Clearly, Franklin knew the power—and the limitations—of language. He wrote, "Words may shew a man's wit / but actions his meaning." What actions did Franklin advise? Many of us are familiar with his adage, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise" but how many of us recall his meditative, "A little house well filled, a little field well tilled, and a little wife well willed, are great riches"?

With a house well-filled, a field well-tilled, and a wife well-willed, what more does a man need? According to Ben Franklin, "He that would live in peace and ease / Must not speak all he knows nor judge all he sees."