To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
Benjamin FranklinRead
In going on with these Experiments, how many pretty systems do we build, which we soon find ourselves oblig'd to destroy! If there is no other Use discover'd of Electricity, this, however, is something considerable, that it may help to make a vain Man humble.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Franklin reflects on the inherent challenges of experimentation and the lessons learned from failure.
In this quote, Benjamin Franklin highlights the nature of scientific experimentation, where numerous theories or systems are created, only to be disproven or discarded over time. He suggests that even if electricity does not serve a grand purpose, it has at least the ability to humble those who are vain, emphasizing the unexpected humility that can come from confronting the limitations of one's understanding or pride.
Themes
ExperimentationElectricityHumilityFailureKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a science class to illustrate the learning process in experiments.
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
Find out who you are and be that person. That's what your soul was put on this Earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth and everything else will come.
Ellen DegeneresRead
I cherish the dreams of yesterday and dare not dwell on the err's of my past whose fate has been long decided, and effect I can not change. For the dreams of yesterday are the challenges of today, and the hope for tomorrow.
Mark TwainRead
The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself.
LaoziRead
Learn to see - accustoming the eye to calm, to patience, to letting-things-come-to-it; learning to defer judgment, to encircle and encompass the question on all sides.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Some read for style, and some for argument: one has little care about the sentiment, he observes only how it is expressed; another regards not the conclusion, but is diligent to mark how it is inferred; they read for other purposes than the attainment of practical knowledge; and are no more likely to grow wise by an examination of a treatise of moral prudence, than an architect to inflame his devotion by considering attentively the proportions of a temple.
Samuel JohnsonRead
A thankful person is thankful under all circumstances. A complaining soul complains even in paradise.
Bah'U'LlhRead