To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
Benjamin FranklinRead
I have found Christian dogma unintelligible. Early in life, I absenteed myself from Christian assemblies.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Benjamin Franklin expresses his confusion and disconnection from Christian beliefs and practices.
In this quote, Benjamin Franklin articulates his struggle to comprehend Christian dogma, leading him to withdraw from religious gatherings. This reflects a broader theme of questioning established beliefs and seeking personal understanding and truth, indicating a preference for reason and enlightenment over traditional faith.
Themes
ChristianityDogmaBeliefPhilosophyTruth
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the importance of questioning traditional beliefs.
More from Benjamin Franklin
All quotes βHe'll cheat without scruple, who can without fear.
Benjamin FranklinRead
[E]very Man who comes among us, and takes up a piece of Land, becomes a Citizen, and by our Constitution has a Voice in Elections, and a share in the Government of the Country.
Benjamin FranklinRead
Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
Benjamin FranklinRead
Let honesty and industry be thy constant companions, and spend one penny less than thy clear gains; then shall thy pocket begin to thrive; creditors will not insult, nor want oppress, nor hungerness bite, nor nakedness freeze thee
Benjamin FranklinRead
I think that a young state, like a young virgin, should modestly stay at home, and wait the application of suitors for an alliance with her; and not run about offering her amity to all the world; and hazarding their refusal. Our virgin is a jolly one; and tho at present not very rich, will in time be a great fortune, and where she has a favorable predisposition, it seems to me well worth cultivating.
Benjamin FranklinRead
Similar quotes
Anything important is never left to the vote of the people. We only get to vote on some man; we never get to vote on what he is to do.
Will RogersRead
Socialism has never and nowhere been at first a working-class movement.
Friedrich August Von HayekRead
I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a good Buddhist, a good Shintoist, a good Zoroastrian, a good friend, a good lover, a good mother, a good buddy: it's serious business.
Maya AngelouRead
Now therefore, that my mind is free from all cares, and that I have obtained for myself assured leisure in peaceful solitude, I shall apply myself seriously and freely to the general destruction of all my former opinions.
Rene DescartesRead
It's true that Paris is made up of equal parts of social conservatism and anarchic experimentation, but foreigners never quite know where to place the moral accent mark.
Edmund WhiteRead
The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.
Leo TolstoyRead