To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
Benjamin FranklinRead
The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Happiness is a pursuit that requires personal effort rather than just a right granted by law.
This quote by Benjamin Franklin emphasizes that while the Constitution provides individuals with the opportunity to seek happiness, it ultimately depends on personal initiative to actually attain it. Franklin is asserting that happiness is not something that can be handed over or guaranteed; rather, it requires active engagement and effort from each individual to realize their own joy and fulfillment in life.
Themes
HappinessPursuitEffortInitiativeFreedom
In practice
Example use cases
When discussing the importance of self-motivation during a motivational speech.
More from Benjamin Franklin
All quotes →He'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
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[Happiness is] a ghost, it’s a shadow. You can’t really chase it. It’s a by-product, a very pleasant side effect to a life lived well.
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I feel nothing but the accursed happiness I have dreaded all my life long: the happiness that comes as life goes, the happiness of yielding and dreaming instead of resisting and doing, the sweetness of the fruit that is going rotten.
George Bernard ShawRead