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Your Net Worth To The World Is Usually Determined By What Remains After Your Bad Habits Are Subtracted From Your Good Ones.

-Benjamin Franklin

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Your Net Worth To

Benjamin Franklin

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Your Net Worth To The World Is Usually Determined By What Remains After Your Bad Habits Are Subtracted From Your Good Ones.

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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.

Neglect Mending A Small Fault And 'twill Soon Be A Great One.

Most People Die At 25 But Are Buried At 75.

No Nation Was Ever Ruined By Trade.

There Are No Ugly Loves Nor Handsome Prisons.

Life's Tragedy Is That We Get Old Too Soon And Wise Too Late.

The World Is Run By The People Who Show Up.

Every Pot Must Sit On Its Own Bottom.

From A Child I Was Fond Of Reading, And All The Little Money That Came Into My Hands Was Ever Laid Out In Books.

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

In General, Mankind, Since The Improvement Of Cookery, Eats Twice As Much As Nature Requires.

Who Is Rich? He That Rejoices In His Portion.

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

The Madness Of Mobs Or The Insolence Of Soldiers, Or Both, When Too Near To Each Other, Occasion Some Mischief.

What One Relishes, Nourishes.

In A Discreet Man's Mouth, A Public Thing Is Private.

In Short, The Way To Wealth, If You Desire It, Is As Plain As The Way To Market. It Depends Chiefly On Two Works, Industry And Frugality.

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.

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

A Little Religion, And A Little Honesty, Goes A Great Way In Courts.

The Best Tranquilizer Is A Clear Conscience.

Clear Conscience

A Countryman Between Two Lawyers Is Like A Fish Between Two Cats.

In Success Be Moderate.

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

In These Sentiments, Sir, I Agree To This Constitution, With All Its Faults, If They Are Such; Because I Think A General Government Necessary For Us, And There Is No Form Of Government, But What May Be A Blessing To The People If Well Administered; And Believe Further, That This Is Likely To Be Well Administered For A Course Of Years, And Can Only End In Despotism, As Other Forms Have Done Before It, When The People Shall Become So Corrupted As To Need Despotic Government, Being Incapable Of Any Other.

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

Men Are Subject To Various Inconveniences Merely Through Lack Of A Small Share Of Courage, Which Is A Quality Very Necessary In The Common Occurrences Of Life, As Well As In A Battle. How Many Impertinences Do We Daily Suffer With Great Uneasiness, Because We Have Not Courage Enough To Discover Our Dislike.

Revealed Religion Has No Weight With Me.

Industry Pays Debts, While Despair Increases Them.

A Full Belly Is The Mother Of All Evil.

In Free Governments The Rulers Are The Servants, And The People Their Superiors And Sovereigns.

Do Not Fear Mistakes. You Will Know Failure. Continue To Reach Out.

Drive Your Business. Let Not Your Business Drive You.

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

The U. S. Constitution Doesn't Guarantee Happiness, Only The Pursuit Of It. You Have To Catch Up With It Yourself.

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

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.

Glass, China, And Reputation, Are Easily Cracked, And Never Well Mended.

At The Working Man’s House, Hunger Looks In But Dares Not Enter.

No Better Relation Than A Prudent And Faithful Friend.

Remember, Sir, That [england] Began The Slave Trade!

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

A Fine Genius In His Own Country Is Like Gold In The Mine.

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

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

A Learned Blockhead Is A Greater Blockhead Than An Ignorant One.

Those Who Laugh Often Never Grow Old.

He That's Content Hath Enough.

Be Slow In Choosing A Friend, Slower In Changing.

If You Watch Your Pennies, The Pounds Will Take Care Of Themselves.

Justice Will Not Be Served Until Those Who Are Unaffected Are As Outraged As Those Who Are.

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

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

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.

He That Lives Upon Hope Will Die Fasting.

On The Whole, Though I Never Arrived At The Perfection I Had Been So Ambitious Of Obtaining, But Fell Far Short Of It, Yet I Was, By The Endeavor, A Better And A Happier Man Than I Otherwise Should Have Been Had I Not Attempted It.

Despair Ruins Some, Presumption Many.

I Wish It Were Possible, From This Instance, To Invent A Method Of Embalming Drowned Persons In Such A Manner That They May Be Recalled To Life At Any Period, However Distant; For Having A Very Ardent Desire To See And Observe The State Of America A Hundred Years Hence, I Should Prefer To Any Ordinary Death The Being Immersed In A Cask Of Madeira Wine With A Few Friends Till That Time, To Be Then Recalled To Life By The Solar Warmth Of My Dear Country!

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

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.

Many A Man Thinks He Is Buying Pleasure, When He Is Really Selling Himself To It.

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!

Reading Was The Only Amusement I Allowed Myself

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

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

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

Nature Performs The Cure, The Physician Takes The Fee.

If You Ride A Horse, Sit Close And Tight, If You Ride A Man, Sit Easy And Light.

Marry Your Son When You Will, But You Daughter When You Can.

He That Goes A Borrowing Goes A Sorrowing.

Debt By Founding Fathers

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."

Great Hopes Make Everything Great Possible

Where There Is Hunger, Law Is Not Regarded; And Where Law Is Not Regarded, There Will Be Hunger.

The Game Of Chess Is Not Merely An Idle Amusement; Several Very Valuable Qualities Of The Mind Are To Be Acquired And Strengthened By It, So As To Become Habits Ready On All Occasions, For Life Is A Kind Of Chess.

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

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

We Can Defer, Yet Time Is Most Certainly Not.

Remember That Credit Is Money.

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

Take Counsel In Wine, But Resolve Afterwards In Water.

Would Thou Confound Thy Enemy, Be Good Thyself.

Many Would Live By Their Wits, But Break For Want Of Stock.

A Ploughman On His Legs Is Higher Than A Gentleman On His Knees.

An Infallible Remedy For The Tooth-ach, Viz Wash The Root Of An Aching Tooth, In Elder Vinegar, And Let It Dry Half An Hour In The Sun; After Which It Will Never Ach More; Probatum Est.

Instead Of Cursing The Darkness, Light A Candle.

Dost Thou Love Life? Then Do Not Squander Time, For That Is The Stuff Life Is Made Of.

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

Speak Little, Do Much.

It Is Observable That God Has Often Called Men To Places Of Dignity And Honor When They Have Been Busy In The Honest Employment Of Their Vocation.

When Women Cease To Be Handsome, They Study To Be Good.

When You Taste Honey, Remember Gall.

He That Sows Thorns, Should Never Go Barefoot.

If You Want Something Done, Ask A Busy Person.

Those Who Govern, Having Much Business On Their Hands, Do Not Generally Like To Take The Trouble Of Considering And Carrying Into Execution New Projects. The Best Public Measures Are Therefore Seldom Adopted From Previous Wisdom, But Forced By The Occasion.

What Can Laws Do Without Morals?

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

Sloth, Like Rust, Consumes Faster Than Labor Wears, While The Used Key Is Always Bright.

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

A Little House Well Fill'd, A Little Field Well Till'd, And A Little Wife Well Will'd, Are Great Riches.

While The Path To Wealth Is Clearly Marked, Few Are Willing To Adapt Themselves To The Modest Discipline That The Journey Requires. Instead, Most Choose The Shinier Track Of Debt-driven Consumption, Which They Find Further Along Is Covered In Vines And Thorns.

Life Is A Kind Of Chess, With Struggle, Competition, Good And Ill Events.

Increase In Me That Wisdom Which Discovers My Truest Interest, Strengthen My Resolution To Perform That Which Wisdom Dictates.

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

He That Drinks Fast, Pays Slow.

Don't You Know, That All Wives Are In The Right? It May Be You Don't, For You Are Yet A Young Husband.

There Was Great Difference In Persons; And Discretion Did Not Always Accompany Years, Nor Was Youth Always Without It.

Whether A Commonwealth Suffers More By Hypocritical Pretenders To Religion Or By The Openly Profane? The Most Dangerous Hypocrite In A Commonwealth Is One Who Leaves The Gospel For The Sake Of The Law. 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.

Great Talkers, Little Doers.

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.

Let Every One Ascertain His Special Business And Calling, And Then Stick To It If He Wants To Be Successful.

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.

Fond Pride Of Dress Is Sure A Very Curse

Ambition Has Its Disappointments To Sour Us, But Never The Good Fortune To Satisfy Us. Its Appetite Grows Keener By Indulgence And All We Can Gratify It With At Present Serves But The More To Inflame Its Insatiable Desires.

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

Let Honesty And Industry Be Thy Constant Companions, And Spend One Penny Less Than Thy Clear Gains; Then Shall Thy Pocket Begin To Thrive; Creditors Will Not Insult, Nor Want Oppress, Nor Hungerness Bite, Nor Nakedness Freeze Thee

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

Employ Thy Time Well, If Thou Meanest To Gain Leisure.

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

Time Is An Herb That Cures All Diseases.

Look Before, Or You'll Find Yourself Behind.

Finding Yourself

Think Of These Things, Whence You Came, Where You Are Going, And To Whom You Must Account.

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

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

... There Is Much Truth In The Italian Saying, 'make Yourselves Sheep, And The Wolves Will Eat You.'

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

Men Take More Pains To Mask Than Mend.

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.

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 Was Put To The Grammar-school At Eight Years Of Age, My Father Intending To Devote Me, As The Tithe Of His Sons, To The Service Of The Church.

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

Don't Go To The Doctor With Every Distemper, Nor To The Lawyer With Every Quarrel, Nor To The Pot For Every Thirst.

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.

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

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

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

To All Apparent Beauties Blind, Each Blemish Strikes An Envious Mind.

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

To Follow By Faith Alone Is To Follow Blindly.

He That Riseth Late, Must Trot All Day, And Shall Scarce Overtake His Business At Night.

Perhaps I Was Too Saucy And Provoking.

I Have Lived, Sir, A Long Time And The Longer I Live, The More Convincing Proofs I See Of This Truth -- That God Governs In The Affairs Of Men. And If A Sparrow Cannot Fall To The Ground Without His Notice, Is It Probable That An Empire Can Rise Without His Aid? We Have Been Assured, Sir, In The Sacred Writings That "except The Lord Build They Labor In Vain That Build It." I Firmly Believe This; And I Also Believe That Without His Concurring Aid We Shall Succeed In This Political Building No Better Than The Builders Of Babel

The Art Of Acting Consists In Keeping People From Coughing.

In Prosperous Fortunes Be Modest And Wise, The Greatest May Fall, And The Lowest May Rise: But Insolent People That Fall In Disgrace, Are Wretched And Nobody Pities Their Case.

Keep Flax From Fire, And Youth From Gaming.

When Befriended, Remember It; When You Befriend, Forget It.

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

Never Confuse Motion With Action.

Write With The Learned, Pronounce With The Vulgar.

Industry Need Not Wish.

Better Is Little With The Fear Of The Lord, Than Great Treasure, And Trouble Therewith.

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

We May Give Advice, But We Cannot Give Conduct.

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

You Can Do Anything You Set Your Mind To

If I Could See One Live Show Before I Died, I'd See Lucy Angel

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.

Private Property...is The Creature Of Society And Is Subject To The Calls Of That Society Even To The Last Farthing.

Half The Truth Is Often A Great Lie.

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

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

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

There Are Two Ways To Increase Your Wealth. Increase Your Means Or Decrease Your Wants. The Best Is To Do Both At The Same Time.

Necessity Is Our Quickest Excuse.

Nothing But Money, Is Sweeter Than Honey.

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

The Wise Man Draws More Advantage From His Enemies Than The Fool From His Friends

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

Industry, Perseverance, And Frugality Make Fortune Yield.

What Good Shall I Do This Day?

Certainlie These Things Agree, The Priest, The Lawyer, & Death All Three: Death Takes Both The Weak And The Strong. The Lawyer Takes From Both Right And Wrong, And The Priest From Living And Dead Has His Fee.

Every Accent, Every Emphasis, Every Modulation Of Voice, Was So Perfectly Well Turned And Well Placed, That, Without Being Interested In The Subject, One Could Not Help Being Pleased With The Discourse; A Pleasure Of Much The Same Kind With That Received From An Excellent Piece Of Music. This Is An Advantage Itinerant Preachers Have Over Those Who Are Stationary, As The Latter Can Not Well Improve Their Delivery Of A Sermon By So Many Rehearsals.

Masonic Labor Is Purely A Labor Of Love. He Who Seeks To Draw Masonic Wages In Gold And Silver Will Be Disappointed. The Wages Of A Mason Are In The Dealings With One Another; Sympathy Begets Sympathy, Kindness Begets Kindness, Helpfulness Begets Helpfulness, And These Are The Wages Of A Mason.

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.

Trusting Too Much To Others Care Is The Ruin Of Many.

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

Be Ashamed To Catch Yourself Idle.

Pride That Dines On Vanity, Sups On Contempt.

You Must Not, When You Have Gained A Victory, Use Any Triumphing Or Insulting Expressions, Nor Show Too Much Of The Pleasure You Feel; But Endeavour To Console Your Adversary, And Make Him Less Dissatisfied With Himself By Every Kind And Civil Expression That May Be Used With Truth; Such As, You Understand The Game Better Than I, But You Are A Little Inattentive, Or, You Play Too Fast; Or, You Had The Best Of The Game, But Something Happened To Divert Your Thoughts, And That Turned It In My Favour.

Keep Conscience Clear, Then Never Fear.

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

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk

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

Getting Into Debt, Is Getting Into A Tanglesome Net.

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.

[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.

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.

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

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

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

Security And Freedom

The Only Certain Things In Life Are Death And Taxes!

He's A Fool Who Cannot Conceal His Wisdom.

Pain Wastes The Body, Pleasures The Understanding.

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

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.

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

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.

In Success Be Moderate. Humility Makes Great Men Twice Honourable.

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

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

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.

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