To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
Benjamin FranklinRead
Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Lighthouses provide guidance in difficult times, whereas churches offer spiritual support, implying practical assistance is more valuable in certain contexts.
Benjamin Franklin's quote emphasizes the idea that tangible guidance and support in times of need—represented by lighthouses—can be more beneficial than spiritual guidance or moral teachings offered by churches. It suggests that in moments of crisis or uncertainty, the need for practical help and direction takes precedence over abstract beliefs or doctrines.
Themes
GuidanceSupportPracticalitySpiritualityHelpfulness
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about community service, I might say, 'Remember, lighthouses are more helpful than churches, as we need to provide real guidance to those in need.'
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
I love order. It's my dream. A world where all would be silent and still, and each thing in its last place, under the last dust.
Samuel BeckettRead
I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.
Thomas MertonRead
I am not a theologian or a scholar, but I am very aware of the fact that pain is necessary to all of us. In my own life, I think I can honestly say that out of the deepest pain has come the strongest conviction of the presence of God and the love of God.
Elisabeth ElliotRead
The self-styled practical man of affairs who pooh-poohs philosophy as a lot of windy notions is himself a pragmatist or a positivist, and a bad one at that, since he has given no thought to his position.
Alan WattsRead
Amor Fati – “Love Your Fate”, which is in fact your life.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Man's ideal state is realized when he has fulfilled the purpose for which he is born. And what is it that reason demands of him? Something very easy-that he live in accordance with his own nature.
Seneca The YoungerRead