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Quote by Benjamin Franklin

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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

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“Aku tak tahu mengapa hari-hari ini aku begitu sering tersentuh. Oleh pohon, oleh, burung, air sungai. Entah mengapa, hal-hal kecil yang memikat yang pernah diajarkan kepada kita, ketika kita mendekat kepada mereka, mereka tampak begitu besar, nyaris suci. Memang melo-dramatis rasanya mengatakan ini semua tetapi aku tak mengada-ada. Kami tahu aku bukan orang yang religius; dulu aku malah suka menegaskan diri bahwa aku tak beragama justru agar para sejawatku tak mengusikku. Tetapi akhir-akhir ini aku merasa, berteduh dalam kesendirian juga pengalaman religius.”

“And even if you were in some prison the walls of which let none of the sounds of the world come to your senses—would you not then still have your childhood, that precious, kingly possession, that treasure-house of memories? Turn your attention thither. Try to raise the submerged sensations of that ample past; your personality will grow more firm, your solitude will widen and will become a dusky dwelling past which the noise of others goes by far away.”

“Imagine being given the opportunity to take time out of your life, for five whole years. Free of social obligations, free of work commitments. Think how well you would get to know yourself, all that time to consider your past and the choices you had made, to focus on your personal development, to know yourself through and through, to work out your goals in life, your true ambitions. None of this happened, not to me. Perhaps for someone else it would have been different. Any insight I have gained has been the result of later reflection. Solitude did not breed introspection, quite the reverse. My days were spent outside, immersed in nature, watching.”