To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
Benjamin FranklinRead
Everybody's human-everybody makes mistakes. If you laugh it off and keep going and try to give it your best the next time around, people respect that.
Interpretation
Acknowledging human fallibility allows for growth and earns respect from others.
This quote by Benjamin Franklin highlights the universal truth that everyone makes mistakes. Instead of dwelling on these errors, he advocates for a light-hearted approach that emphasizes resilience and the importance of trying your best in future endeavors, suggesting that such an attitude earns the respect of others.
In practice
In a motivational speech to encourage students to embrace their failures.
To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
He'll cheat without scruple, who can without fear.
[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.
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.
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
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.
If I experiment enough, I get a deeper understanding.
Silence is an answer to a wise man.
I know nothing, because I know too much, and understand not nearly enough and never will.
The secret of fortune is joy in our hands. Welcome evermore to gods and men is the self-helping man. For him all doors are flung wide. Him all tongues greet, all honors crown, all eyes follow with desire. Our love goes out to him and embraces him because he did not need it.
Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.
Fools!" said the man, stamping his foot with rage. "That is the sort of talk that brought me here, and I'd better have been drowned or never born. Do you hear what I say? This is where dreams β dreams, do you understand β come to life, come real. Not daydreams: dreams.
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