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Benjamin Franklin: An American Life - Bilingual quotes that celebrate the beauty of language, showcasing meaningful expressions in two unique perspectives.

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life - Bilingual quotes that celebrate the beauty of language, showcasing meaningful expressions in two unique perspectives.
"Benjamin Franklin: An American Life" by Walter Isaacson provides a comprehensive biography of one of America’s founding figures. Franklin's life is explored from his early days in Boston through his multifaceted career as an inventor, writer, and diplomat. Isaacson delves into Franklin's contributions to science and society, showcasing his famous experiments with electricity and his role in establishing key institutions, such as libraries and fire departments. The book also highlights Franklin's political journey, emphasizing his involvement in colonial politics, his support for independence, and his crucial role in shaping the United States. Isaacson paints a vivid picture of Franklin as a man of the Enlightenment, whose wit and wisdom influenced many aspects of American culture and governance. In addition to his achievements, the biography examines Franklin's personal life, including his complex relationships with family and friends. Isaacson's narrative not only celebrates Franklin's legacy but also provides insights into his character, revealing a man who was both a public figure and a private individual navigating the challenges of his time.
When one has so many different people with different opinions to deal with in a new affair
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
When one has so many different people with different opinions to deal with in a new affair
Reasonable, sensible men can always make a reasonable scheme appear such to other reasonable men.
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
Reasonable, sensible men can always make a reasonable scheme appear such to other reasonable men.
A recurring theme in his autobiography, as well as in his tales and almanacs, was his amusement at man's ability to rationalize what was convenient. At
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
A recurring theme in his autobiography, as well as in his tales and almanacs, was his amusement at man's ability to rationalize what was convenient. At
Truth and sincerity have a certain distinguishing native luster about them which cannot be perfectly counterfeited; they are like fire and flame, that cannot be painted. While
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
Truth and sincerity have a certain distinguishing native luster about them which cannot be perfectly counterfeited; they are like fire and flame, that cannot be painted. While
Franklin would find himself more attracted to people who were practical and reliable rather than dreamy and romantic.
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
Franklin would find himself more attracted to people who were practical and reliable rather than dreamy and romantic.
James was the first great fighter for an independent press in America, and he was the most important journalistic influence on his younger brother. He
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
James was the first great fighter for an independent press in America, and he was the most important journalistic influence on his younger brother. He
he was practical about what he wanted in a wife. Deborah was rather plain, but she offered the prospect of comfort and domesticity.
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
he was practical about what he wanted in a wife. Deborah was rather plain, but she offered the prospect of comfort and domesticity.
Discussions were to be conducted without fondness for dispute or desire of victory. Franklin taught his friends to push their ideas through suggestions and questions, and to use {or at least feign} naïve curiosity to avoid contradicting people in a manner that could give offense. All expressions of positiveness in opinion or of direct contradiction, he recalled, were prohibited under small pecuniary penalties. It was a style he would urge on the Constitutional Convention sixty years later. In
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
Discussions were to be conducted without fondness for dispute or desire of victory. Franklin taught his friends to push their ideas through suggestions and questions, and to use {or at least feign} naïve curiosity to avoid contradicting people in a manner that could give offense. All expressions of positiveness in opinion or of direct contradiction, he recalled, were prohibited under small pecuniary penalties. It was a style he would urge on the Constitutional Convention sixty years later. In
When the fermentation is over and the troubling parts subsided, the wine will be fine and good, and cheer the hearts of those that drink it.41 Franklin was wrong, sadly wrong, about the French Revolution, though he would not live long enough to learn it. Le Veillard would soon lose his life to the guillotine. So would Lavoisier the chemist, who had worked with him on the Mesmer investigation. Condorcet, the economist who had accompanied
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
When the fermentation is over and the troubling parts subsided, the wine will be fine and good, and cheer the hearts of those that drink it.41 Franklin was wrong, sadly wrong, about the French Revolution, though he would not live long enough to learn it. Le Veillard would soon lose his life to the guillotine. So would Lavoisier the chemist, who had worked with him on the Mesmer investigation. Condorcet, the economist who had accompanied
According to a tale recorded by James McHenry of Maryland, he made his point in a pithier way to an anxious lady named Mrs. Powel, who accosted him outside the hall. What type of government, she asked, have you delegates given us? To which he replied, "A republic, madam, if you can keep it."33 The
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
According to a tale recorded by James McHenry of Maryland, he made his point in a pithier way to an anxious lady named Mrs. Powel, who accosted him outside the hall. What type of government, she asked, have you delegates given us? To which he replied, "A republic, madam, if you can keep it."33 The
The great uncertainty I found in metaphysical reasonings disgusted me, and I quitted that kind of reading and study for others more satisfactory. What
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
The great uncertainty I found in metaphysical reasonings disgusted me, and I quitted that kind of reading and study for others more satisfactory. What
This is largely because he felt it was futile to wrestle with theological questions about which he had no empirical evidence and thus no rational basis for forming an opinion. Thunderbolts from heaven were, for him, something to be captured by a kite string and studied. As
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
This is largely because he felt it was futile to wrestle with theological questions about which he had no empirical evidence and thus no rational basis for forming an opinion. Thunderbolts from heaven were, for him, something to be captured by a kite string and studied. As
There is in all humans, however, a desire and a deeply felt duty to worship a more intimate God
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
There is in all humans, however, a desire and a deeply felt duty to worship a more intimate God
As Diderot once quipped, a deist is someone who has not lived long enough to become an atheist.
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
As Diderot once quipped, a deist is someone who has not lived long enough to become an atheist.
when truth has fair play, it will always prevail over falsehood.
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
when truth has fair play, it will always prevail over falsehood.
When nature gave us tears, she gave us leave to weep.34
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
When nature gave us tears, she gave us leave to weep.34
{Franklin and, by extension, the Junto were particularly fond of things that could help the public as well as themselves.}
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
{Franklin and, by extension, the Junto were particularly fond of things that could help the public as well as themselves.}
If you would keep your secret from an enemy, tell it not to a friend. This
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
If you would keep your secret from an enemy, tell it not to a friend. This
Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.24
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.24
He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.14
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.14
Lost time is never found again.27
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
Lost time is never found again.27
Wentworth arrived in Paris in mid-December, just as the Americans were meeting with Vergennes, and sent a missive worthy of a British spy: a gentleman who wished to meet him, it said, could be found the next morning in a coach at a specified place on the road to Passy, or later at an exhibition in the Luxembourg Gallery, or at the public baths on the Seine, where Deane would find a note giving the room number to use. Deane sent a reply worthy of an American: he would be in his office, where he would be happy to see anyone who wanted to come by.
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
Wentworth arrived in Paris in mid-December, just as the Americans were meeting with Vergennes, and sent a missive worthy of a British spy: a gentleman who wished to meet him, it said, could be found the next morning in a coach at a specified place on the road to Passy, or later at an exhibition in the Luxembourg Gallery, or at the public baths on the Seine, where Deane would find a note giving the room number to use. Deane sent a reply worthy of an American: he would be in his office, where he would be happy to see anyone who wanted to come by.
At the official signing of the parchment copy on August 2, John Hancock, the president of the Congress, penned his name with his famous flourish. There must be no pulling different ways, he declared. We must all hang together. According to the early American historian Jared Sparks, Franklin replied, Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
At the official signing of the parchment copy on August 2, John Hancock, the president of the Congress, penned his name with his famous flourish. There must be no pulling different ways, he declared. We must all hang together. According to the early American historian Jared Sparks, Franklin replied, Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.
In fact, these terms devised by Franklin are the ones we still use today, along with other neologisms that he coined to describe his findings: battery, charged, neutral, condense, and conductor.
Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An...
In fact, these terms devised by Franklin are the ones we still use today, along with other neologisms that he coined to describe his findings: battery, charged, neutral, condense, and conductor.
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