A Few Quotes from Benjamin Franklin

The man was wise beyond limits:

Life’s Tragedy is that we get old to soon and wise too late.

Who is wise? He that learns from everyone. Who is powerful? He that governs his passions. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

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.

We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.

Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don’t have brains enough to be honest.

Half a truth is often a great lie.

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One quote from ‘genome informatician’ Ewan Birney, who is a ‘Benjamin Franklin’ prize winner !!

We use the bigger number because it brings home the impact of this work to a much wider audience. But we are in fact using an accurate, well-defined figure when we say that 80% of the genome has specific biological activity.

Q. Whatever you love having this high-profile publication.

A. Of course I like the publications! Publications are the best way for scientists to communicate with each other, to explain key aspects of the data and draw some conclusions from them.

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Franklin responds:

A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one.

It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.

How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them.

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Franklin finishes with two messages. One hopeful one:

The doors of wisdom are never shut.

and one less so:

He that won’t be counseled can’t be helped.