Benjamin Franklin — "Sloth makes all things difficult; but industry all easy."
Sloth makes all things difficult; but industry all easy.
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More from Benjamin Franklin
"Rather go to bed supperless, than rise in debt."
"The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands."
"A fat kitchen, a lean will."
"The greatest monarch on the proudest throne, is oblig'd to sit upon his own bottom."
"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man."
About Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Polymath Founding Father, diplomat, and Poor Richard's Almanack author who helped draft the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Closely associated with John Adams (fellow Founder, Massachusetts statesman) and Thomas Jefferson (fellow Declaration drafter). For an intellectual contrast, see Thomas Hutchinson, last royal governor of colonial Massachusetts — Franklin leaked Hutchinson's loyalist correspondence to Boston in 1772 to inflame revolutionary sentiment — Hutchinson represented the colonial-aristocrat crown-loyalty that Franklin's revolution was organized to dismantle.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
Laziness turns even simple tasks into burdens, while consistent hard work makes even difficult ones feel manageable. The quote argues that your mindset and work ethic shape your entire experience of effort — not the tasks themselves. In modern terms: stop procrastinating and things get easier; keep avoiding them and everything compounds. The real obstacle is rarely the work — it's the reluctance to begin.
Relevance to Benjamin Franklin
Franklin embodied industry throughout his life — apprenticed as a printer at 12, owned his own print shop by 22, and retired wealthy at 42 through disciplined work. He published Poor Richard's Almanack from 1732–1758, deliberately seeding colonial readers with proverbs promoting diligence. Industry was literally one of his 13 personal virtues. He rose from Boston poverty to international diplomat through relentless self-application.
The era
Colonial America in the early 1700s offered no safety nets — survival depended entirely on labor. The Protestant work ethic dominated social values, equating hard work with moral virtue and divine favor. Poor Richard's Almanack, where Franklin published such sayings, sold 10,000 copies annually and shaped everyday colonial thinking. As the economy shifted from subsistence farming toward trade and craft, personal industry became the primary engine of social mobility.
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