Thursday, November 30, 2006
Posted by Tim Tyler
Although publishing decades of Poor Richard’s Almanack, a runaway success, essentially made Ben Franklin financially sound the rest of his life, he never equated riches or property with happiness. Consider this quote:
• “What is without us has no connection with happiness, only so far as the preservation of our lives and health depends upon [...]
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Posted by Tim Tyler
Benjamin Franklin was an original Jack-Of-All-Trades, n his way, a true genius, and in many diverse fields. Consider the following snippet, taken from a letter written by him January 16, 1784, concerning experiments undertaken a month earlier:
• “Where is the prince who can afford so to cover his country with troops for its defence, [...]
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Posted by Tim Tyler
One of the most important things for any human being to understand and accept is: their limitations.
We’re all limited by many factors, and while it is possible to overcome some, being human, we can eliminate all. Benjamin Franklin succeeded in overcoming many obstacles, internal and external, from nurture and nature, and achieved a certain genuine [...]
Monday, November 27, 2006
Posted by Tim Tyler
Most likely not speaking about Thanksgiving, per se, Ben Franklin nevertheless noted in 1742:
• “If thou art dull and heavy after Meat, it’s a sign thou hast exceeded the due Measure; for Meat and Drink ought to refresh the Body, and make it chearful, and not to dull and oppress it.” •
In regard to turkey, [...]
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Posted by Tim Tyler
Although he only had three children of his own, Benjamin Franklin, the fifteenth of seventeen children, was well acquainted with the trials and tribulations of a large family.
Perhaps it was that disparity, however, which caused him to note:
• “He that raises a large family does, indeed, while he lives to observe them, stand a broader [...]
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Posted by Tim Tyler
Today’s quote from Ben Franklin has also been attributed to Thomas Edison. It seems as if both said and/or wrote it, but as with much history, it’s also quite possible the idea first sprang up before either uttered it.
In any event, both men were inventors and tinkerers, and each achieved a rare place in the [...]
Monday, November 20, 2006
Posted by Tim Tyler
Although privileged to attend school for several years, Benjamin Franklin, as most folks living in his day and age, was largely self-taught.
He truly enjoyed learning, and maintained an avid curiosity until the day he died. Perhaps that accounts for his distaste for those who seemed less interested in enlightenment, and for the following quote:
“We are [...]
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Posted by Tim Tyler
Benjamin Franklin was responsible for the first paved street in America, and the first department of sanitation, and the first taxes to pay for sanitation.
Perhaps he was reminded every day of his own words, as he walked along and across many a poorly maintained thoroughfare in his Philadelphia neighborhood:
• “Men take more pains to mask [...]
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Posted by Tim Tyler
Speaking for Franklin, Poor Richard Saunders, in “his” Almanack of 1756, said:
“A change of fortune hurts a wise man no more than a change of the moon.”
Everybody confronts hardships in a lifetime. A lifetime itself, may even qualify as a hardship, depending upon your point of view.
Benjamin Franklin lived a long life, in a harder [...]
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Posted by Tim Tyler
It’s hard to know what Benjamin Franklin actually said during his lifetime, outside his own writings, or those of certain other contemporaries. I’ve always loved the following story, and it is in keeping with the more risqué side of his character:
Ben Franklin was a little stout later in life and it was said that in [...]