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Benjamin Franklin is one of many bright intellects from the annals of history.
A writer, athlete, scientist, diplomat, statesman, and philosopher. There’s probably no area of life that went unexplored by this man. His quotes are famous to this day, and his contribution to history is known across the world.
Today, we’ll be taking a deep dive into the man himself and sharing the best Benjamin Franklin quotes so you can learn some of his wisdom.
Timeless Wisdom in Benjamin Franklin Quotes
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 6th, 1706 (New Style dating). He had 16 siblings, and his father wanted him to join the clergy. However, he could only afford two years of schooling for a younger Benjamin Franklin at grammar school.
In spite of only two years of formal education, Benjamin Franklin began a lifelong love of reading and taught himself a range of topics. In many ways, he’s a very real example of what you can achieve on your own with effort.
His inventions included a special stove that allowed people to heat their homes using less wood, swimming fins, and bifocal glasses.
He was a very skilled swimmer and in his later years became a weight lifter.
It’s safe to say that Ben Franklin didn’t let anything hold him back and embodied the ideas behind the growth mindset.
He was a prolific writer and his most well-known work is Poor Richard’s Almanack. It could be argued that for all of Benjamin Franklin’s achievements, it’s his ideas, attitude, and approach to life that endure today.
There is much we can learn from him and his quotes to foster success in our lives, so as the man himself would say “Reading makes a full man.”
77 Benjamin Franklin Quotes on Habits, Success, and Life
- “Since thou are not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour.”
- “There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one’s self.”
- “Wish not so much to live long as to live well.”
- “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
- “We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!”
- “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing” .
- “He that hath a trade hath an estate; he that hath a calling hath an office of profit and honor.”
- “It is better to take many Injuries than to give one.”
- “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
- “When you’re good to others, you’re best to yourself.”
- “The person who deserves most pity is a lonesome one on a rainy day who doesn't know how to read.”
The person who deserves most pity is a lonesome one on a rainy day who doesn't know how to read.” – Benjamin Franklin
- “Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
- “Search others for their virtues, thy self for thy vices.”
- “Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75.”
- “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing.”
- “He that composes himself is wiser than he that composes a book.”
- “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
- “Haste makes Waste.”
- “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”
- “What you seem to be, be really.”
- “He who would trade liberty for some temporary security, deserves neither liberty nor security.”
- “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
- “What more valuable than Gold? Diamonds. Than Diamonds? Virtue.”
- “Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
- “The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart.”
- “If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking.”
- “If you want to become rich, never waste your time and money.”
- “Glass, China, and Reputation, are easily crack’d, and never well mended.”
- “Well done is better than well said.”
Well done is better than well said.” – Benjamin Franklin
- “Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor.”
- “A Brother may not be a Friend, but a Friend will always be a Brother.”
- “Never leave till tomorrow which you can do today.”
- “Hide not your Talents, they for Use were made. What’s a Sun-Dial in the shade!”
- “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
- “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”
- “He that speaks much, is much mistaken.”
- “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”
- “Lost time is never found again.”
- “Pardoning the Bad, is injuring the Good.”
- “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
- “You only have the right to pursue happiness; you have to catch it yourself.” – Ben Franklin
- “There are many roads to success, but only one sure road to failure; and that is to try to please everyone else.”
- “To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.”
- “No gains without pains.”
- “For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.”
- “Make yourself sheep and the wolves will eat you.”
- “He that can have patience can have what he will.”
- “A true Friend is the best Possession.”
A true Friend is the best Possession.” – Benjamin Franklin
- “All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move. ”
- “The only thing that is more expensive than education is ignorance.”
- “A good example is the best sermon.”
- “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.”
- “Joy is not in things, it is in us.”
- “Words may show a man’s wit, actions his meaning.”
- “A right Heart exceeds all.”
- “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
- “Life's Tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.”
- “Never ruin an apology with an excuse.”
- “He that would live in peace & at ease, Must not speak all he knows or judge all he sees.”
- “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
- “Little minds think and talk about people. Average minds think and talk about things and actions. Great minds think and talk about ideas.”
- “Those things that hurt, instruct.”
- .“Don’t throw stones at your neighbors, if your own windows are glass.”
- “Fear not death for the sooner we die, the longer we shall be immortal.”
- “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 “.
- “A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.”
A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.” – Benjamin Franklin
- “Look before, or you’ll find yourself behind.”
- “Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.”
- “Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest.”
- “Genius is the ability to hold one's vision steady until it becomes reality.”
- “There never was a good war or a bad peace.”
- “Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom – and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech.”
- “People are best convinced by things they themselves discover.”
- “Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.”
- “Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults.”
- “A false friend and a shadow attend only while the sun shines.”
- “Common sense without education, is better than education without common sense.”
Final Thoughts on Benjamin Franklin Quotes
That brings us to a close. Ben Franklin had a well-deserved reputation for being prudent and wise, there isn’t a much better man to learn the art of wisdom than one of the authors who drafted the Declaration of Independence.
For more post like this, check out these articles:
- 25 Goals All 18-Year Olds Should Set to Become an Adult
- 43 Classic Stoic Philosophy Quotes and Sayings
- 75 Inspirational Champion Quotes to Create a Winning Mindset
Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then watch this free video that details the 7-minute habit for planning your day to focus on what's truly important to you..
Tom Smith is a creative writer with over 6 years of professional experience. He discovered the joy of writing after covering some furniture in his childhood home with graffiti. In later years, he got himself a BA in creative writing and hasn’t looked back. After discovering the power of positive thinking and discovering the spiritual side of life, he believes it's a huge privilege to be able to write about all things personal development.
