Chapter V: Franklin as a Writer (5)

'Tis, however, a Folly soon punished; for _Pride that
dines on Vanity, sups on Contempt_, as _Poor Richard_
says. And in another Place, _Pride breakfasted with
Plenty, dined with Poverty, and supped with Infamy_.
And after all, of what Use is this _Pride of
Appearance_, for which so much is risked so much is
suffered? It cannot promote Health, or ease Pain; it
makes no Increase of Merit in the Person, it creates
Envy, it hastens Misfortune.

_What is a Butterfly? At best_
_He's but a Caterpillar drest_
_The gaudy Fop's his Picture just,_

as _Poor Richard_ says.

"But what Madness must it be to _run in Debt_ for these
Superfluities! We are offered, by the Terms of this
Vendue, _Six Months' Credit_; and that perhaps has
induced some of us to attend it, because we cannot
spare the ready Money, and hope now to be fine without
it. But, ah, think what you do when you run in Debt;
_you give to another Power over your Liberty_. If you
cannot pay at the Time, you will be ashamed to see your
Creditor; you will be in Fear when you speak to him;
you will make poor pitiful sneaking Excuses, and by
Degrees come to lose your Veracity, and sink into base
downright lying; for, as _Poor Richard_ says _The
second Vice is Lying, the first is running in Debt_.
And again, to the same Purpose, _Lying rides upon
Debt's Back_. Whereas a free-born _Englishman_ ought
not to be ashamed or afraid to see or speak to any Man
living. But Poverty often deprives a Man of all Spirit
and Virtue: _'Tis hard for an empty Bag to stand
upright_, as _Poor Richard_ truly says.

"What would you think of that Prince, or that
Government, who should issue an Edict forbidding you to
dress like a Gentleman or a Gentlewoman, on Pain of
Imprisonment or Servitude? Would you not say, that you
were free, have a Right to dress as you please, and
that such an Edict would be a Breach of your
Privileges, and such a Government tyrannical? And yet
you are about to put yourself under that Tyranny, when
you run in Debt for such Dress! Your Creditor has
Authority, at his Pleasure to deprive you of your
Liberty, by confining you in Goal for Life, or to sell
you for a Servant, if you should not be able to pay
him! When you have got your Bargain, you may, perhaps,
think little of Payment; but _Creditors_, _Poor
Richard_ tells us, _have better Memories than Debtors_;
_and_ in another Place says, _Creditors are a
superstitious Sect, great Observers of set Days and
Times_. The Day comes round before you are aware, and
the Demand is made before you are prepared to satisfy
it, Or if you bear your Debt in Mind, the Term which at
first seemes so long, will, as it lessens, appear
extreamly short. _Time_ will seem to have added Wings
to his Heels as well as Shoulders. _Those have a short
Lent_, saith _Poor Richard_, _who owe Money to be paid
at Easter_. Then since, as he says, _The Borrower is a
Slave to the Lender, and the Debtor to the Creditor_,
disdain the Chain, preserve your Freedom; and maintain
your Independency; Be _industrious_ and _free_; be
_frugal_ and _free_. At present, perhaps, you may think
yourself in thriving Circumstances, and that you can
bear a little Extravagance without Injury; but,

_For Age and Want, save while you may;_
_No Morning Sun lasts a whole Day._

as _Poor Richard_ says. Gain may be temporary and
uncertain, but ever while you live, Expence is constant
and certain; and _'tis easier to build two Chimnies,
than to keep one in Fuel_, as _Poor Richard_ says. So,
_Rather go to Bed supperless than rise in Debt_.

_Get what you can, and what you get hold;_
_'Tis the Stone that will turn all your lead into Gold,_

as _Poor Richard_ says. And when you have got the
Philosopher's Stone, sure you will no longer complain
of bad Times, or the Difficulty of paying Taxes.

"This Doctrine, my Friends, is _Reason_ and _Wisdom_;
but after all, do not depend too much upon your own
_Industry_, and _Frugality_, and _Prudence_, though
excellent Things, for they may all be blasted without
the Blessing of Heaven; and therefore, ask that
Blessing humbly, and be not uncharitable to those that
at present seem to want it, but comfort and help them.
Remember, _Job_ suffered, and was afterwards
prosperous.

"And now to conclude, _Experience keeps a dear School,
but Fools will learn in no other, and scarce in that_;
for it is true, _we may give Advice, but we cannot give
Conduct_, as _Poor Richard_ says: However, remember
this, _They that won't be counselled, can't be helped_,
as _Poor Richard_ says: and farther, That, _if you will
not hear Reason, she'll surely rap your Knuckles_."

Thus the old Gentleman ended his Harangue. The People
heard it and approved the Doctrine, and immediately
practised the contrary, just as if it had been a common
Sermon; for the Vendue opened, and they began to buy
extravagantly, notwithstanding, his Cautions and their
own Fear of Taxes. I found the good Man had thoroughly
studied my Almanacks, and digested all I had dropt on
these Topicks during the Course of Five and twenty
Years. The frequent Mention he made of me must have
tired any one else, but my Vanity was wonderfully
delighted with it, though I was conscious that not a
tenth Part of the Wisdom was my own, which he ascribed
to me, but rather the _Gleanings_ I had made of the
Sense of all Ages and Nations. However, I resolved to
be the better for the Echo of it; and though I had at
first determined to buy Stuff for a new Coat, I went
away resolved to wear my old One a little longer.
_Reader_, if thou wilt do the same, thy Profit will be
as great as mine, _I am, as ever, thine to serve thee_,

RICHARD SAUNDERS.

Imperfect as this chapter is, it is adequate enough, we hope, to make the reader feel that Sydney Smith was not altogether insensible to natural obligations when he told his daughter that he would disinherit her, if she did not admire everything written by Franklin.

SUMMARY

Such was Benjamin Franklin, as mirrored for the most part in his own written and oral utterances. Whether his fame is measured by what he actually accomplished, or by the impression that he made upon his contemporaries, or by the influence that he still exercises over the human mind, he was a truly great man.[59] Not simply because he was one of the principal actors in a revolutionary movement destined to establish in the free air of the Western World on lasting foundations, and on a scale of moral and material grandeur, of which history furnishes few examples, a state, without king, noble or pontiff, and deriving its inspiration and energy solely from the will of the People; nor yet merely because his brilliant discoveries in the province of electricity conspicuously helped to convert one of the most elusive and defiant of all the forces of nature into an humble and useful drudge of modern industry and progress; nor yet merely because, in addition to many other productions, marked by the indefinable charm of unerring literary intuition, he wrote several which are read in every part of the globe where a printed page is read; nor even because of all these things combined. They are, of course, the main pillars upon which his splendid fame rests. But what imparts to Franklin his aspect of greatness, and endows him with his irresistible appeal to the interest and admiration of the whole human race is the striking extent to which he was, in point of both precept and example, representative of human existence in all its more rational, more fruitful and more sympathetic manifestations. His vision was not that of the enthusiast; his was no Pentecostal tongue--cloven and aflame. He took little account of the higher spiritual forces which at times derange all the sober, prudent calculations of such a materialist as Poor Richard, and his message to mankind was blemished, as we have seen, by the excessive emphasis placed by it upon pecuniary thrift and the relations of pecuniary thrift to sound morals as well as physical comfort. But all the same, limited to the terrestrial horizon as he is, he must be reckoned one of the great leaders and teachers of humanity. He loved existence, shared it joyously and generously with his fellow-creatures, and vindicated its essential worth by bringing to bear upon everything connected with the conduct of life the maxims of a serene and almost infallible wisdom, and by responding with a mind as completely free from the prejudices and errors of his age as if he had lived a hundred years later, and with a heart as completely unconstrained by local considerations as if men were all of one blood and one country, to every suggestion that tended to make human beings happier, more intelligent and worthier in every respect of the universe which he found so delightful. It is this harmony with the world about him, this insight into what that world requires of everyone who seeks, to make his way in it, this enlightenment, this sympathy with human aspirations and needs everywhere, together with the rare strain of graphic and kindly instruction by which they were accompanied that cause the name of Franklin to be so often associated with those of the other great men whose fame is not the possession of a single class or land, but of all mankind. The result is that, when the faces of the few individuals, who are recognized by the entire world as having in the different ages of human history rendered service to the entire world, are ranged in plastic repose above the shelves of some public library or along the walls of some other institution, founded for the promotion of human knowledge or well-being, the calm, meditative face of Franklin is rarely missing.

It is to be regretted that a character so admirable and amiable in all leading respects as his, so strongly fortified by the cardinal virtues of modesty, veracity, integrity and courage, and so sweetly flavored with all the finer charities of human benevolence and affection, should in some particulars have fallen short of proper standards of conduct. But it is only just to remember that the measure of his lapses from correct conduct is to be mainly found in humorous license, for which the best men of his own age, like Dr. Price and Charles Carroll of Carrollton, had only a laugh,[60] and in offences against sexual morality, which, except so far as they assumed in his youth the form of casual intercourse with low women, whose reputations were already too sorely injured to be further wounded, consisted altogether in the adoption by a singularly versatile nature of a foreign code of manners which imposed upon the members of the society, by which it was formed, the necessity of affecting the language of gallantry even when gallantry itself was not actually practised. There is at any rate no evidence to show that the long married life of Franklin, so full of domestic concord and tenderness, was ever sullied by the slightest violation of conjugal fidelity.

On the whole, therefore, it is not strange that, repelled as we are at times by some passing episode or revelation in his life or character, everyone who has lingered upon his career finds it hard to turn away from it except with something akin to the feelings of those friends who clung to him so fondly. He was so kind, so considerate, so affectionate, so eager to do good, both to individuals and whole communities, that we half forget the human conventions that his bountiful intellect and heart overflowed. Of him it can at least be said that, if he had some of a man's failings, he had all of a man's merits; and his biographer, in taking leave of him, may well, mindful of his eminent virtues as well as of his brilliant achievements and services, waive all defence of the few vulnerable features of his life and conduct by summing up the final balance of his deserts in the single word engraved upon the pedestal of one of his busts in Paris at the time of his death. That word was "Vir"--a Man, a very Man.

FOOTNOTES:

[56] What Sir Walter Scott said of Jonathan Swift is as true of Franklin: "Swift executed his various and numerous works as a carpenter forms wedges, mallets, or other implements of his art, not with the purpose of distinguishing himself, by the workmanship bestowed on the tools themselves, but solely in order to render them fit for accomplishing a certain purpose, beyond which they were of no value in his eyes."

[57] There is the following reference to Nanny in a letter from Franklin to Deborah, dated June 10, 1770, "Poor Nanny was drawn in to marry a worthless Fellow, who got all her Money, and then ran away and left her. So she is return'd to her old Service with Mrs. Stevenson, poorer than ever, but seems pretty patient, only looks dejected."

[58] These conclusions about physical exercise had been previously expounded by Franklin to his son in a letter, dated Aug. 19, 1772, in which he expressed his concern at hearing that William was not well. In that connection they do not seem quite so pedantic. The writer thought that, when tested by the amount of corporeal warmth produced, there was, roughly speaking, more exercise in riding one mile on horseback than five in a coach, more in walking one mile on foot than five on horseback, and more in walking one mile up and down stairs than five on a level floor. He also had a good word to say for the use of the dumb-bell as a "compendious" form of exercise; stating that by the use of dumb-bells he had in forty swings quickened his pulse from sixty to one hundred beats in a minute, counted by a second watch. Warmth, he supposed, generally increased with a rapid pulse. Upon one occasion in France, when John Adams told him that he fancied that he did not exercise so much as he was wont, he replied: "Yes, I walk a league every day in my chamber. I walk quick, and for an hour, so that I go a league; I make a point of religion of it."

[59] In the judgment of Matthew Arnold, Franklin was "a man who was the very incarnation of sanity and clear sense, a man the most considerable, it seems to me, whom America has yet produced."

[60] In his _Jeu d'esprit_, commonly known as _The Choice of a Mistress_, Franklin gave various reasons why an elderly mistress should be preferred to a younger one; and, in a letter to him on Aug. 12, 1777, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, after expressing the hope that he continued to enjoy his usual health and the flow of spirits, which contributed to make the jaunt to Canada so agreeable to his fellow-travellers, adds: "Mr. John Carroll, and Chase are both well; the latter is now at Congress, and has been so fully and constantly employed that I believe he has not had leisure to refute your reasons in favor of the old ladies."

INDEX

A

A Letter from China, i., 95; ii., 487

Abuse of the Press, ii., 488

Account of the Negotiation in London for effecting a Reconciliation between Great Britain and her American Colonies, ii., 446

Account of the New-Invented Pennsylvanian Fireplaces, i., 15, 358;
ii., 8, 401, 424

Account of the Supremest Court of Judicature of Pennsylvania, i., 342;
ii., 489

Adams, Abigail, i., 492;
ii., 232

Adams, John, i., 6, 35, 61, 149, 161, 284, 480, 483, 484, 486; ii., 6 (note), 8, 7 (note), 96, 220 (note), 237, 241, 242, 244, 245, 246, 252, 252 (note), 256, 257, 257 (note), 258 (note), 259, 261, 263, 274, 278, 287, 288, 290, 291, 294, 312, 316, 319, 320, 322, 342, 414, 443, 483 (note)

Adams, John Quincy, i., 486

Adams, Miss, i., 478, 485, 488, 493;
ii., 9

Address of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, ii., 454

Advice to a Young Tradesman, ii., 455

Albany Congress, ii., 141

Alexander, Miss (Mariamne Williams), i., 211, 469, 542 (note)

Alexander, William, i., 469, 495

Alison, Francis, Vice-Provost, i., 131

Allen, Chief Justice William, i., 170, 174, 337

Alleyne, John, i., 105, 442

American Philosophical Society, i., 128 (note)

Answers to Strahan's Queries, ii., 446

Apology for Printers, i., 93;
ii., 464, 465

Arabian Tale, i., 73

Argo, The, i., 146

Arnold, Matthew, ii., 527 (note)

Art of Procuring Pleasant Dreams, i., 412, 489

Art of Virtue, i., 29, 34, 98, 521

Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion, i., 72, 113

Austin, Jonathan Loring, ii., 250

Autobiography, i., 16, 19, 22, 343, 349, 432, 531, 537;
ii., 27, 35, 424, 441, 499

B

Babcock, Dr. Joshua, ii., 172

Bache, Benjamin Franklin, i., 45, 238, 239, 241, 255, 256, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 266, 388, 390, 406, 486

Bache, Richard, i., 46, 212, 236, 237, 238, 239, 254, 257, 259, 262, 263, 300, 349, 390, 481; ii., 24, 349 (note)

Bache, Sally, i., 37, 38, 70, 71, 99, 103, 110, 212, 225, 228, 235, 238, 240, 241, 243, 244, 246, 248, 253, 254, 255, 255 (note), 257, 259, 260, 261, 263, 264, 265, 266, 272, 273, 287, 340, 373, 393; ii., 277, 494

Bache, William, i., 257, 260, 261

Baker, Speech of Polly, ii., 467

Balzac, Honore de, ii., 16 (note)

Bancroft, Dr. Edward, i., 542 (note);
ii., 221, 224, 250

Bancroft, George, i., 542 (note)

Banks, Sir Joseph, i., 107, 154;
ii., 378, 384, 385, 386, 392

Barclay, David, i., 423

Barclay, Thomas, ii., 296, 315 (note)

Bard, Dr. and Mrs. John, i., 4, 332, 333;
ii., 43

Bartram, John, i., 35, 146, 334, 421;
ii., 23

Baskerville, John, ii., 15

Bathurst, Lord and Lady, i., 224

Baynes, John, ii., 7 (note), 348

Beatty, Rev. Mr., i., 93

Beccaria, Giambatista, ii., 22, 378, 400

Benezet, Anthony, i., 347

Benger, Elliot, i., 174

Bentham, Jeremy, ii., 221, 223, 225

Bigelow, John, i., 24, 37, 540

Bingham, Mr. Wm., ii., 283

Blount, Dorothea, i., 380, 386, 391, 454

Bond, Dr. Thomas, i., 140, 145, 180, 246, 331, 420

Boston, City of, i., 8, 151, 312

Boufflers, Madame de, i., 479 (note)

Bouquet, Col. Henry, i., 95, 340;
ii., 21

Bourbon, Don Gabriel de, ii., 236

Bowdoin, James, i., 352, 353, 354;
ii., 203, 218, 230, 383, 403

Braddock, General, i., 177

Bradford, Andrew, ii., 21, 37, 62, 69, 74, 75, 88

Bradford, William, ii., 35, 37

Breintnal, Joseph, i., 180, 326;
ii., 67

Bridgen, Edward, i., 442

Brillon, Madame, i., 19, 47, 92, 229, 265, 478, 487, 494, 500, 529, 540;
ii., 22, 476, 478, 481, 484

Brillon, M., i., 485

Brougham, Lord, ii., 227 (note), 362

Broughton, Sarah, i., 214

Brown, Dr., i., 99

Brownell, George, i., 138;
ii., 28

Brownrigg, William, ii., 392

Buffon, Comte de, i., 530;
ii., 379

Burke, Edmund, i., 20, 116, 442, 443;
ii., 1, 195, 221, 223, 224

Byles, Mather, i., 264, 354

C

Cabanis, Pierre Jean Georges, i., 488, 491

Cadross, Lord, ii., 408

Camden, Lord, ii., 195, 210

Canada Pamphlet, ii., 439, 444

Canton, John, i., 438

Capefigue, i., 21 (note)

Carlyle, Alexander, i., 38

Carlyle, Thomas, i., 11, 303 (note)

Carmichael, Wm., i., 322, 485, 500;
ii., 5, 257, 260, 263, 268, 274, 330 (note), 476

Carroll of Carrollton, Charles, i., 321;
ii., 237, 241, 331 (note), 529

Carroll, John, i., 321;
ii., 238, 240, 529 (note)

Cats, The Very Humble Petition to Madame Helvetius from her, i., 488, 497

Causes of the American Discontents, ii., 189

Chastellux, Marquis de, i., 263, 503, 530, 532

Chatham, Lord, i., 20, 438;
ii., 98, 180, 183, 195, 208, 210, 223, 229

Chaumont, M. Donatien LeRay de, i., 479, 515, 532;
ii., 25, 249, 250, 263

Chaumont, Madame Donatien LeRay de, i., 482

Chaumont, Donatien LeRay de (the younger), i., 481

Chess, Essay on the Morals of, i., 516;
ii., 491

Choice of a Mistress, ii., 529 (note)

Christ Church, Philadelphia, i., 23, 70, 130, 170, 346, 363

Cincinnati, Franklin's letter on the, ii., 494

Clapham, Col., i., 188

Clare, Lord, ii., 338 (note)

Clifton, John, i., 145

Clinton, Gov. George, i., 170

Cochin, ii., 359 (note)

Colden, Cadwallader, i., 15;
ii., 79, 90, 382, 407, 408

Coleman, William, i., 246, 326;
ii., 64, 64 (note), 66

Collas, Mr., i., 298

Collins, John, i., 90, 160, 200, 323;
ii., 35, 58, 428

Collinson, Peter, i., 123, 124, 133, 178, 180, 361, 449; ii., 17, 23, 123, 126, 137, 150, 151, 152, 154, 192, 342, 352, 353, 354, 356, 357, 361, 362, 367, 368, 371, 372, 375, 378, 381, 397, 398, 416

Committee of Correspondence in Massachusetts, ii., 205

Comparison of the Conduct of the Ancient Jews and the Anti-Federalists, ii., 489

Condorcet, Marquis de, i., 530;
ii., 350

Conte, i., 64

Conway, Madame, i., 43 (note)

Conygham, Capt. Gustavus, ii., 283, 297, 298

Cook, Capt. James, i., 154

Cool Thoughts, ii., 102, 128

Coombe, Rev. Thomas, i., 81, 346

Cooper, Dr. Samuel, i., 21, 352, 353, 472, 486;
ii., 25, 165, 170, 182, 203, 212, 218, 228, 250, 267, 341, 414

Council of Brutes, The, i., 440

Courant, The Boston, i., 83, 357;
ii., 30, 31, 85, 429, 434

Craven Street Gazette, i., 372;
ii., 468

Croghan, George, i., 182;
ii., 418

Cushing, Thomas, i., 405, 470; ii., 81, 170, 172, 175, 191, 199, 203, 204, 210, 213, 218, 219, 229, 261 (note)

Cutler, Dr. Manasseh, i., 226;
ii., 7

D

D'Alibard, Thomas Francis, i., 474;
ii., 354, 355, 383

Danforth, Samuel, i., 355

Dartmouth, Lord, ii., 215

Davenport, Josiah, i., 217, 271, 286, 311

Davenport, Sarah, i., 286, 301

Davy, Sir Humphry, ii., 361

Deane, Silas, i., 318, 322, 334;
ii., 237, 249, 250, 255 (note), 262, 263 (note), 265, 306

DeForbach, Madame, i., 528

DeLancey, James, ii., 142

Denham, Mr., ii., 43, 44, 45, 50, 52

Denny, Gov. William, i., 204;
ii., 112, 120, 122, 155

DeNeufville, ii., 294

DeSaussure, M., ii., 414

D'Houdetot, Comtesse, i., 487, 522

Dialogue between Franklin and the Gout, i., 501;
ii., 472, 481

Dialogue between Philocles and Horatio, i., 32;
ii., 464

Dialogue between X Y and Z, i., 184

Dick, Sir Alexander, i., 463, 466;
ii., 403

Dick, Lady, i., 464

Dickinson, John, ii., 128, 136, 137, 233, 234, 247, 333, 334

Digges, Thomas, i., 408;
ii., 303

Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, i., 87, 90, 202;
ii., 435

Doniol, Henri, i., 542 (note)

Dove, Mr., i., 136

Dowse, Elizabeth, i., 280, 281, 304

Drinkers' Dictionary, i., 160

Dubourg, Dr. Barbeu, i., 474, 530, 533;
ii., 237, 274, 412

Dumas, Chas. W. F., i., 155;
ii., 236, 259 (note)

Dunbar, Col., i., 182

Dunning, John, ii., 221, 222, 223

DuPont (DeNemours), i., 474, 530, 533;
ii., 274

E

Economical Project, ii., 472, 485

Edict by the King of Prussia, ii., 436, 446

Editor of a Newspaper, To the, i., 401;
ii., 188

Elective Franchises Enjoyed by the Small Boroughs in England, ii., 454

Eliot, Jared, i., 131, 335, 356;
ii., 24, 344, 416

Ephemera, The, i., 500;
ii., 472, 476

Epitaph by Franklin on himself, i., 114

Evans, Cadwallader, i., 311, 342, 343, 348;
ii., 184, 202, 346, 409

Evans, Lewis, i., 220 (note)

Exporting of Felons to the Colonies, ii., 464, 467

F

Falconer, Capt. Nathaniel, i., 311, 401, 476

Father Abraham's Speech, ii., 517

Fisher, Daniel, i., 215, 216, 229

Fisher, Mary, i., 15, 303

Fisher, Sydney George, i., 36;
ii., 4 (note)

Flainville, Mlle., i., 43 (note), 528, 529

Folger, Peter, i., 268, 269, 270, 270 (note)

Ford, Paul Leicester, i., 2;
ii., 92

Fothergill, Dr. John, i., 242, 252, 320, 391, 421;
ii., 118, 119, 126, 230, 354

Foucault, Madame, i., 482

Fox, Charles James, ii., 221, 224, 227 (note)

Foxcroft, John, i., 43, 213, 312, 346;
ii., 81

Foxcroft, Mrs. John, i., 43

Francis, Tench, i., 129

Franklin, Abiah, i., 13, 37, 78, 85, 266, 268, 270, 271, 272;
ii., 41