Famous painting of Benjamin Franklin by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis, circa 1785
Benjamin Franklin - January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705] – April 17, 1790)
I might have used the image of Benjamin Franklin from the American $100 bills, but I'm...uh, well, a bit short of that, at the moment.
So, I had to find this image on the web, and use it here.
When I was a kid, my grandfather had a stamp collection, and it was through his stamp collection that my first real lasting impressions of many of America's Founding Fathers, and especially for Benjamin Franklin.
Why? Because Franklin is featured on many early American stamps. He also was one of the men quoted on the Credo stamps. This was the quote used on that:
"Fear to do ill and you need fear Nought else."
My grandfather also had this special brown 1975 Postal Service Bicentennial Commemorative Stamp and Coin booklet with a First Day Cover honoring the first postmaster of the newly founded American postal service: Benjamin Franklin. I absolutely loved that one, and felt that it added incredible depth to his stamp collection.
Yes, it was through all of this that I learned some things about Franklin. Early on in my life, I knew really just a few things about Franklin, the actual man. That included that he was the first ever postmaster general (see the above paragraph). But I also knew that he has written some witty thing in his Poor Richard's Almanack, that he was a patriot and a Founding Father who had traveled to France and been instrumental in getting that superpower of the time to help the thirteen colonies in their struggles with the leading superpower of the age. I also knew, as almost everyone does, that Franklin had helped to discover electricity by flying a kite with a metal key attached during a thunderstorm. And, of course, he is portrayed on the American $100 bill, as well as some early version of the half dollar. It is probably safe to assume that those were pretty much the standard things that most people know about Franklin.
Indeed, once older, I discovered that there were just so many more things that could Franklin did and was. Just like with Thomas Jefferson, Franklin was a man of many talents and hats. According to his Wikepedia page, Franklin:
"was an American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among other inventions. He founded many civic organizations, including the Library Company, Philadelphia's first fire department and the University of Pennsylvania.
"Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, initially as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies. As the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation. Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment. In the words of historian Henry Steele Commager, "In a Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat." To Walter Isaacson, this makes Franklin "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become."
"Exhibition Label Benjamin Franklin, in his day the most famous American in the world, was renowned for his scientific accomplishments as much as for his political and diplomatic triumphs. Known as a "natural philosopher," as scientists were termed in the eighteenth century, Franklin was celebrated for his experiments with electricity, but he also conducted experiments in other areas and invented devices as varied as a stove and bifocal eyeglasses. He also reorganized and expanded the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia and was often the conduit for correspondence between Americans and Europeans who were studying botany, chemistry, physics, and other sciences. By the mid-1780s, when this portrait was created, Franklin was representing the new republic in France, where he was revered for his wit and scientific knowledge."
Not bad, eh? A life well-lived, I would say!
There were times when I was a kid, and even into adulthood (even these days, if I am being honest), when I feel a bit of despair upon comparing some of the great figures and leaders who represented the United States so well at it's inception. Franklin and Jefferson were only the brightest of the luminaries, but there were others. When you compare them with what we have had in recent decades, and particularly the so-called leadership that currently resides in the White House, it can be downright depressing. The colonists were the thirteen colonies were thought to be more or less simpletons from the rural backwaters, but Franklin's wit and physical simplicity (he refused to wear a wig), as well as how he conducted himself and his clear wealth of knowledge as a true learned man of the Enlightenment, clearly made the right kind of impression. Indeed, that was how Franklin became the most famous American in the world, and allowed the emerging nation to punch harder than it's weight in many ways. Nor was he alone. When you compare these men, who risked everything for a cause that was greater than themselves as individuals, to the man who now is the face and voice of the nation, who despises reading and thinks that he knows everything, and who cares about nothing but himself, it can be downright depressing.
But in some respects, it also makes you all the more impressed that figures like this really did exist hundreds of years ago, and helped to shape the world that would come. I also still take pleasure in remembering that history, and feel that it can also still serve as a beacon of hope for better times. If they rose above mediocre circumstances to help create a better world, why can't we?
And so, it is in that spirit that I dedicate this post to one of the most iconic Americans in history, and share some of my favorite quotes from him here. If Benjamin Franklin had not died, he would be 313 years old today! Happy Birthday, Ben!
On Life in General:
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
“He that can have patience can have what he will.”
“Well done is better than well said.”
“Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.”
“The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart.”
“When you're testing to see how deep water is, never use two feet.”
“Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle.”
“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.”
“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.”
“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
“Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.”
On Finances:
“A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned”
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
On Learning:
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” ― Benjamin Franklin tags: inspirational 311 likes Like “Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society.”
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
“The person who deserves most pity is a lonesome one on a rainy day who doesn't know how to read.”
“Hide not your talents, they for use were made, What's a sundial in the shade?”
“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.”
“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
On Aging and Death:
“Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five.”
“Fear not death for the sooner we die, the longer we shall be immortal.”
“Lost Time is never found again.”
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.”
“Life biggest tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late”
“...but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
Political Quotes That are Still Relevant:
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”
“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.”
“The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”
“In the Affairs of this World Men are saved, not by Faith, but by the Lack of it.”
“If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.”
“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.”
“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Quotes taken from:
Goodreads Benjamin Franklin Quotes Page:
Franklin Wikemedia page:
Franklin Wikipedia page:
In the spirit of the often cheeky Benjamin Franklin, I thought that this modern day take on how Franklin handled haters was appropriate for this occasion. Please take a look!
The Benjamin Franklin Effect: The Surprising Psychology of How to Handle Haters “He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.” BY MARIA POPOVA:
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