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If We Can Sleep Without Dreaming, It Is Well That Painful Dreams Are Avoided. If, While We Sleep, We Can Have Any Pleasing Dreams, It Is As The French Say, Tant Gagne, So Much Added To The Pleasure Of Life.

-Benjamin Franklin

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If We Can Sleep

Benjamin Franklin

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If We Can Sleep Without Dreaming, It Is Well That Painful Dreams Are Avoided. If, While We Sleep, We Can Have Any Pleasing Dreams, It Is As The French Say, Tant Gagne, So Much Added To The Pleasure Of Life.

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Time Is The Stuff Life Is Made Of.

Idle Hands Are The Devil's Playthings.

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

Where Security Exists, Liberty And Opportunity Do Not.

Furnished As All Europe Now Is With Academies Of Science, With Nice Instruments And The Spirit Of Experiment, The Progress Of Human Knowledge Will Be Rapid And Discoveries Made Of Which We Have At Present No Conception. I Begin To Be Almost Sorry I Was Born So Soon, Since I Cannot Have The Happiness Of Knowing What Will Be Known A Hundred Years Hence.

Grace Thou Thy House And Let Not That Grace Thee.

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.

He That Steals The Old Man's Supper Does Him No Wrong.

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

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

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

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

To Be Thrown Upon One's Own Resources Is To Be Cast Into The Very Lap Of Fortune; For Our Faculties Then Undergo A Development And Display An Energy Of Which They Were Previosly Unsusceptible.

A Lighthouse Is More Useful Than A Church.

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

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.

By Failing To Prepare, You Are Preparing To Fail.

There's No Gain, Without Pain.

The Good Or Ill Hap Of A Good Or Ill Life, Is The Good Or Ill Choice Of A Good Or Ill Wife.

Rarely Use Venery But For Health Or Offspring; Never To Dulness, Weakness, Or The Injury Of Your Own Or Another's Peace Or Reputation.

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

It's The Easiest Thing In The World For A Man To Deceive Himself.

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.

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

What One Relishes, Nourishes.

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

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

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

Hear No Ill Of A Friend, Nor Speak Any Of An Enemy.

The Early Morning Has Gold In Its Mouth.

Rising In The Morning

He That Speaks Much, Is Much Mistaken.

He Is Ill Clothed That Is Bare Of Virtue.

Who Pleasure Gives, Shall Joy Receive

As To Jesus Of Nazareth, My Opinion Of Whom You Particularly Desire, I Think The System Of Morals And His Religion, As He Left Them To Us, The Best The World Ever Saw Or Is Likely To See; But I Apprehend It Has Received Various Corrupting Changes; And I Have, With Most Of The Present Dissenters In England, Some Doubts As To His Divinity.

Beer Is Proof That God Wants Us To Be Happy

Behold The Rain Which Descends From Heaven Upon Our Vineyards; There It Enters The Roots Of The Vines, To Be Changed Into Wine; A Constant Proof That God Loves Us, And Loves To See Us Happy.

E'er You Remark Another's Sin, Bid Your Own Conscience Look Within.

It Is Very Imprudent To Deprive America Of Any Of Her Privileges. If Her Commerce And Friendship Are Of Any Importance To You, They Are To Be Had On No Other Terms Than Leaving Her In The Full Enjoyment Of Her Rights.

He That Sells Upon Credit Expects To Lose 5 Per Cent. By Bad Debts; Therefore He Charges, On All He Sells Upon Credit, An Advance That Shall Make Up That Deficiency.

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

Let Thy Discontents Be Thy Secrets; If The World Knows Them 'twill Despise Thee And Increase Them.

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.

Since They Are Our Right, Let Us Be Vigilant To Preserve Them Uninfringed, And Free From Encroachments. If Animosities Arise, And We Should Be Obliged To Resort To Party, Let Each Of Us Range Himself On The Side Which Unfurls The Ensigns Of Public Good. Faction Will Then Vanish, Which, If Not Timely Suppressed, May Overturn The Balance, The Palladium Of Liberty, And Crush Us Under Its Ruins.

It Seems To Me, That If Statesmen Had A Little More Arithmetic, Or Were Accustomed To Calculation, Wars Would Be Much Less Frequent.

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

Virtue May Not Always Make A Face Handsome, But Vice Will Certainly Make It Ugly.

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.

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

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

Money Has Never Made Man Happy, Nor Will It, There Is Nothing In Its Nature To Produce Happiness. The More Of It One Has The More One Wants.

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

Fools Make Feasts And Wise Men Eat Them.

When You Are Done Changing, You're Done.

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

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

The Way To See By Faith Is To Shut The Eye Of Reason.

An Education Is The Investment With The Greatest Returns.

In America, They Do Not Inquire Of A Stranger, "what Is He?" But, "what Can He Do?"

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.

He That Would Travel Much, Should Eat Little.

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 Full Belly Makes A Dull Brain: The Muses Starve In A Cook's Shop.

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

A Lie Stands On One Leg, Truth On Two.

The Things Which Hurt, Instruct.

Whoever Would Overthrow The Liberty Of A Nation Must Begin By Subduing The Freeness Of Speech.

Common Sense Without Education, Is Better Than Education Without Common Sense.

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.

The Problem With Common Sense Is, It Isn't.

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

Watch The Pennies And The Dollars Will Take Care Of Themselves.

The Only Things Of Certainty Are Death And Taxes.

There Are Three Things Extremely Hard: Steel, A Diamond, And To Know One's Self.

No Gains Without Pains.

Most Fools Think They Are Only Ignorant.

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

Moral Perfection

There Will Be Sleeping Enough In The Grave.

Positive Thinking

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

Nothing But Money, Is Sweeter Than Honey.

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

You Can Not Pluck Roses Without Fear Of Thorns, Nor Enjoy A Fair Wife Without Danger Of Horns.

He That Composes Himself Is Wiser Than He That Composes A Book.

Duty Is Not Beneficial Because It Is Commanded, But Is Commanded Because It Is Beneficial.

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.

Eyes And Priests Bear No Jests.

When You Get Into A Tight Place And Everything Goes Against You, Till It Seems As Though You Could Not Hold On A Minute Longer, Never Give Up Then, For That Is Just The Place And Time That The Tide Will Turn. When You're Down To Nothing, God Is Up To Something. The Faithful See The Invisible, Believe The Incredible And Then Receive The Impossible. Where Liberty Dwells There Is My Country.

Give Me Yesterday's Bread, This Day's Flesh, And Last Year's Cider

He That Is Conscious Of A Stink In His Breeches Is [suspicious] Of Every Wrinkle In Another's Nose.

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.

People Who Are Wrapped Up In Themselves Make Small Packages.

What Science Can There Be More Noble, More Excellent, More Useful For Men, More Admirably High And Demonstrative, Than This Of Mathematics?

The Rotten Apple Spoils His Companion.

Repeal That [welfare] Law, And You Will Soon See A Change In Their Manners. ... Six Days Shalt Thou Labor, Though One Of The Old Commandments Long Treated As Out Of Date, Will Again Be Looked Upon As A Respectable Precept; Industry Will Increase, And With It Plenty Among The Lower People; Their Circumstances Will Mend, And More Will Be Done For Their Happiness By Inuring Them To Provide For Themselves, Than Could Be Done By Dividing All Your Estates Among Them.

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.

Be Ashamed To Catch Yourself Idle.

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.]

Graft Good Fruit All, Or Graft Not At All.

Approve Not Of Him Who Commends All You Say.

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.

Anger And Folly Walk Cheeck By Jowl.

To Expect People To Be Good, To Be Just, To Be Temperate, Etc., Without Showing Them How They Should Become So, Seems Like The Ineffectual Charity Mentioned By The Apostle, Which Consisted In Saying To The Hungry, The Cold And The Naked, Be Ye Fed, Be Ye Warmed, Be Ye Clothed, Without Showing Them How They Should Get Food, Fire Or Clothing.

What You Would Seem To Be, Be Really.

I Wish The Bald Eagle Had Not Been Chosen As The Representative Of Our Country; He Is A Bird Of Bad Moral Character; Like Those Among Men Who Live By Sharping And Robbing, He Is Generally Poor, And Often Very Lousy. The Turkey Is A Much More Respectable Bird, And Withal A True Original Native Of America.

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.

Don't Misinform Your Doctor Nor Your Lawyer.

Many People Die At Twenty Five And Aren't Buried Until They Are Seventy Five.

Beware Of Little Expenses. A Small Leak Will Sink A Great Ship.

A Virtuous Heretic Shall Be Saved Before A Wicked Christian.

To Bear Other People's Afflictions, Everyone Has Courage And Enough To Spare.

Fear Not Death; For The Sooner We Die, The Longer Shall We Be Immortal.

In Reality, There Is, Perhaps, No One Of Our Natural Passions So Hard To Subdue As Pride. Disguise It, Struggle With It, Beat It Down, Stifle It, Mortify It As Much As One Pleases, It Is Still Alive, And Will Every Now And Then Peep Out And Show Itself; You Will See It, Perhaps, Often In This History; For, Even If I Could Conceive That I Had Completely Overcome It, I Should Probably Be Proud Of My Humility.

Blessed Is He That Expects Nothing, For He Shall Never Be Disappointed. Expect Nothing - Get Nothing! But Expect Something - Get Something!!

"we Hold These Truths To Be Sacred And Undeniable" In A Draft Of The Declaration Of Independence Changes It Instead Into An Assertion Of Rationality. The Scientific Mind Of Franklin Drew On The Scientific Determinism Of Isaac Newton And The Analytic Empiricism Of David Hume And Gottfried Leibniz. In What Became Known As "hume's Fork" The Latters' Theory Distinguished Between Synthetic Truths That Describe Matters Of Fact, And Analytic Truths That Are Self-evident By Virtue Of Reason And Definition.

We Are A Kind Of Posterity In Respect To Them.

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

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

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

Search Others For Their Virtues, Thyself For Thy Vices.

Poverty Wants Some Things, Luxury Many Things, Avarice All Things

He Is No Clown That Drives The Plow, But He That Doth Clownish Things.

The Problem With Doing Nothing Is Not Knowing When You're Finished.

Speak And Speed: The Close Mouth Catches No Flies.

The Art Of Acting Consists In Keeping People From Coughing.

In This World Nothing Can Be Said To Be Certain, Except Death And Taxes.

There Is Nothing So Absurd As Knowledge Spun Too Fine.

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

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

Willows Are Weak, But They Bind The Faggot.

A Little Neglect May Breed Great Mischief.

Lend Money To An Enemy, And Thou Will Gain Him, To A Friend And Thou Will Lose Him.

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.

Kill No More Pigeons Than You Can Eat.

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.

By My Rambling Digressions I Perceive Myself To Be Growing Old.

Leisure Is The Time For Doing Something Useful.

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

Industry Need Not Wish.

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.

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

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.

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

History Will Also Afford Frequent Opportunities Of Showing The Necessity Of A Public Religion, From Its Usefulness To The Public; The Advantage Of A Religious Character Among Private Persons; The Mischiefs Of Superstition, And The Excellency Of The Christian Religion Above All Others, Ancient Or Modern.

He's Gone, And Forgot Nothing But To Say Farewell To His Creditors

Man Will Ultimately Be Governed By God Or By Tyrants.

He That Cannot Obey, Cannot Command.

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

I Hope...that Mankind Will At Length, As They Call Themselves Reasonable Creatures, Have Reason And Sense Enough To Settle Their Differences Without Cutting Throats; For In My Opinion There Never Was A Good War, Or A Bad Peace.

Often I Sit Up In My Room Reading The Greatest Part Of The Night, When The Book Was Borrowed In The Evening And To Be Returned Early In The Morning, Lest It Should Be Missed Or Wanted.

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

Want Of Care Does Us More Damage Than Want Of Knowledge

Temperance Puts Wood On The Fire, Meal In The Barrel, Flour In The Tub, Money In The Purse, Credit In The Country, Contentment In The House, Clothes On The Back, And Vigor In The Body.

A Cheerful Face Is Nearly As Good For An Invalid As Healthy Weather.

There Is No Little Enemy

Tis Against Some Mens Principle To Pay Interest, And Seems Against Others Interest To Pay The Principle.

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

Never Contradict Anybody.

You Made Delay, But Time Will Not, And Lost Time Is Never Found Again.

Procrastination

Love Your Enemies, For They Tell You Your Faults.

The Handshake Of The Host Affects The Taste Of The Roast

Let Thy Discontents Be Thy Secrets

Fiction Or Fable Allures To Instruction.

I Am What I Am And That's All That I Am And If I'm Supposed To Be Somebody Else, Why Do I Look Like Me?

You Will Find The Key To Success Under The Alarm Clock.

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

Great Modesty Often Hides Great Merit.

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

If You Know How To Spend Less Than You Get, You Have The Philosopher's Stone.

The Exact Quantity And Quality Being Found Out, Is To Be Kept To Constantly.

Quantity And Quality

Drive Your Business. Let Not Your Business Drive You.

Trouble Springs From Idleness.

Speak Little, Do Much.

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

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

Do Well By Doing Good.

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

Fond Pride Of Dress Is Sure A Very Curse

A Republic, If You Can Keep It.

The English Love An Insult. It's Their Only Test Of A Man's Sincerity.

Be Not Disturbed At Trifles, Or At Accidents Common Or Unavoidable.

Plough Deep While Sluggards Sleep.

A Man Is Not Completely Born Until He Is Dead.

Many A Long Dispute Among Divines May Be Thus Abridged: It Is So; It Is Not So. It Is So; It Is Not So.

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

In The Beginning Of The Contest With Britain, When We Were Sensible Of Danger, We Had Daily Prayers In This Room For Divine Protection," He Stated. "our Prayers, Sir, Were Heard, And They Were Graciously Answered. ... Do We Imagine We No Longer Need His Assistance?

Contentment Makes A Poor Person Rich And Discontent Makes A Rich Person Poor.

Practice Makes Perfect.

Practice Makes Perfect

Make Yourself Sheep And The Wolves Will Eat You.

To Be Proud Of Knowledge Is To Be Blind With Light.

After Three Days Men Grow Weary, Of A Wench, A Guest, And Weather Rainy.

Revealed Religion Has No Weight With Me.

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.

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.

When You Are In Debt, Then You Are A Slave.

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

I Think That A Young State, Like A Young Virgin, Should Modestly Stay At Home, And Wait The Application Of Suitors For An Alliance With Her; And Not Run About Offering Her Amity To All The World; And Hazarding Their Refusal. Our Virgin Is A Jolly One; And Tho At Present Not Very Rich, Will In Time Be A Great Fortune, And Where She Has A Favorable Predisposition, It Seems To Me Well Worth Cultivating.

The Most Trifling Actions That Affect A Man's Credit Are To Be Regarded. The Sound Of Your Hammer At Five In The Morning, Or At Nine At Night, Heard By A Creditor, Makes Him Easy Six Months Longer; But If He Sees You At The Billiard-table, Or Hears Your Voice At A Tavern, When You Should Be At Work, He Sends For His Money The Next Day.

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

Justice Is As Strictly Due Between Neighbor Nations As Between Neighbor Citizens.

He Who Multiplies Riches Multiplies Cares.

Handle Your Tools Without Mittens.

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