“As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.”
- January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790
- American
- Polymath, Founding Father of the United States, Inventor, Diplomat, Writer
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Quote
“As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.”
Explanation
In this quote, Benjamin Franklin expresses a philosophy of intellectual generosity and public-minded innovation. He reminds us that our lives are enriched by the ideas and inventions of those who came before, and that in turn, we have a moral obligation to contribute to the common good when we create something useful. The call to do so “freely and generously” emphasizes that such service should not be driven by profit or self-interest, but by gratitude and civic duty.
Franklin lived by this principle, famously refusing to patent many of his own inventions—including the lightning rod and the Franklin stove—so that others could benefit without restriction. His Enlightenment-era values emphasized human progress through shared knowledge, and he saw cooperation and open exchange of ideas as essential to building a better society. For Franklin, innovation was not merely a personal achievement but a social responsibility.
In the modern world, where intellectual property and profit often dominate innovation, Franklin’s message serves as a powerful reminder of the value of open access, collaboration, and altruism. Whether in science, technology, or creative fields, his quote challenges us to ask: Are we using our knowledge to uplift others, as we have been uplifted? True advancement, he suggests, lies in contributing freely to the greater good—just as others once did for us.
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