To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
Benjamin FranklinRead
As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We should share our inventions generously, just as we benefit from the inventions of others.
This quote by Benjamin Franklin emphasizes the importance of community and reciprocity in innovation. It suggests that while we gain much from the work and inventions of those who came before us, we also have a responsibility to contribute to the welfare of others through our own inventions, doing so with a spirit of generosity and selflessness.
Themes
InventionServiceGenerosityCommunityInnovation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a speech at a technology conference to emphasize the spirit of collaboration in innovation.
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
Similar quotes
It [AI] would take off on its own and redesign itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete and would be superseded.
Stephen HawkingRead
All these social media sites allow us to confuse truth and popularity. That has to be fixed. Because every normal citizen has a right to know what is factual versus what is amplified by good actors or bad actors.
Chamath PalihapitiyaRead
Digital presentation is just television in public; we're all just getting together and watching TV without pointing the remote control at the screen.
Quentin TarantinoRead
The human brain must continue to frame the problems for the electronic machine to solve.
David SarnoffRead
It used to be that we imagined that our mobile phones would be for us to talk to each other. Now, our mobile phones are there to talk to us.
Sherry TurkleRead
The fear isn't that big data discriminates. We already know that it does. It's that you don't know if you've been discriminated against.
Kate CrawfordRead