What you would seem to be, be really. — Benjamin Franklin · Smartyfair

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What you would seem to be, be really. — Benjamin Franklin · Smartyfair

What you would seem to be, be really.

Benjamin Franklin1706–1790 · inventor · 1700s AmericaBenjamin Franklin was an inventor, writer, and one of America's founding fathers.12 quotes

Source foundIndividuality

In plain words

Actually be the good person you want others to think you are.

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seem
really

Where these words come from

How sure this is: 88% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
What turned up: Poor Richard's Almanack (aphorism #617). Honest lineage note: the sentiment traces to the ancient Latin maxim 'esse quam videri' (be, rather than seem); this is Franklin's own printed phrasing.
Work: Poor Richard's Almanack
Occasion: 1733-1758 · Philadelphia · annual almanac aphorism
Sources checked: en.wikisource.orgChecked using claude-sonnet-5, 21 August 2026aphorism #617, fetched and confirmed

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