名言集#8 Benjamin Franklin

英語が身近になればなるほど英語が好きな人が増えるのではないかと思い、
私が好きな English Quotes や English Phrases を紹介することにしました。
こちらは My Favorite English Quotes (私が好きな英語の名言集)です。 

8人目は Benjamin Franklinさん。
どんな人？

Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706…– April 17, 1790) was an American polymath, a leading writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher.[1] Among the most influential intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States; a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence; and the first postmaster general.[2]

Franklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at age 23…

He pioneered and was the first president of the Academy and College of Philadelphia, which opened in 1751 and later became the University of Pennsylvania. He organized and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society and was elected its president in 1769…

He was active in community affairs and colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. Franklin became a hero in America when, as an agent in London for several colonies, he spearheaded the repeal of the unpopular Stamp Act by the British Parliament. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired as the first U.S. ambassador to France and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco–American relations. His efforts proved vital for the American Revolution in securing French aid.

From 1785 to 1788, he served as President of Pennsylvania. At some points in his life, he owned slaves and ran "for sale" ads for slaves in his newspaper, but by the late 1750s, he began arguing against slavery, became an active abolitionist, and promoted the education and integration of African Americans into U.S. society.

As a scientist, his studies of electricity made him a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics. He also charted and named the Gulf Stream current. His numerous important inventions include the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove…

His life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and his status as one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored for more than two centuries after his death on the $100 bill...

Benjamin Franklin | Wikipedia

100ドル札の別名はBenjamin。
それくらい馴染みのある人。諭吉、と同じ扱い。
交渉上手、世渡り上手、外交上手。奴隷制度に反対した人。
学校や哲学団体等のトップになった事がある人。
発明家、若い頃からアイディア豊富で様々な偉業を成し遂げた人。
アメリカの『建国の父』と呼ばれる人達の1人。

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”

読むに値することを書くか、書くに値することをすべき。
そうなんだけど…
書くという行為は自分に課したことであり楽しみでもある。
でもやっぱり突き詰めると自己研鑽。
noterの皆さんは、読んでもらえることを書いて書くに値する事をしてる。
その中で何が目立つか、注目を集めるのか、フォロワーが増えるのか…
有名になるタイミングが微妙とか晩年の詩人やアーティストがいる。
何がきっかけになるかわからない。

“I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.”

テストに落ちたのではない。間違ったやり方を100通り見つけただけ。
にやにやしてしまう。
100回テストをした？100点満点のテストで0点だった？
100回テストの方。Light Bulbを発明した時の逸話の一部。
私の今までの失敗を数えても100はまだ超えない、と思う。
1000位超える前に目標に達していたい。
数え方は一つの事を成し遂げるまでに100回失敗したか、の数え方。
人生のFail Countをしたら、100回どころではないので合算しない。
1つの事の試行錯誤にそこまで回数も時間もかからないでほしい。
でもかかっているかもしれない。
何回上手くいかない事を経て今があるのか数えられない。
数えるのは何を試したか、満足できる結果に辿り着くまで。
上手く行ったらそのメモはGoogle Driveのどこかに埋もれてしまう。

“Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults.”

敵を愛しなさい。貴方の欠点を教えてくれから。
それはそうだ。
欠点を指摘してくれる人は貴重。
言ってもらえない環境にいるとぬるい。
ダメ出しばかりされるのも疲れる。
昔の仕事場で学んだのは　褒める、改善点を述べる、褒めて終える
と言うコミュニケーションの取り方。
言うのは簡単。改善点の述べ方の工夫、慣れるまで毎回手に汗。

“While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us.”

何が起きるかは左右できなくても、どう受け止め方と対応は制御可能。
実際そうだけれども、そこまでクールにいられる人はそういない。
でもそうあろうとすればそうなれるはず。
何が起きてもありたい自分でいられる工夫がこれかな。
何があってもこんなひとでいたい、と決めておくことが肝心なのかも。

“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.”

謝罪を言い訳で台無しにしてはいけない。
ついつい、言い訳してしまうのがPMPの常なのですけれども。
言い訳と対応策を先に用意して、Risk 管理と呼んでますけども。
仕事はさておき、言い訳を減らそうと思う。
ごめん、でいいよね。
謝る気持ちを表そう。もし理由聞かれたら述べよう。

Benjaminが生きていたら、今の世の中をどう思うだろう。
彼が言うとしたら・・・
Slavery終わってない。
学校の在り方にモノ申しそう。
いろんな国を渡り歩いて、いろんな問題解決して回りそう。
アメリカのLate Night Show好きそう。
シニカルなお笑い全般と教育系クイズ番組が好きそうな気がする。
ここに今日載せたいなと思ったものを下にリストアップしました。

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”
“We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!”
“Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.”
“The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”
“You may delay, but time will not.”
“Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.”
“Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”
“There never was a good war or a bad peace.”
“Well done is better than well said.”
“What you seem to be, be really.”
“Never confuse Motion with Action.”
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
“When you are finished changing, you're finished.”
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
“A true Friend is the best Possession.”
“When you’re good to others, you’re best to yourself.”
“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.”
“When you're testing to see how deep water is, never use two feet.”
“Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five.”
“Never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today.”