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Aphorisms from Benjamin Franklin

Posted by Lewis on October 16, 2003

In Reply to: Aphorisms from Benjamin Franklin posted by TheFallen on October 14, 2003

: : : Can someone explain to me these aphorisms from Benjamin Franklin please:

my tries to do that

: : : 1- Things which hurt, instruct
one can learn from difficult experiences - to quote Nietzsche "That which does not kill us makes us stronger"

: : : 2- There are no ugly loves nor handsome prisons.
beauty can be intrinsic and somebody loving somebody would never consider the object of their love "ugly". a contrary example is that prisons by their design, must be intimidating rather than pleasing to the eye.

: : : 3- To err is human, to repent divine, to persist devilish.
everybody makes mistakes, it is good to regret those mistakes and evil to continue to do wrong

: : : 4- Well done is better than well said.
it is better to walk the walk than talk the talk.

: : : 5- Declaiming against pride is not always a sign of humility.
there are more than one possible explanations for somebody to act or speak humbly.

: : : 6- Necessity never made a good bargain.
when the person with whom you trade knows that you are desperate, you are not going to be given a good deal and probably a bad one.

: : : 7- The worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise.
this is another way of putting the expression 'the wonky/squeaky wheel gets the most attention/makes the most noise' so that somebody
who demands time and makes a fuss is the one who is the least capable of teamwork - necessary perhaps, but a distraction.

: : : 8- What you would seem to be, be really.
This is a combination of 'unto thyself be true' and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). it is an exhortation to avoid deceit/hypocrisy, but it could be interpreted as 'become what you say you are' - which is part of the theory of NLP - that one can succeed by internally verbalising one's situation in the right way - e.g. not I WANT TO BE a writer, but I AM a writer.

: : : 9- What is a butterfly? A caterpillar dressed.
A comment on how the appearance of things can change our attitude towards them. caterpillars become butterflies - they are the same creature whether squat and turgid looking or pretty.

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