Benjamin Franklin > Quotes

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
― Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
― Benjamin Franklin, Memoirs of the life & writings of Benjamin Franklin

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“He that can have patience can have what he will.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“You may delay, but time will not.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned”
― Benjamin Franklin

“In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is Freedom, in water there is bacteria.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Fear not death for the sooner we die, the longer we shall be immortal.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

[misquote of a letter about wine, see quotes/831031]”
― Benjamin Franklin

“How many observe Christ's birthday! How few, His precepts!”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Well done is better than well said.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Hide not your talents, they for use were made,
What's a sundial in the shade?”
― Benjamin Franklin

“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
― Benjamin Franklin, The Way to Wealth: Ben Franklin on Money and Success

“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
― Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack

“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Lost Time is never found again.”
― Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack

“Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle.”
― Ben Franklin

“If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“I am for doing good to the poor, but...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. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.”
― Benjamin Franklin