Why not add this to your book or post it to your site/blog?
A plural Legislature is as necessary to good Government as a single Executive. It is not enough that your Legislature should be numerous; it should also be divided. Numbers alone are not a sufficient Barrier against the Impulses of Passion, the Combinations of Interest, the Intrigues of Faction, the Haste of Folly, or the Spirit of Encroachment. One Division should watch over and controul the other, supply its Wants, correct its Blunders, and cross its Designs, should they be criminal or erroneous. Wisdom is the specific Quality of the Legislature, grows out of the Number of the Body, and is made up of the Portions of Sense and Knowledge which each Member brings to it. 
Franklin, Benjamin
Source: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Queries and Remarks Respecting Alterations in the Constitution of Pennsylvania, The Writings of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Albert H. Smith, vol. 10, pp. 5556 .This section of his Queries and Remarks is a rearrangement and slight rewording of a portion of an anonymous article, Hints for the Members of the Convention, Federal Gazette, November 3, 1789, p. 2, which had been reprinted from the Carlisle Gazette, October 21, 1789. ·
This quote is filed under Uncategorised · Search on Google Books to find all references and sources for this quotation · Tell us if you know any facts or errors in this quote ·
Help your friends discover QB
A little bit about Franklin, Benjamin
Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 April 17, 1790) was one of the most prominent of Founders and early political figures and statesmen of the United States. Considered the earliest of the Founders, Franklin was noted for his curiosity, ingenuity and diversity of interests. His wit and wisdom is proverbial to this day. More than anyone he shaped the American Revolution despite never holding national elective office. As a leader of the Enlightenment he had the attention of scientists and intellectuals all across Europe. As agent in London before the Revolution, and Minister to France during, he more than anyone defined the new nation in the minds of Europe. His success in securing French military and financial aid was decisive for American victory over Britain. He invented the lightning rod; he invented the notion of colonial unity; he invented the idea of America; historians hail him as the "First American". The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will mark Franklin's 300th Birthday in January 2006, with a wide array of exhibitions, and events citing Franklin's extraordinary accomplishments throughout his illustrious career. · Can we improve this biography? Write us your version.
Search the web for Franklin, Benjamin
More on the Author
