---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What maintains one vice would bring up…"
description: "\"What maintains one vice would bring up two children.\" — Benjamin Franklin"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/benjamin-franklin-65_children_what-maintains-one-vice-would-bring-up-t_2515329.png"
---

#  What maintains one vice would bring up two children.

![“What maintains one vice would bring up two children.” quote by Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/benjamin-franklin-65_children_what-maintains-one-vice-would-bring-up-t_2515329.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/benjamin-franklin-65_children_what-maintains-one-vice-would-bring-up-t_2515329.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/benjamin-franklin-65_children_what-maintains-one-vice-would-bring-up-t_2515329.png)

> “What maintains one vice would bring up two children.”

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A single vice can lead to multiple negative outcomes, especially affecting future generations.

**In simple terms:** One bad habit harms many.

Key Takeaway

Avoid harmful habits early.

Themes

vice family consequences

Mood

reflective cautionary

Type

advice ethical

When to use this quote

- parenting
- personal development
- education
- health decisions

Key Concepts

moral responsibility intergenerational impact

Questions to Reflect On

- How does a small vice affect your family?
- What steps can you take to prevent it?

A Different Perspective

Bad habits can be hard to break without support.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Frugality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frugality/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/)

## Related quotes

> [So much for industry, my friends, and attention to one's own business; but to these we must add frugality if we would make our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/so-much-for-industry-my-friends-and-attention-to-one-s-own-business/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [ Industry and frugality, as the means of procuring wealth . . . thereby \[secures\] virtue, it being more difficult for a man in want… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/industry-and-frugality-as-the-means-of-procuring-wealth-thereby/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [A man may, if he knows not how to save as he gets, keep his nose to the grindstone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/a-man-may-if-he-knows-not-how-to-save-as-he-gets-keep-his-nose-to-the/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Creditors are a superstitious sect, great observers of set days and times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/creditors-are-a-superstitious-sect-great-observers-of-set-days-and/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [For age and want save while you may, No morning sun lasts a whole day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/for-age-and-want-save-while-you-may-no-morning-sun-lasts-a-whole-day/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Vice knows she is ugly, so puts on her mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/vice-knows-she-is-ugly-so-puts-on-her-mask/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [ \[T\]he more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer . . . \[taking\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/t-he-more-public-provisions-were-made-for-the-poor-the-less-they/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Be in general virtuous, and you will be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/be-in-general-virtuous-and-you-will-be-happy/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [1) Temperance... drink not to elevation. (2) Silence... avoid trifling conversations. (3) Order: Let all your things have their places... (4) Resolution... perform without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/1-temperance-drink-not-to-elevation-2-silence-avoid-trifling/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Be studious in your profession, and you will be learned. Be industrious and frugal, and you will be rich. Be sober and temperate, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/be-studious-in-your-profession-and-you-will-be-learned-be-industrious/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Industry, perseverance, and frugality make fortune yield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/industry-perseverance-and-frugality-make-fortune-yield/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [The way to wealth is as plain as the way to market. It depends chiefly on two words, industry and frugality: that is, waste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-way-to-wealth-is-as-plain-as-the-way-to-market-it-depends-chiefly/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Acquire Riches by Industry and Frugality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/acquire-riches-by-industry-and-frugality/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Righteousness, or justice, is, undoubtedly of all the virtues, the surest foundation on which to create and establish a new state. But there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/righteousness-or-justice-is-undoubtedly-of-all-the-virtues-the-surest/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Be studious in your profession, and you will be learned. Be industrious and frugal, and you will be rich. Be sober and temperate, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/be-studious-in-your-profession-and-you-will-be-learned-be-industrious-2/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

## More by Benjamin Franklin

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“Give me 26 lead soldiers and I will conquer the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/give-me-26-lead-soldiers-and-i-will-conquer-the-world/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [In the affairs of this world, men are saved not by faith, but by the want of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/in-the-affairs-of-this-world-men-are-saved-not-by-faith-but-by-the/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [By heaven we understand a state of happiness infinite in degree, and endless in duration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/by-heaven-we-understand-a-state-of-happiness-infinite-in-degree-and/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [I have thought that wild flowers might be the alphabet of angels, — whereby they write on hills and fields mysterious truths, which it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/i-have-thought-that-wild-flowers-might-be-the-alphabet-of-angels/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [How do you become better tomorrow? By improving yourself, the world is made better. Be not afraid of growing too slowly. Be afraid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/how-do-you-become-better-tomorrow-by-improving-yourself-the-world-is/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Little leaks sink the ship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/little-leaks-sink-the-ship/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/who-is-rich-he-that-is-content-who-is-that-nobody/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“But on the whole, though I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/but-on-the-whole-though-i-never-arrived-at-the-perfection-i-had-been/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [The good particular men may do separately, in relieving the sick, is small, compared with what they may do collectively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-good-particular-men-may-do-separately-in-relieving-the-sick-is/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Love your Neighbour; yet don't pull down your Hedge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/love-your-neighbour-yet-don-t-pull-down-your-hedge/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Take counsel in wine, but resolve afterwards in water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/take-counsel-in-wine-but-resolve-afterwards-in-water/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [He that's secure is not safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/he-that-s-secure-is-not-safe/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

[Explore all 1,692 Benjamin Franklin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

## More Children quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/)

[Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/)

> [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/)

[Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/)

> [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/)

[Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/)

> [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/)

[Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/)

> [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/)

[Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/)

> [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/)

[Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/)

[Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/)

> [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/)

[Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/)

> [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/)

[Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

[Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "What maintains one vice would bring up two children.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Benjamin Franklin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/what-maintains-one-vice-would-bring-up-two-children/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Children"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/what-maintains-one-vice-would-bring-up-two-children/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/benjamin-franklin-65_children_what-maintains-one-vice-would-bring-up-t_2515329.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/benjamin-franklin-65_children_what-maintains-one-vice-would-bring-up-t_2515329.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed4/benjamin-franklin-65_children_what-maintains-one-vice-would-bring-up-t_2515329.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What maintains one vice would bring up two children.” — Benjamin Franklin",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Benjamin Franklin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "What maintains one vice would bring...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/what-maintains-one-vice-would-bring-up-two-children/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/what-maintains-one-vice-would-bring-up-two-children/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
