Benjamin Franklin — "The sleeping fox catches no poultry."
The sleeping fox catches no poultry.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Benjamin Franklin
"A full belly makes a dull brain."
"The industrious man needs no food, for there shall be nourishment enough in the grave."
"Well done is better than well said."
"There never was a good war or a bad peace."
"It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority."
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.
Verification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: grok
1 source checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
A sleeping fox catches nothing because foxes only succeed when active and alert. The quote warns against idleness: opportunity never arrives at the doorstep of those who wait passively. To gain anything valuable — food, wealth, success — you must be awake, moving, and engaged. Rest has its place, but chronic inaction is self-defeating. Even the cleverest mind yields nothing without the will to act on it.
Relevance to Benjamin Franklin
Franklin rose from printer's apprentice to one of history's most accomplished figures through relentless industry. He ran his own print shop, founded Philadelphia's first public library and fire brigade, conducted landmark electrical experiments, and negotiated the French alliance that secured independence — all while publishing Poor Richard's Almanack specifically to spread proverbs like this one, reinforcing his core belief that diligence and alertness were the engines of a well-lived life.
The era
Colonial America in the 1700s was a labor-intensive economy where individual survival depended on constant effort. Most colonists farmed, and a missed harvest meant hunger. No welfare systems existed. The Protestant work ethic — that diligence demonstrated moral virtue — dominated culture. Franklin published this in Poor Richard's Almanack while the colonies were forging a commercial identity apart from Britain, making industriousness both a practical necessity and an emerging expression of American character.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].