“Truth and sincerity have a certain distinguishing native luster about them which cannot be perfectly counterfeited; they are like fire and flame, that cannot be painted.”

– Ben Franklin

Ben Franklin is unmatched in the maxims game. Maybe Oliver Wilde sits close? Ben’s simile here reminds me of how contradicting his character was, but also how he strove to improve it.

From: Isaacson, Walter. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. (see pg 49)