Enlightenment

Benjamin Franklin

1706–1790

Printer, then founder

Poor Richard made him sound like a proverb machine, which he partly was, on purpose. The liberty sentence is from a letter and is more conditional than the plaques. He knew the difference between a maxim and a warning.

In the canon

Well done is better than well said.Poor Richard’s Almanack
Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.Reply to the Governor of Pennsylvania
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.Poor Richard’s Almanack

All voices