To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
Benjamin FranklinRead
The sleeping fox catches no poultry.
Interpretation
What this quote means
One must take initiative to achieve results; waiting will yield no rewards.
This quote by Benjamin Franklin emphasizes the importance of being proactive rather than passive. Just as a sleeping fox cannot catch poultry, individuals who do not take action will miss opportunities and not achieve their goals. It serves as a reminder that success often requires effort, vigilance, and a willingness to act.
Themes
InitiativeActionSuccessOpportunityProactive
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech to encourage students to pursue their dreams.
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
You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then - to learn.
T. H. WhiteRead
Teach me to treat all that comes to me with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Your will governs all.
Elisabeth ElliotRead
People intoxicate themselves with work so they won't see how they really are.
Aldous HuxleyRead
True humility does not know that it is humble. If it did, it would be proud from the contemplation of so fine a virtue.
Martin LutherRead
I want to think quietly, calmly, spaciously, never to be interrupted, never to have to rise from my chair, to slip easily from one thing to another, without any sense of hostility, or obstacle. I want to sink deeper and deeper, away from the surface, with its hard separate facts.
Virginia WoolfRead
Confidence is highly overrated when it comes to creating literature. A writer who is overly confident will not engage in the struggle to get it exactly right on the page - but rather, will assume that she's getting it right without the struggle.
Dani ShapiroRead