Benjamin Franklin Quote Analysis

While it is ubiquitous that our Founding Fathers have proclaimed and denounced a plethora of memorable quotes, citations, and even noteworthy actions, their significance is not fully enriched within the modern populace. Extracting excerpts verbatim from any allotment of preliminary time and transcending them as noteworthy upon current society may be unimaginably arduous; for a myriad of reasons. Perhaps the quotes date back to archaic times, or they are unfathomable and incomprehensive due to abstruse or laborious language, or seem to be centralized around a topic pertinent only to a preliminary timeframe. However, in stating, “Think of three things: Whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account,” Benjamin Franklin mandates

Franklin poses his quotation in a sequential configuration by sundering each adage with commas to emit a countenance of chronological instructions that one may abide by in their life. In analyzing all three of the epigrams that Franklin subsumes within his quotation, he first states, “...whence you came…” suggesting that people must be comprehensively aware of their past and preliminaries, however only to a certain rigor so not to yield a life of negligence and remorseful hindsight. Realistically, this means that one must be knowledgeable on their origins, such as geographical place of origin, past experiences and hindrances that may be transcended as metamorphic lessons, as well as the mannerisms and nourishments that have cultivated you under the tutelage of a parent or guardian. Secondly, stating “...where you are going…” evokes an insinuation in the fact that people must establish a direction and plans unto what they will later exploit, comparable to a foreshadowing outlook and plan for subsequent life. Finally, to culminate his quote, Franklin states, “...to whom you must account…” denoting a consummate topic of humanity. The answer to this maxim is ostentatious: yourself. While this notion may appear to be cliche, it represents ingenuity and perspicacity in Franklin’s

Ambiguity and casuistry fully encompass this maxim, even more than the two preceding it, in which Franklin specifies no degree of discernment to his audience’s determination of the statement. He merely alludes to a vague concept, in which may be interpreted in a myriad of ways. Perhaps the most abstruse of the three paradigms, this maxim is answered with a single delineation to “whom you must account”: yourself. Accounting and attributing yourself as the most viable and genuine person is principally the most palpable answer to Franklin’s rhetoric. In application to the inherent, societal world, Franklin’s quote provides an erudite reasoning from a sophisticated source. Additionally, this axiom is linked directly to the statement that was stressed exorbitantly to all people as children: responsibility. However, it is imperative to abstain from becoming narcissistic and egotistic, which is regularly averted by a people who misinterpret the essence and the degree to which this quote is applicable. Realistically, parents and grandparents incessantly instill this ideal into the intellect of young children. Franklin also alludes to an aspect of advisory instructions that may greatly ameliorate any encumbrances or hindrances that may get in the way of your life. As a man of multitudinous failures and roadblocks himself, Franklin is undoubtedly aware of what many