Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Benjamin Franklin

Quote by Benjamin Franklin

Work

The Political Thought of Benjamin Franklin

The Political Thought of Benjamin Franklin delves into the intellectual contributions of Franklin, examining his views on democracy, governance, and the role of the individual in society. The book provides an in-depth analysis of Franklin's political theories, drawn from his writings, speeches, and correspondence. more

Author

Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was a prominent figure in American history, serving as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a statesman, scientist, inventor, and writer, born on January 17, 1706, and died on April 17, 1790. Franklin is renowned for his contributions to electricity, his support for the American colonial independence movement, and his successful diplomatic efforts in France. more

You May Also Like

“In the discharge of this trust I will only say that I have, with good intentions, contributed toward the organization and administration of the Government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable.”

GovernmentHuman NatureJudgmentCapableOrganizationIntentionAdministrationGood IntentionsExertionDischarge
Book:Washington's Farewell Address to the People of the United States of America
Create image

“It is a misfortune, inseparable from human affairs, that public measures are rarely investigated with that spirit of moderation which is essential to a just estimate of their real tendency to advance or obstruct the public good; and that this spirit is more apt to be diminished than prompted, by those occasions which require an unusual exercise of it.”

HumansRealSpiritHuman NatureExerciseEssentialsAffairTendenciesOccasionsMisfortunesUnusualModerationInseparablePublic Good
Book:The Federalist: With Letters of Brutus
Create image

“There is in every breast a sensibility to marks of honor, of favor, of esteem, and of confidence, which, apart from all considerations of interest, is some pledge for grateful and benevolent returns. Ingratitude is a common topic of declamation against human nature; and it must be confessed, that instances of it are but too infrequent and flagrant both in public and in private life. But the universal and extreme indignation which it inspires, is itself a proof of the energy and prevalence of the contrary sentiment.”

HumansEnergyInterestCommonHuman NatureInspireReturnHonorUniversalMarkGratefulExtremesProofContraryFavorsEsteemInstanceBreastsConsiderationSentimentsSensibilityTopicsPrivate LifePledgeBenevolentIndignationIngratitudeDeclamation
Book:The Federalist Papers: A Collection of Essays Written in Favour of the New Constitution
Create image

“The history of human conduct does not warrant that exalted opinion of human virtue which would make it wise in a nation to commit interests of so delicate and momentous a kind as those which concern its intercourse with the rest of the world, to the sole disposal of a magistrate, created and circumstanced, as would be a president of the United States.”

WorldHumansKindDoeWarStatesWould BeNationsPresidentInterestUnitedOpinionUnited StatesVirtueWiseHuman NatureConcernCommitDelicateSoleIntercourseExaltedWarrantsMagistrates
Book:The Federalist on the New Constitution
Create image

“I shall not fear to say that the doctrine of self-interest rightly understood seems to me of all the philosophic theories the most appropriate to the needs of men in our time, and that I see in it the most powerful guarantee against themselves that remains to them. The minds of the moralists of our day ought to turn, therefore, principally toward it. Even should they judge it imperfect, they would still have to adopt it as necessary.”

MenNeedsShouldMindStillsSelfSeemsTurnsInterestPowerfulHuman NatureJudgingTheoryOughtUnderstoodRemainsDoctrineOur TimeGuaranteesAppropriateMost PowerfulImperfectSelf InterestPhilosophicMoralist
Author:Alexis de Tocqueville
Create image

“To look for a continuation in harmony between a number of independent unconnected sovereignties, situated in the same neighborhood, would be to disregard the uniform course of human events, and to set at defiance the accumulated experience of ages.”

HumansLooksWould BeAgeCoursesNumbersEventsHuman NatureHarmonyIndependentNeighborhoodUniformsSovereigntyDefianceDisregardContinuation
Book:The Federalist, on the New Constitution, Written in the Year 1788
Create image