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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.

-Benjamin Franklin

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What Vast Additions To

Benjamin Franklin

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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.

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Setting Too Good An Example Is A Kind Of Slander Seldom Forgiven.

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.

Industry And Patience Are The Surest Means Of Plenty.

Two Dry Sticks Will Burn A Green One.

No Better Relation Than A Prudent And Faithful Friend.

She Laughs At Everything You Say. Why? Because She Has Fine Teeth.

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

We Are More Heavily Taxed By Our Idleness, Pride And Folly Than We Are Taxed By Government.

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

A Good Conscience Is A Continual Christmas.

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

We Are Not So Sensible Of The Greatest Health As Of The Least Sickness.

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.

No European Who Has Tasted Savage Life Can Afterwards Bear To Live In Our Societies.

Nor Is It Of Much Importance To Us To Know The Manner In Which Nature Executes Her Laws; 'tis Enough To Know The Laws Themselves.

He's A Fool Who Cannot Conceal His Wisdom.

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.

All Highly Competent People Continually Search For Ways To Keep Learning, Growing, And Improving. They Do That By Asking Why. After All, The Person Who Knows How Will Always Have A Job, But The Person Who Knows Why Will Always Be The Boss.

It Is A Bad Temper Of Mind That Takes Delight In Opposition.

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

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.

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

You Cannot Always Run From A Weakness. You Must Sometime Fight It Out Or Perish.

The Rapid Progress Of The Sciences Makes Me Sorry, At Times, That I Was Born So Soon. Imagine The Power That Man Will Have Over Matter, A Few Hundred Years From Now. We May Learn How To Remove Gravity From Large Masses, And Float Them Over Great Distances. Agriculture Will Double Its Produce With Less Labor. All Diseases Will Surely Be Cured... Even Old Age. If Only The Moral Sciences Could Be Improved As Well. Perhaps Men Would Cease To Be Wolves To One Another... And Human Beings Could Learn To Be Human.

Industry, Perseverance, And Frugality Make Fortune Yield.

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

A Ship Under Sail And A Big-bellied Woman, Are The Handsomest Two Things That Can Be Seen Common.

Love Of Country Is The Mason's Deed; World Citizenship Is His Thought.

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.

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

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

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

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

I Consent Sir, To This Constitution Because I Expect No Better, And Because I Am Not Sure, That It Is Not The Best.

Great Talkers, Little Doers.

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.

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

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.

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

Patience In Market, Is Worth Pounds In A Year.

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 This Lady Is Pleased To Spend Her Days With Franklin, He Would Be Just As Pleased To Spend His Nights With Her.

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

A Full Belly Is The Mother Of All Evil.

Drive Thy Business Or It Will Drive Thee.

People Willing To Trade Their Freedom For Temporary Security Deserve Neither And Will Lose Both.

Security And Freedom

Hast Thou Virtue? Acquire Also The Graces And Beauties Of Virtue.

I Know Not Which Lives More Unnatural Lives, Obeying Husbands, Or Commanding Wives.

The Proud Hate Pride In Others.

That Man Alone Loves Himself Rightly Who Procures The Greatest Possible Good To Himself Through The Whole Of His Existence And So Pursues Pleasure As Not To Give For It More Than It Is Worth.

Half The Truth Is Often A Great Lie.

To Be Humble To Superiors Is A Duty, To Equals Courtesy, To Inferiors Nobleness.

Philosophy As Well As Foppery Often Changes Fashion.

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.

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

[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.

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

The Constitution Only Guarantees The American People The Right To Pursue Happiness. You Have To Catch It Yourself.

When Men Are Employed They Are Best Contented.

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

Righteousness, Or Justice, Is, Undoubtedly Of All The Virtues, The Surest Foundation On Which To Create And Establish A New State. But There Are Two Nobler Virtues, Industry And Frugality, Which Tend More To Increase The Wealth, Power And Grandeur Of The Community, Than All The Others Without Them.

Be Slow In Choosing A Friend, Slower In Changing.

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.

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

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

And Whether You're An Honest Man, Or Whether You're A Thief, Depends On Whose Solicitor Has Given Me My Brief.

What I Am To Be, I Am Now Becoming.

Mary's Mouth Cost Her Nothing For She Never Opens It But At Others' Expense.

Where Security Exists, Liberty And Opportunity Do Not.

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

The Best Doctor Gives The Least Medicines.

If You Would Persuade, You Must Appeal To Interest Rather Than Intellect.

Freedom Of Speech Is The Great Bulwark Of Liberty; They Prosper And Die Together: And It Is The Terror Of Traitors And Oppressors, And A Barrier Against Them. It Produces Excellent Writers, And Encourages Men Of Fine Genius.

Freedom Of Speech

At Twenty Years Of Age The Will Reigns; At Thirty, The Wit; And At Forty, The Judgment.

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.

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

What Maintains One Vice Would Bring Up Two Children.

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.

Eat What You Like, But Dress For Other People.

Eyes And Priests Bear No Jests.

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

Saying And Doing, Have Quarrel'd And Parted.

Saying And Doing

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

Squeamish Stomachs Cannot Eat Without Pickles.

Fond Pride Of Dress Is Sure A Very Curse

He That Drinks Fast, Pays Slow. Beer Is Proof That God Loves Us And Wants Us To Be Happy. There Can't Be Good Living Where There Is Not Good Drinking.

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

I Have Never Seen The Philosopher's Stone That Turns Lead Into Gold, But I Have Known The Pursuit Of It Turn A Man's Gold Into Lead.

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

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

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

Being Ignorant Is Not So Much A Shame, As Being Unwilling To Learn.

Paintings And Fightings Are Best Seen At A Distance.

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

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

Masonic Ideas Are The Precious Jewels Of Speculative Masons; The Should Be Kept Bright And Sparkling For All The Brethren To See And To Admire. As Such, They Should Be The Special Care Of Masonic Leaders Particularly Those Who Teach And Interpret The Philosophy Of Freemasonry.

Doing Your Best Means Never Stop Trying.

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.

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.

The Honest Man Takes Pains, And Then Enjoys Pleasures; The Knave Takes Pleasure, And Then Suffers Pains.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

Don't Overload Gratitude; If You Do, She'll Kick.

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

He That's Content Hath Enough.

[e]very Man Who Comes Among Us, And Takes Up A Piece Of Land, Becomes A Citizen, And By Our Constitution Has A Voice In Elections, And A Share In The Government Of The Country.

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.

The Rotten Apple Spoils His Companion.

One Of The Advantages Of Being A 'reasonable Creature' Is That One Can Find A Reason For Whatever One Wants To Do.

A Full Belly Brings Forth Every Evil.

Don't Think To Hunt Two Hares With One Dog.

An Education Is The Investment With The Greatest Returns.

Beware Of Meat Twice Boiled, And An Old Foe Reconciled.

Acquire Riches By Industry And Frugality.

When Passion Rules, She Never Rules Wisely.

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

Write Your Injuries In Dust, Your Benefits In Marble.

Lawyers, Preachers, And Tomtits Eggs, There Are More Of Them Hatch'd Than Come To Perfection.

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

Wise Men Don't Need Advice. Fools Won't Take It.

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.

No Longer Virtuous No Longer Free; Is A Maxim As True With Regard To A Private Person As A Common-wealth.

By Failing To Prepare, You Are Preparing To Fail.

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

Resolve To Perform What You Ought; Perform Without Fail What You Resolve.

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

Happiness Depends More On The Inward Disposition Of Mind Than On Outward Circumstances.

My Refusing To Eat Meat Occasioned Inconveniency, And I Have Been Frequently Chided For My Singularity. But My Light Repast Allows For Greater Progress, For Greater Clearness Of Head And Quicker Comprehension.

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

Some Men Grow Mad By Studying Much To Know, But Who Grows Mad By Studying Good To Grow.

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.

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

A Man Wrapped Up In Himself Makes A Very Small Bundle.

Virtues, Of ... Justice: Wrong None By Doing Injuries Or Omitting The Benefits That Are Your Duty.

All Cats Look Gray In The Dark.

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.

The Misers Cheese Is Wholesomest

In The Dark, All Cats Are Grey.

A Lie Stands On One Leg, Truth On Two.

A Man Compounded Of Law And Gospel Is Able To Cheat A Whole Country With His Religion And Then Destroy Them Under Color Of Law

That The Vegetable Creation Should Restore The Air Which Is Spoiled By The Animal Part Of It, Looks Like A Rational System, And Seems To Be Of A Piece With The Rest.

Love Well, Whip Well.

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

Here Is My Creed. I Believe In One God, The Creator Of The Universe. That He Governs It By His Providence. That He Ought To Be Worshipped.

Revolution Founding Fathers

Founding America

You Will Discover 3 Trustworthy Mates, An Aged Wife, An Aged Canine, And Ready Dollars.

Let Honesty Be As The Breath Of Thy Soul; Then Shalt Thou Reach The Point Of Happiness, And Independence Shall Be Thy Shield And Buckler, Thy Helmet And Crown; Then Shall Thy Soul Walk Upright, Nor Stoop To The Silken Wretch Because He Hath Riches, Nor Pocket An Abuse Because The Hand Which Offers It Wears A Ring Set With Diamonds.

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

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.

A Man Can Be Beautiful Physically, Mentally, Or Personality Wise. True Beauty, Though, Is In The Spirit. A Genuine Man Who Understands Right And Wrong, With A Strong Sense Of Self Is Beautiful. A Man Who Can Be Compassionate And Caring, But Firm And Wise. Someone Who Can Do The Right Thing No Matter Who's Around To See It. Even If The Deed Is Unseen And Unrecognized. That Is A Beautiful Man. One Today Is Worth Two Tomorrows.

Who Pleasure Gives, Shall Joy Receive

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.

Knowledge Of The Investment Is Most Profitable

I Never Turned To Drink. It Seemed To Turn To Me.

Reading Was The Only Amusement I Allowed Myself

He's The Best Physician That Knows The Worthlessness Of Most Medicines.

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

Experience Is The Best Teacher, But A Fool Will Learn From No Other.

He That Can Have Patience Can Have What He Will.

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

If You Wish Information And Improvement From The Knowledge Of Others, And Yet At The Same Time Express Yourself As Firmly Fix'd In Your Present Opinions, Modest, Sensible Men, Who Do Not Love Disputation, Will Probably Leave You Undisturbed In The Possession Of Your Error.

The Worst Wheel Of The Cart Makes The Most Noise.

Time Is The Stuff Life Is Made Of.

War Is When The Government Tells You Who The Bad Guy Is. Revolution Is When You Decide That For Yourself.

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

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

Blame-all And Praise-all Are Two Blockheads.

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.]

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.

Security Without Liberty Is Called Prison.

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

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away.

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

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

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

If You Desire Many Things, Many Things Will Seem Few.

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

He That Has Done You A Kindness Will Be More Ready To Do You Another, Than He Whom You Yourself Have Obliged.

Men And Melons Are Hard To Know.

My Dear Friend, Do Not Imagine That I Am Vain Enough To Ascribe Our Success [revolution] To Any Superiority . . . If It Had Not Been For The Justice Of Our Cause, And The Consequent Interposition Of Providence, In Which We Had Faith, We Must Have Been Ruined. If I Had Ever Before Been An Atheist, I Should Now Have Been Convinced Of The Being And Government Of A Deity!

All Things Are Cheap To The Saving, Dear To The Wasteful

Before You Consult Your Fancy, Consult Your Purse.

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

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

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

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

Never Confuse Motion With Action.

Fear God, And Your Enemies Will Fear You.

He Who Gives Up Freedom For Safety Deserves Neither.

If Better Is Possible, Good Is Not Enough

Grievances Cannot Be Redressed Until They Are Known; And They Cannot Be Known But Through Complaints And Petitions. If These Are Deemed Affronts, And The Messengers Punished As Offenders, Who Will Henceforth Send Petitions? And Who Will Deliver Them? Wise Governments Encouraged The Airing Of Grievances, Even Those That Were Lightly Founded Foolish Governments Did The Opposite - To Their Peril. Where Complaining Is A Crime, Hope Becomes Despair.

The Use Of Money Is All The Advantage There Is In Having Money.

Necessity Knows No Law; I Know Some Attorneys Of The Same.

I Say It Is Impossible That So Sensible A People [citizens Of Paris], Under Such Circumstances, Should Have Lived So Long By The Smoky, Unwholesome, And Enormously Expensive Light Of Candles, If They Had Really Known That They Might Have Had As Much Pure Light Of The Sun For Nothing.

Would You Persuade, Speak Of Interest, Not Of Reason.

We Can Defer, Yet Time Is Most Certainly Not.

Our Necessities Never Equal Our Wants.

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