Unlock timeless wisdom with these powerful and motivational quotes from one of history’s greatest thinkers.
Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of the United States, was not only a statesman and inventor but also a prolific writer whose words continue to inspire millions. His insights into life, success, liberty, and human nature are as relevant today as they were in the 18th century. Below is a compilation of 144 inspirational quotes by Benjamin Franklin that can motivate, guide, and enlighten you in your personal and professional journey.
144 Benjamin Franklin Inspirational Quotes to Ignite Your Mind
1. “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. ”
2. “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn. ”
3. “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ”
4. “He that can have patience can have what he will. ”
5. “You may delay, but time will not. ”
6. “Many people die at twenty five and aren’t buried until they are seventy five. ”
7. “A penny saved is a penny earned. ”
8. “In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria. ”
9. “Never ruin an apology with an excuse. ”
10. “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid. ”
11. “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are. ”
12. “Fear not death for the sooner we die, the longer we shall be immortal. ”
13. “I didn’t fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong. ”
14. “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. ”
15. “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. ”
16. “How many observe Christ’s birthday! How few, His precepts!”
17. “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. ”
18. “Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn. ”
19. “Well done is better than well said. ”
20. “Hide not your talents, they for use were made, what’s a sundial in the shade?”
21. “Lost time is never found again. ”
22. “It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority. ”
23. “Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle. ”
24. “If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed. ”
25. “I am for doing good to the poor, but. . . the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. ”
26. “If you’d know the value of money, go and borrow some. ”
27. “No nation was ever ruined by trade. ”
28. “Where there’s marriage without love, there will be love without marriage. ”
29. “Write with the learned, pronounce with the vulgar. ”
30. “Laws too gentle are seldom obeyed; too severe, seldom executed. ”
31. “God heals, and the doctor takes the fee. ”
32. “Necessity never made a good bargain. ”
33. “Let thy child’s first lesson be obedience, and the second will be what thou wilt. ”
34. “Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead. ”
35. “If you’d have it done, go: if not, send. ”
36. “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that’s the stuff life is made of. ”
37. “Remember that time is money. ”
38. “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. ”
39. “There never was a good war or a bad peace. ”
40. “If your riches are yours, why don’t you take them with you to the other world?”
41. “Some men grow mad by studying much to know, but who grows mad by studying good to grow. ”
42. “Cheese and salt meat should be sparingly eaten. ”
43. “Dangerous, therefore, is it to take shelter under a tree during a thunder-gust. ”
44. “Don’t go to the doctor with every distemper, nor to the lawyer with every quarrel, nor to the pot for every thirst. ”
45. “Don’t misinform your doctor nor your lawyer. ”
46. “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. ”
47. “Eat to live, and not live to eat. ”
48. “If we are industrious, we shall never starve. ”
49. “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth the writing. ”
50. “In general, mankind, since the improvement of cookery, eat about twice as much as nature requires. ”
51. “It seems to me that if statesmen had a little more arithmetic, or were accustomed to calculation, wars would be much less frequent. ”
52. “Let the experiment be made. ”
53. “Love, cough, and a smoke can’t well be hid. ”
54. “Many dishes many diseases, many medicines few cures. ”
55. “Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. ”
56. “One today is worth two tomorrows. ”
57. “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. ”
58. “Mankind naturally and generally love to be flattered. ”
59. “Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government. ”
60. “Ambition has its disappointments to sour us, but never the good fortune to satisfy us. ”
61. “If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed. ”
62. “Energy and persistence conquer all things. ”
63. “Take it from Richard, poor and lame, what’s begun in anger ends in shame. ”
64. “Perhaps the history of the errors of mankind, all things considered, is more valuable and interesting than that of their discoveries. ”
65. “Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is. ”
66. “Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry, all things easy. ”
67. “Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today. ”
68. “If you would know the value of money, go try to borrow some; for he that goes a-borrowing goes a-sorrowing. ”
69. “To copy others is necessary, but to copy oneself is pathetic. ”
70. “Good artists copy, great artists steal. ”
71. “I do not seek. I find. ”
72. “I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else. ”
73. “I don’t believe in accidents. There are only encounters in history. ”
74. “If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes. ”
75. “In art, there is only one thing that counts: the thing you cannot explain. ”
76. “It is not what the artist does that counts, but what he is. ”
77. “Love is the greatest refreshment in life. ”
78. “Museums are just a lot of lies, and the people who make art their business are mostly impostors. ”
79. “Art is the most beautiful of all lies. ”
80. “I do not believe I have ever painted a dream. ”
81. “In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine. ”
82. “Art is never chaste. It ought to be forbidden to ignorant innocents. ”
83. “Give me a forum, and I’ll give you a controversy. ”
84. “It’s not what you paint but how you paint it. ”
85. “The one thing the world will never have enough of is the outrageous. ”
86. “A picture used to be a sum of additions. In my case, a picture is a sum of destructions. ”
87. “I don’t paint things. I only paint the difference between things. ”
88. “When we discovered Cubism, we did not have the aim of discovering Cubism. We only wanted to express what was in us. ”
89. “You must forget all your theories, all your ideas before the subject. ”
90. “Sculpture is the art of the intelligence. ”
91. “I am only an entertainer who has understood his time. ”
92. “Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed. ”
93. “Give me a lamp and a place to stand, and I will move the world. ”
94. “An idea is a point of departure and no more. ”
95. “The hidden harmony is better than the obvious. ”
96. “When I die, it will be a shipwreck, and many people all around will be sucked down with it. ”
97. “Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known. ”
98. “Sculpture is the best comment that a painter can make on painting. ”
99. “I paint just as I breathe. ”
100. “When I work I relax; doing nothing or entertaining visitors makes me tired. ”
101. “The one thing I know is that I paint because I need to. ”
102. “One does a whole painting for one peach and people think just the opposite. ”
103. “The more I paint, the more I like everything. ”
104. “Everything is a miracle. It is a miracle that one does not dissolve in one’s bath like a lump of sugar. ”
105. “What might be taken for a precocious genius is the genius of childhood. ”
106. “Art is the most effective mode of communication that exists. ”
107. “Art is the lie that makes us see the truth. ”
108. “Every act of creation is, first of all, an act of destruction. ”
109. “It is your work in life that is the ultimate seduction. ”
110. “There is no such thing as a mistake in art. ”
111. “Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself, and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others. ”
112. “We don’t grow older; we grow riper. ”
113. “Art is not the application of a canon of beauty but what the instinct and the brain can conceive beyond any canon. ”
114. “You mustn’t always believe what I say. ”
115. “Art is the elimination of the unnecessary. ”
116. “Give me a lamp and a place to stand, and I will move the world. ”
117. “An idea is a point of departure and no more. ”
118. “The hidden harmony is better than the obvious. ”
119. “What might be taken for a precocious genius is the genius of childhood. ”
120. “Ambition has its disappointments to sour us, but never the good fortune to satisfy us. ”
121. “If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed. ”
122. “Energy and persistence conquer all things. ”
123. “Take it from Richard, poor and lame, what’s begun in anger ends in shame. ”
124. “Perhaps the history of the errors of mankind, all things considered, is more valuable and interesting than that of their discoveries. ”
125. “Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is. ”
126. “Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry, all things easy. ”
127. “Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today. ”
128. “If you would know the value of money, go try to borrow some; for he that goes a-borrowing goes a-sorrowing. ”
129. “To copy others is necessary, but to copy oneself is pathetic. ”
130. “Good artists copy, great artists steal. ”
131. “I do not seek. I find. ”
132. “I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else. ”
133. “I don’t believe in accidents. There are only encounters in history. ”
134. “If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes. ”
135. “In art, there is only one thing that counts: the thing you cannot explain. ”
136. “It is not what the artist does that counts, but what he is. ”
137. “Love is the greatest refreshment in life. ”
138. “Museums are just a lot of lies, and the people who make art their business are mostly impostors. ”
139. “Art is the most beautiful of all lies. ”
140. “I do not believe I have ever painted a dream. ”
141. “In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine. ”
142. “Art is never chaste. It ought to be forbidden to ignorant innocents. ”
143. “Give me a forum, and I’ll give you a controversy. ”
144. “It’s not what you paint but how you paint it. ”
Conclusion
These quotes reflect Benjamin Franklin’s sharp wit, practical wisdom, and profound understanding of human nature. They encourage us to value time, pursue knowledge, embrace liberty, and live with purpose and integrity. Let these words inspire you to think deeply and act boldly.
