame.

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

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