Source identified1
Image design Botanical Sage
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“Well done is better than well said.”
Meaning & context
Franklin gives execution priority over impressive promises or intentions.
Source details
Poor Richard’s Almanack.
Author & topic collection
Benjamin Franklin Quotes About Decision
Browse 9 quotations connecting Benjamin Franklin with Decision, with meanings, source notes and related themes.
Sources
Where these decision quotations appear
Sources represented here include The Way to Wealth, The Morals of Chess, Poor Richard’s Almanack.
9 shown
Quotations
9 matching quotations with meanings and source context
Source identified2
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“Creditors have better memories than debtors.”
Meaning & context
Debt can feel less urgent to the borrower than to the person awaiting repayment, making the line a dry reminder about financial obligations and accountability.
Source details
Poor Richard’s Almanack for 1736; Franklin uses a short contrast to emphasize the persistence of financial obligations.
Source identified3
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“If your adversary is long in playing, you ought not to hurry him.”
Meaning & context
Franklin makes patience part of fair competition, arguing that disturbing an opponent’s concentration displays rudeness or craft rather than genuine skill.
Source details
Benjamin Franklin, The Morals of Chess, rule 4 in the reviewed public-domain Wikisource transcription. Franklin tells a player not to hurry or distract a slow opponent and immediately lists singing, whistling, watch-checking, reading and tapping as examples; the passage is historical conduct advice about fair play.
Source identified4
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“moderate your desire of victory over your adversary, and be pleased with one over yourself.”
Meaning & context
Franklin shifts the measure of victory from exploiting another player’s mistakes toward self-command, generosity and the ability to restrain one’s own competitive appetite.
Source details
The Morals of Chess; Founders Online authoritative Franklin Papers text. The wording begins mid-sentence after Franklin’s condition that the game is not being played rigorously; source context is preserved here.
Source identified5
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“No false move should ever be made to extricate yourself out of a difficulty, or to gain an advantage.”
Meaning & context
Franklin uses a rule of fair chess play as an ethical analogy: escaping difficulty through deception destroys trust and turns apparent advantage into unfair conduct.
Source details
Benjamin Franklin, The Morals of Chess, rule 3 in the reviewed public-domain Wikisource transcription. 'No false move should ever be made...' appears in Franklin's etiquette for fair play and functions as an ethical analogy about honesty in competition, not game-theory or behavioral-science evidence.
Source identified6
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“At a great pennyworth pause a while.”
Meaning & context
An unusually cheap offer deserves scrutiny because apparent savings can still produce a bad purchase when the buyer has no real need for it.
Source details
The Way to Wealth, frugality section; Project Gutenberg #43855. The maxim introduces Franklin’s distinction between apparent cheapness and genuine value.
Source identified7
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“Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse.”
Meaning & context
Desired appearance should be tested against actual means before spending, placing affordability ahead of fashion or social comparison.
Source details
The Way to Wealth, frugality section; Project Gutenberg #43855. The line appears in a short verse warning against pride-driven spending on dress.
Source identified8
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“Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths.”
Meaning & context
A low price does not make a purchase beneficial when the item is unnecessary or when buying it leaves too little for more important needs.
Source details
The Way to Wealth, frugality section; Project Gutenberg #43855. “Pennyworth” refers to an apparent bargain and the warning is about false economy.
Source identified9
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“It is foolish to lay out money in a purchase of repentance.”
Meaning & context
Money spent on an unnecessary bargain can create regret rather than value, making restraint part of good purchasing judgment.
Source details
The Way to Wealth, frugality section; Project Gutenberg #43855. Father Abraham uses the maxim while warning auction buyers against purchases made only because they seem cheap.
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