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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.

-Benjamin Franklin

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The Most Trifling Actions

Benjamin Franklin

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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.

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We Can Defer, Yet Time Is Most Certainly Not.

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.

There Are Two Ways Of Being Happy: We Must Either Diminish Our Wants Or Augment Our Means - Either May Do - The Result Is The Same And It Is For Each Man To Decide For Himself And To Do That Which Happens To Be Easier.

Why Should Pennsylvania, Founded By The English, Become A Colony Of Aliens, Who Will Shortly Be So Numerous As To Germanize Us Instead Of Our Anglifying Them, And Will Never Adopt Our Language Or Customs, Any More Than They Can Acquire Our Complexion.

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.

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All Would Live Long, But None Would Be Old.

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

He That Is Rich Need Not Live Sparingly, And He That Can Live Sparingly Need Not Be Rich.

A Bargain Is Something You Have To Find A Use For Once You Have Bought It.

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Having Been Poor Is No Shame, But Being Ashamed Of It, Is.

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Savages We Call Them Because Their Manners Differ From Ours.

Neither A Fortress Nor A Maidenhead Will Hold Out Long After They Begin To Parley.

No Nation Was Ever Ruined By Trade.

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

When You Are Finished Changing, You Are Finished.

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O Powerful Goodness! Bountiful Father! Merciful Guide! Increase In Me That Wisdom Which Discovers My Truest Interest. Strengthen My Resolution To Perform What That Wisdom Dictates. Accept My Kind Offices To Thy Other Children As The Only Return In My Power For Thy Continual Favours To Me.

The Art Of Acting Consists In Keeping People From Coughing.

If You Have Time Don't Wait For Time.

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

Constant Dropping Wears Away Stones

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I Firmly Believe This ... That Without His Concurring Aid We Shall Succeed In This Political Building No Better, Than The Builders Of Babel: We Shall Be Divided By Our Little Partial Local Interests; Our Projects Will Be Confounded, And We Ourselves Shall Become A Reproach And Bye Word Down To Future Ages. And What Is Worse, Mankind May Hereafter From This Unfortunate Instance, Despair Of Establishing Governments By Human Wisdom And Leave It To Chance, War And Conquest.

Pardoning The Bad, Is Injuring The Good.

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

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Our New Constitution Is Now Established, And Has An Appearance That Promises Permanency; But In The World Nothing Can Be Said To Be Certain Except Death And Taxes.

Those Who Would Give Up Essential Liberty, To Purchase A Little Temporary Safety, Deserve Neither Liberty Nor Safety.

What I Am To Be, I Am Now Becoming.

Distrust And Caution Are The Parents Of Security.

Success Has Ruin'd Many A Man.

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

You May Delay, But Time Will Not.

The Only Time Not Wasted Is Wasted Time.

History Will Also Give Occasion To Expatiate On The Advantage Of Civil Orders And Constitutions; How Men And Their Properties Are Protected By Joining In Societies And Establishing Government; Their Industry Encouraged And Rewarded, Arts Invented, And Life Made More Comfortable; The Advantages Of Liberty, Mischiefs Of Licentiousness, Benefits Arising From Good Laws And A Due Execution Of Justice. Thus May The First Principles Of Sound Politics Be Fixed In The Minds Of Youth.

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Necessity Is Our Quickest Excuse.

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

The Only Time A Question Should Be Asked Is When All Other Possibilities Of Finding The Answer For Yourself Have Been Eliminated.

Nothing Is More Fatal To Health Than An Over Care Of It.

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.

All The Heavenly Bodies, The Stars And Planets, Are Regulated With The Utmost Wisdom! And Can We Suppose Less Care To Be Taken In The Order Of The Moral Than In The Natural System?

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Procrastination

He That Blows The Coals In Quarrels That He Has Nothing To Do With, Has No Right To Complain If The Sparks Fly In His Face. - Ben Franklin

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Stand Firm, Don't Flutter!

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What Maintains One Vice Would Bring Up Two Children.

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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.

It Is Better To Take Many Injuries Than To Give One.

You Can Bear Your Own Faults, And Why Not A Fault In Your Wife?

Games Lubricate The Body And The Mind.

If You Would Know The Value Of Money, Go And Try To Borrow Some.

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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?

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

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

When You Are Done Changing, You're Done.

We Hear Of The Conversion Of Water Into Wine At The Marriage In Cana As Of A Miracle. But This Conversion Is, Through The Goodness Of God, Made Every Day Before Our Eyes. Behold The Rain Which Descends From Heaven Upon Our Vineyards, And Which Incorporates Itself With The Grapes, To Be Changed Into Wine; A Constant Proof That God Loves Us, And Loves To See Us Happy.

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

Practice Makes Perfect.

Practice Makes Perfect

Hear Reason, Or She'll Make You Feel Her.

When You Assemble A Number Of Men To Have The Advantage Of Their Joint Wisdom, You Inevitably Assemble With Those Men All Their Prejudices, Their Passions, Their Errors Of Opinion, Their Local Interests And Their Selfish Views.

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

We May Perhaps Learn To Deprive Large Masses Of Their Gravity And Give Them Absolute Levity, For The Sake Of Easy Transport.

Cold & Cunning Come From The North: But Cunning Sans Wisdom Is Nothing Worth.

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.

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

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

Pride That Dines On Vanity, Sups On Contempt.

Willows Are Weak, But They Bind The Faggot.

A Penny Saved Is Twopence Dear; A Pin A Day 's A Groat A Year.

To Inquisitive Minds Like Yours And Mine The Reflection That The Quantity Of Human Knowledge Bears No Proportion To The Quantity Of Human Ignorance Must Be In One View Rather Pleasing, Viz., That Though We Are To Live Forever We May Be Continually Amused And Delighted With Learning Something New.

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.

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.

Graft Good Fruit All, Or Graft Not At All.

Waste Neither Time Nor Money, But Make The Best Use Of Both.

He That Lives Well, Is Learned Enough.

You Have On Hand Those Things That You Need If You Have But The Wit And Wisdom To Use Them.

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.

Leisure Is The Time For Doing Something Useful. This Leisure The Diligent Person Will Obtain The Lazy One Never.

Most Fools Think They Are Only Ignorant.

I Am Lord Of Myself, Accountable To None.

Make Yourself Sheep And The Wolves Will Eat You.

Your Best Investment Is To Pour Your Purse Into Your Head, And No One Can Take It Away From You.

Avarice And Happiness Never Saw Each Other, How Then Should They Become Acquainted?

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

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

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.

As Pride Increases, Fortune Declines.

If You Fail To Plan, You Are Planning To Fail!

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.]

Every Pot Must Sit On Its Own Bottom.

Want Of Care Does Us More Damage Than Want Of Knowledge

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

Idleness Is The Dead Sea That Swallows All Virtues

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?

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

A Bible And A Newspaper In Every House, A Good School In Every District; All Studied And Appreciated As They Merit; Are The Principal Support Of Virtue, Morality, And Civil Liberty.

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

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

The Rotten Apple Spoils His Companion.

Lighthouses Are More Helpful Than Churches.

Don't Misinform Your Doctor Nor Your Lawyer.

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

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

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.

In Going On With These Experiments, How Many Pretty Systems Do We Build, Which We Soon Find Ourselves Oblig'd To Destroy! If There Is No Other Use Discover'd Of Electricity, This, However, Is Something Considerable, That It May Help To Make A Vain Man Humble.

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.

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

When Men Are Employed They Are Best Contented.

Revealed Religion Has No Weight With Me.

God Heals, And The Doctor Takes The Fees.

If Pride Leads The Van, Beggary Brings Up The Rear.

Learn Of The Skillful; He That Teaches Himself, Has A Fool For His Master.

Half-wits Talk Much, But Say Little.

What Is The Use Of A New-born Child ?

My Rule, In Which I Have Always Found Satisfaction, Is, Never To Turn Aside In Public Affairs Through Views Of Private Interest; But To Go Straight Forward In Doing What Appears To Me Right At The Time, Leaving The Consequences With Providence.

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

Take Heed Of The Vinegar Of Sweet Wine, And The Anger Of Good-nature.

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

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.

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

If You Want To Make A Friend, Let Someone Do You A Favor.

Grace Thou Thy House And Let Not That Grace Thee.

She That Paints Her Face, Thinks Of Her Tail.

Bargaining Has Neither Friends Nor Relations.

No Better Relation Than A Prudent And Faithful Friend.

He That Would Travel Much, Should Eat Little.

He That Would Fish, Must Venture His Bait.

Eat Not To Dullness, Drink Not To Elevation.

Self Improvement

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

If All Printers Were Determined Not To Print Anything Till They Were Sure It Would Offend Nobody, There Would Be Very Little Printed.

Private Property ... Is A Creature Of Society, And Is Subject To The Calls Of That Society, Whenever Its Necessities Shall Require It, Even To Its Last Farthing, Its Contributors Therefore To The Public Exigencies Are Not To Be Considered A Benefit On The Public, Entitling The Contributors To The Distinctions Of Honor And Power, But As The Return Of An Obligation Previously Received, Or As Payment For A Just Debt.

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."

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

I Believe There Is One Supreme Most Perfect Being.

An Ounce Of Wit That Is Bought, Is Worth A Pound That Is Taught.

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

The Man That Walks Wit Crowd, Will Get No Farther Than The Crowd. The Man That Walks Alone, Will Reach Places Unknown.

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.

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

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

Even Peace May Be Purchased At Too High A Price.

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.

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

One Day Is Worth A Thousand Tomorrows.

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

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