Aphorisms by Benjamin Franklin1. love your neighbor, yet don't pull down your hedge.

Be friends with those you are neighbors, but don't tear down all of the barriers. keep some things secret.(even close friends need soem privacy from each other).

2. if a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. an investment in knowledge always pays teh best interest.

you can loose money but not intelligence and in the end knowledge pays off and last longer than money ever could. ( a mind is a terrible thing to waste)

3. three may keep a secret if two of them are dead.

it means ppl cant share secrets, if you want something truely kept a secret dont tell anyone alive.

4. tart words make no freinds; a spoonful of honey will catch mor eflies than a gallon of vinegar.

it is easier to get people to do what you want by being nice than by being mean. Franklin is using sour things as a metaphor for anger and sweet things as a metaphor for kindness and nice actions.  He is saying that nice words and actions are more effective than angry ones.

5. Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked and never well mended. 6. Fish and visitors smell in three days. refers to the dislike of the two. Most people wouldn't

want fish lying around after three days, as it becomes unwelcoming. (Because of the smell.) The term is applied to company' or 'visitors' because most people don't want visitors that long. Visitors start to become fish like because of their overdue stay

7. He that lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas.

He who gets dirty and does something bad or gets revenge on someone they don't like. they will eventually hav karma and it will come back to bite them.

8. one today is worth two tomorrow. It means that we all have today.  It is here with us and something that is definite and guaranteed, tomorrow is just a probability and may never be around for a lot of people. Take the today that you have and use it to the fullest instead of splitting things out over the two or more tomorrows. ( not live for tomorrow.)

9. A truly great man will neither trample on a worm nor sneak to an emperor.

If a person is truly " great", he/she does not have to be cruel or treacherous to one lower, nor does she/he have to be subservient to someone higher in status.

10. a little neglect may breed mischief; for want of a nail teh shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; for want of a horse the rider was lost; for want of the rider the battle was lost. 11. if you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some; he that goes a

borrowing goes a sorrowing. 12. He that composes himself is wiser than he that composes books.

a person that understands himself or herself then manages to control themselves is a lot wiser than a person who drives his ideas home to others through writing.

13. He that is of the opinion that money will do everthing may well be suspected of doing everything for money.14. If a man could have half his wishes, he would double his troubles.

It means that most of what we wish for, we probably don't really need, and would just get us into trouble.( may all your wishes come true is not right.)

15. Tis hard for an empty bag to stand upright. Without substance or worth, a bag will fall, much like man will.

16. A small leak will sink a great ship. A small flaws can spell maylem for great things. Just as a little water dripping into the hold of a ship will eventually fill it up and sink the ship. A little lie may cause a big problem.

17. A plowman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees.

A plowman who is supporting himself financially, even though he's poor, is in a better situation than a gentleman who is in financial trouble. (there is dignity in hard work.)

18. Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterward.

"eyes wide open befor marriage" , means be aware of what that person is before you marry them. "eyes half closed after marriage" , means now that you have made the comintment in life. you have to have understanding an giving now in this. for it to work

19. nothing brings more pain than too much pleasure; nothing more bondage than too much liberty.

if you have nothing but a good time (aka Paris Hilton and the gang) you become a slave to pleasure--a hedonist. You have nothing to offer except your party persona. You're not developing the parts of you that require hard work: intelligence, physical fitness, spiritual awareness. Further, if you have no responsibility, you are chained by leisure. You don't have to get up and do anything--you only do what you want to do, which is a selfish way to live. "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"--if you are truly free from any kind of expectation, you have nothing to ground you and no one to connect with. Absolute freedom means just that--no ties, no possessions, no responsibility, nothing. That kind of liberation means no identity, which is a prison of its own kind.