Monday, January 17, 2005

Franklin on Blockheads

Did Benjamin Franklin, the American statesman  (1706-1790) whose birthday it is today, have intellectuals and other members of the élite in his mind when he said:
A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one.
Other quotations include:
A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats.

A good conscience is a continual Christmas.

A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges.

A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.

A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. There will be sleeping enough in the grave.

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.

A penny saved is a penny earned.

A place for everything, everything in its place.

A small leak can sink a great ship

Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it.

Admiration is the daughter of ignorance.

All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse.

All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.

All who think cannot but see there is a sanction like that of religion which binds us in partnership in the serious work of the world.

Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sun-dial in the shade?

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

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