100+ Inspiring Ben Franklin Quotes for Timeless Wisdom
Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, was not just a political figure, but also a source of timeless wisdom. His quotes encompass a wide range of topics from personal development to community well-being, all infused with his signature wit and practicality. In this compilation, we delve into his most profound sayings across ten distinct themes. Whether you seek inspiration for personal growth, financial wisdom, or a deeper understanding of human nature, Franklin's words offer valuable insights. Dive in to explore his perspectives on life, success, and humanity, and let them inspire your Instagram captions, marketing strategies, or daily reflections.
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."
"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn."
"Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out."
"Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent."
"Half a truth is often a great lie."
"He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money."
"If you would be loved, love and be lovable."
"There are three faithful friends: an old wife, an old dog, and ready money."
"The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our own ignorance."
"Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest."
"Wise men don't need advice. Fools won't take it."
"Lost time is never found again."
"You may delay, but time will not."
"Time is money."
"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of."
"Remember that time is money."
"For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned."
"He that rises late must trot all day."
"Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste."
"The early morning has gold in its mouth."
"Each day spent in idleness is a day stolen from your future."
"Lost time is never found again, and what we call time enough always proves little enough."
"To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions."
"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning."
"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."
"Energy and persistence conquer all things."
"Well done is better than well said."
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."
"Distrust and caution are the parents of security."
"When you're finished changing, you're finished."
"He that can have patience can have what he will."
"Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes."
"The noblest question in the world is 'What Good may I do in it?' "
"When in doubt, don't."
"Doing your best means never stop trying."
"Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead."
"Human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day."
"Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship."
"He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals."
"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man."
"There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know oneself."
"Most people return small favors, acknowledge medium ones and repay greater ones – with ingratitude."
"A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over."
"In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
"How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them."
"Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame."
"If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins."
"We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing."
"Well done is better than well said."
"Charity begins at home."
"The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."
"A good example is the best sermon."
"It's not what we take, but what we leave, that defines us."
"He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or judge all he sees."
"Set thy character as a seal upon your friends: one engaged in crime, like a disease, contaminates all around him."
"If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some."
"Those who in quarrels interpose, must often wipe a bloody nose."
"Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is."
"As we benefit from the inventions of others, we should be glad to share our own ... freely and gladly."
"If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting."
"A penny saved is a penny earned."
"Rather go to bed without dinner than to rise in debt."
"It is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them."
"Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship."
"It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man."
"Creditors have better memories than debtors."
"Think what you do when you run into debt; you give to another power over your liberty."
"He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing."
"Necessity never made a good bargain."
"When there is so much to be done for yourself and your community, the needless expenses can be your biggest enemy."
"The borrower is a slave to the lender."
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country."
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
"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."
"Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech."
"Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor."
"The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance."
"Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are."
"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
"A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats."
"Security without liberty is called prison."
"If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately."
"The best way to see Faith is to shut the eye of Reason."
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
"Genius without education is like silver in the mine."
"The doors of wisdom are never shut."
"An investment in education always pays the highest interest."
"He that hath a trade hath an estate."
"To educate the wise man is to enrich the world, to educate the average man is to enrich oneself."
"It is only when a man learns to think he is truly free."
"The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all."
"Learning without thought is labor lost."
"To be thrown upon one's own resources is to be cast into the very lap of fortune."
"The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our own ignorance."
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
"Well done is better than well said."
"The way to wealth is as plain as the way to market. It depends chiefly on two words, 'industry' and 'frugality.'
"Employ thy time well if thou meanest to gain leisure."
"Constant dropping wears away stones."
"He that would thrive must rise at five, he that hath thriven may lie till seven."
"Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?"
"Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle."
"The diligent farmer plants trees, of which he himself will never see the fruit."
"Never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today."
"No gains without pains."
"There are no ugly loves, nor handsome prisons."
"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."
"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning."
"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better person."
"He that can have patience can have what he wills."
"A good conscience is a continual Christmas."
"To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions."
"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
"For the best return on your money, pour your purse into your head."
"Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle."
"By failing to prepare, we prepare to fail."
"Genius is the ability to write on one’s own coat-tail."
"He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."
"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."
