BY Table of Contents
Benjamin Franklin was a printer, scientist, satirist, diplomat, and political architect whose fingerprints are all over the founding of the American republic. He signed the Declaration of Independence, helped draft the Constitution, negotiated the alliance with France that won the Revolution, and still found time to invent bifocals and map the Gulf Stream. No other Founding Father came close to that range.
These quotes cover the full sweep of Franklin’s mind - from his fierce convictions about liberty and free speech, to his sharp-tongued observations on human nature, to the practical maxims he published year after year in Poor Richard’s Almanack. They hold up because they were forged by a man who tested every idea against experience.
On Liberty, Rights, and Rebellion
“Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.”
- Benjamin Franklin, “Bradshaw’s Epitaph”: a Hoax Attributed to Franklin, 14 December 1775
“God grant that not only the love of liberty but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man may pervade all the nations of the earth, so that a philosopher may set his foot anywhere on its surface and say: This is my country.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin to David Hartley, December 4, 1789
“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.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Actually written by John Webbe in an essay published in Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette, April 1, 1736.
“Our cause is the cause of all mankind…we are fighting for their liberty in defending our own.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin to Samuel Cooper, 1 May 1777
“From a persuasion that equal liberty was originally the portion, it is still the birthright of all men.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Petition from the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery (1790)
“Sell not…liberty to purchase power.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack
“Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania Assembly: Reply to the Governor, 11 November 1755
“Where liberty dwells, there is my country.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin (1706-90) - Bartleby
“Every man…is, of common right, and by the laws of God, a freeman, and entitled to the free enjoyment of liberty.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Reports of Committees of the House of Representatives, 1870-71 (Google Books)
“No nation was ever ruined by trade.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Thoughts on Commercial Subjects (1774)
“Distrust and caution are the parents of security.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1733
“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin. No evidence Franklin ever said this. Earliest attributions date to mid-2000s.
“Security without liberty is called prison.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin. No verified original source in Franklin’s writings.
“A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Quote Investigator found no evidence Franklin used this. First strong match found in 1904, anonymous.
On Free Speech and the Foundation of a Republic
“Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Silence Dogood, No. 8, 9 July 1722
“Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins. Republics…derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates.”
- Benjamin Franklin, On Freedom of Speech and the Press, 17 November 1737
“In those wretched countries where a man cannot call his tongue his own, he can scarce call anything his own. Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech; a thing terrible to publick traytors.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Silence Dogood, No. 8, 9 July 1722
“When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin. No evidence Franklin said this. Earliest known occurrence is 1951.
“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, Apology for Printers, 10 June 1731
“A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1747
“That it is better one hundred guilty persons should escape than that one innocent person should suffer is a maxim that has been long and generally approved.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin, On Privateering and the Sugar Islands (letter to Benjamin Vaughan, March 14, 1785)
“Freedom of speech is ever the symptom as well as the effect of good government.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Silence Dogood, No. 8, 9 July 1722
On Virtue, Morality, and the Character of a Nation
“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin to the Abbes Chalut and Arnaud, April 17, 1787
“I have heard of some great man, whose rule it was, with regard to offices, never to ask for them, and never to refuse them; to which I have always added, in my own practice, never to resign them.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin to Jane Mecom, 30 December 1770
“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard Improved, 1755
“Make yourself sheep and the wolves will eat you.”
- Benjamin Franklin, The Compleated Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
“He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1739
“He that lies down with dogs, shall rise up with fleas.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack
“To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1735
“He that can have patience can have what he will.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1736
“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Quote Origin: Those Who Are Good at Making Excuses - Quote Investigator
“Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue; it is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard Improved, 1758 (The Way to Wealth)
“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard Improved, 1750
On Government, Law, and Public Affairs
“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!”
- Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, November 13, 1789
“It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one tenth part.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard Improved, 1758 (The Way to Wealth)
“The more the people are discontented with the oppression of taxes, the greater the need the prince has of money to distribute among his partisans and pay the troops that are to suppress all resistance and enable him to plunder at pleasure.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Speech at the Constitutional Convention, June 2, 1787 (Dangers of a Salaried Bureaucracy)
“A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One, 11 September 1773
“The first mistake in public business is the going into it.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack
On War, Peace, and Global Perspective
“We are now friends with England and with all mankind. May we never see another war! for in my opinion there never was a good war, or a bad peace.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin to Josiah Quincy Sr., September 11, 1783
“All wars are follies, very expensive and very mischievous ones.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin to Mary Hewson, 27 January 1783
Wit, Satire, and Observations on Society
“A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack
“Love your neighbor, yet don’t pull down your hedge.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack
“A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard, 1734
“Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard, 1738
“The learned fool writes his nonsense in better language than the unlearned, but it is still nonsense.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard Improved, 1754
“He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or judge all he sees.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack
“The ancients tell us what is best; but we must learn of the moderns what is fittest.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard, 1738
“He that drinks fast, pays slow.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack
“The U.S. Constitution doesn’t guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin. No verified original source. The Constitution does not mention “pursuit of happiness” (that is the Declaration of Independence), making the quote anachronistic.
“I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy. The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin to Sarah Bache, 26 January 1784
“Where carcasses are, eagles will gather, And where good laws are, much people flock thither.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard, 1734
“Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard Improved, 1758 (The Way to Wealth)
“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin. No evidence in Franklin Papers. Etymologist Barry Popik found the phrase only dates to approximately 1999.
Personal Improvement and Practical Wisdom
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin’s Famous Quotes - The Franklin Institute
“Tell me, and I forget. Teach me, and I remember. Involve me, and I learn.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Not by Franklin. Believed to originate from a passage in the Xunzi (ancient Chinese philosopher Xun Kuang, 4th century BC).
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Quote Investigator found no evidence Franklin used this. First known match is 1919.
“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin. No verified Franklin source found. Appears in Dictionary of Thoughts (1908) by Tryon Edwards but without clear original attribution.
“Diligence is the mother of good luck.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard Improved, 1758 (The Way to Wealth)
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
- Benjamin Franklin, On Protection of Towns from Fire, 4 February 1735
“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin’s Famous Quotes - The Franklin Institute
“Genius without education is like silver in the mine.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1749
“Well done is better than well said.”
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1737
Final Thoughts
Franklin lived what he preached. He built businesses, shaped a revolution, negotiated with empires, and still found time to write some of the sharpest prose in American history. His words hold up not because they sound good on a coffee mug, but because they come from a man who tested every idea against reality - and had the scars to prove it.
What stands out most about Franklin is the range. He could move from a deadly serious warning about tyranny to a perfectly timed joke about lawyers and cats - and both would land. That versatility is rare in any era, and it is what separates Franklin from the one-note ideologues who came after him.
If you want to go deeper, start with his Autobiography or the letters collected at Founders Online. The man wrote the way he lived - with clarity, purpose, and no wasted words.