“Let all Men know thee, but no man know thee thoroughly: Men freely ford that see the shallows.”

— Benjamin Franklin , book Poor Richard's Almanack

Poor Richard's Almanack (1743)
Poor Richard's Almanack

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Let all Men know thee, but no man know thee thoroughly: Men freely ford that see the shallows." by Benjamin Franklin?

Benjamin Franklin 183

American author, printer, political theorist, politician, p… 1706–1790

Related quotes

“Let but thy wicked men from out thee go,
And all the fools that crowd thee so,
Even thou, who dost thy millions boast,
A village less than Islington wilt grow,
A solitude almost.”

Abraham Cowley Of Solitude

Of Solitude, vii; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).

“I obey Thee Lord, first for the love I ought, in all reason to bear Thee; secondly for that Thou canst shorten or prolong the lives of men.”

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), XIX Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.

“I travelled among unknown men,
In lands beyond the sea;
Nor, England! did I know till then
What love I bore to thee.”

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) English Romantic poet

I Travelled Among Unknown Men, st. 1 (1799).

“Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.”

Saint Peter (-1–67 BC) apostle and first pope

As quoted in Gospel of Matthew 26:33 - 35 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026&version=KJV;SBLGNT. Jesus responds: "Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice." After this Peter protests: "Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee." These are some of the anecdotes of the Denial of Peter.

“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”

William Shakespeare book Shakespeare's Sonnets

Source: Sonnets (1609), XVIII
Source: Shakespeare's Sonnets

“Hail, hieroglyphic State machine,
Contrived to punish fancy in;
Men that are men in thee can feel no pain,
And all thy insignificance disdain!”

Daniel Defoe (1660–1731) English trader, writer and journalist

Hymn to the Pillory (1703).

“Take care that thou be not made a fool by flatterers, for even the wisest men are abused by these. Know, therefore, that flatterers are the worst kind of traitors; for they will strengthen thy imperfections, encourage thee in all evils, correct thee in nothing; but so shadow and paint all thy vices and follies, as thou shalt never, by their will, discern evil from good, or vice from virtue.”

Walter Raleigh (1554–1618) English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer

Source: Instructions to his Son and to Posterity (published 1632), Chapter III
Context: Take care that thou be not made a fool by flatterers, for even the wisest men are abused by these. Know, therefore, that flatterers are the worst kind of traitors; for they will strengthen thy imperfections, encourage thee in all evils, correct thee in nothing; but so shadow and paint all thy vices and follies, as thou shalt never, by their will, discern evil from good, or vice from virtue. And, because all men are apt to flatter themselves, to entertain the additions of other men's praises is most perilous. Do not therefore praise thyself, except thou wilt be counted a vain-glorious fool; neither take delight in the praises of other men, except thou deserve it, and receive it from such as are worthy and honest, and will withal warn thee of thy faults; for flatterers have never any virtue — they are ever base, creeping, cowardly persons. A flatterer is said to be a beast that biteth smiling: it is said by Isaiah in this manner — "My people, they that praise thee, seduce thee, and disorder the paths of thy feet;" and David desired God to cut out the tongue of a flatterer.
But it is hard to know them from friends, they are so obsequious and full of protestations; for as a wolf resembles a dog, so doth a flatterer a friend. A flatterer is compared to an ape, who, because she cannot defend the house like a dog, labour as an ox, or bear burdens as a horse, doth therefore yet play tricks and provoke laughter. Thou mayest be sure, that he that will in private tell thee thy faults is thy friend; for he adventures thy mislike, and doth hazard thy hatred; for there are few men that can endure it, every man for the most part delighting in self-praise, which is one of the most universal follies which bewitcheth mankind.