Part 1
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MEMOIRS
OF
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN;
WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
WITH HIS
MOST INTERESTING ESSAYS, LETTERS, AND MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS; FAMILIAR, MORAL, POLITICAL, ECONOMICAL, AND PHILOSOPHICAL.
SELECTED WITH CARE
FROM ALL HIS PUBLISHED PRODUCTIONS, AND COMPRISING WHATEVER IS MOST ENTERTAINING AND VALUABLE TO THE GENERAL READER.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II
New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, Franklin Square. 1860.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1839, by Harper & Brothers, In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New-York.
CONTENTS
OF
THE SECOND VOLUME.
ESSAYS. Page The Way to Wealth; as clearly shown in the practice of an old Pennsylvania Almanac, entitled, "Poor Richard Improved" 5
On True Happiness 14
Public Men 16
The Waste of Life 22
Self-denial not the Essence of Virtue 25
On the Usefulness of the Mathematics 27
The Art of procuring Pleasant Dreams 31
Advice to a young Tradesman 37
Rules of Health 39
The Ephemera; an Emblem of Human Life. To Madame Brillon, of Passy 40
The Whistle. To Madame Brillon 42
On Luxury, Idleness, and Industry 45
On Truth and Falsehood 50
Necessary Hints to those that would be Rich 53
The Way to make Money plenty in every Man's Pocket 54
The Handsome and Deformed Leg 55
On Human Vanity 58
On Smuggling, and its various Species 62
Remarks concerning the Savages of North America 66
On Freedom of Speech and the Press 71
On the Price of Corn and the Management of the Poor 82
Singular Custom among the Americans, entitled Whitewashing 86
On the Criminal Laws and the Practice of Privateering 94
Letter from Anthony Afterwit 102
LETTERS.
To Mrs. Abiah Franklin 107
To Miss Jane Franklin 108
To the same 109
To Mr. George Whitefield 110
To Mrs. D. Franklin 112
To the same 113
To Mrs. Jane Mecom 114
To the same 115
To the same 116
To Miss Stevenson 119
To Lord Kames 120
To the same 121
To the same 128
To John Alleyne 130
To Governor Franklin 132
To Dr. Priestley 134
To the same 136
To Mr. Mather 137
To Mr. Strahan 138
To Dr. Priestley 138
To Mrs. Thompson 139
To Mr. Lith 142
Answer to a Letter from Brussels 144
To Dr. Price 151
To Dr. Priestley 152
To General Washington 154
To M. Court de Gebelin 156
To Francis Hopkinson 158
To Francis Hopkinson 159
To Samuel Huntingdon, President of Congress 160
To the Bishop of St. Asaph 162
To Miss Alexander 163
To Benjamin Vaughan 164
To Mrs. Hewson 166
To David Hartley 167
To Dr. Percival 168
To Sir Joseph Banks 169
To Robert Morris, Esq. 171
To Dr. Mather 172
To William Strahan, M.P. 174
To George Wheatley 178
To David Hartley 181
To the Bishop of St. Asaph 181
To Mrs. Hewson 184
To M. Veillard 185
To Mr. Jordain 187
To Miss Hubbard 189
To George Wheatley 190
To B. Vaughan 192
To the President of Congress 193
To Mrs. Green 196
To Dr. Price 197
To B. Vaughan 198
To Dr. Rush 199
To Miss Catharine Louisa Shipley 199
To * * * 200
Copy of the last Letter written by Dr. Franklin 201
PHILOSOPHICAL SUBJECTS.
To the Abbé Soulavie.--Theory of the Earth 203
To Dr. John Pringle.--On the different Strata of the Earth 207
To Mr. Bowdoin.--Queries and Conjectures relating to Magnetism and the Theory of the Earth 208
To M. Dubourg.--On the Nature of Seacoal 211
Causes of Earthquakes 212
To David Rittenhouse.--New and Curious Theory of Light and Heat 224
Of Lightning; and the Methods now used in America for the securing Buildings and Persons from its mischievous Effects 227
To Peter Collinson.--Electrical Kite 231
Physical and Meteorological Observations, Conjectures, and Suppositions 232
To Dr. Perkins.--Water-spouts and Whirlwinds compared 240
To Alexander Small.--On the Northeast Storms in North America 254
To Dr. Lining.--On Cold produced by Evaporation 256
To Peter Franklin.--On the Saltness of Seawater 263
To Miss Stephenson.--Salt Water rendered fresh by Distillation.--Method of relieving Thirst by Seawater 264
To the same.--Tendency of Rivers to the Sea.--Effects of the Sun's Rays on Cloths of different Colours 266
To the same.--On the Effect of Air on the Barometer, and the Benefits derived from the Study of Insects 270
To Dr. Joseph Priestley.--Effect of Vegetation on Noxious Air 273
To Dr. John Pringle.--On the Difference of Navigation in Shoal and Deep Water 274
To Oliver Neale.--On the Art of Swimming 277
To Miss Stephenson.--Method of contracting Chimneys.--Modesty in Disputation 281
To M. Dubourg.--Observations on the prevailing Doctrines of Life and Death 282
Lord Brougham's Portrait of Dr. Franklin 285
WRITINGS OF FRANKLIN
* * * * *
ESSAYS,
HUMOROUS, MORAL, ECONOMICAL, AND POLITICAL.
* * * * *
THE WAY TO WEALTH,
_As dearly shown in the practice of an old Pennsylvania Almanac, entitled, "Poor Richard Improved."_
COURTEOUS READER,
I have heard that nothing gives an author so great pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by others. Judge, then, how much I must have been gratified by an incident I am going to relate to you. I stopped my horse lately where a great number of people were collected at an auction of merchants' goods. The hour of the sale not being come, they were conversing on the badness of the times; and one of the company called to a plain, clean old man, with white locks, "Pray, Father Abraham, what think you of the times? Will not these heavy taxes quite ruin the country? How shall we ever be able to pay them? What would you advise us to?" Father Abraham stood up and replied, "If you would have my advice, I will give it you in short; for _A word to the wise is enough_, as Poor Richard says." They joined in desiring him to speak his mind; and, gathering round him, he proceeded as follows:
"Friends," said he, "the taxes are indeed very heavy, and if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly; and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us, by allowing an abatement. However, let us hearken to good advice, and something may be done for us: _God helps them that help themselves_, as Poor Richard says.
"I. It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one tenth part of their time, to be employed in its service; but idleness taxes many of us much more; sloth, by bringing on diseases, absolutely shortens life. _Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labour wears; while the used key is always bright_, as Poor Richard says. _But dost thou love life, then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of_, as Poor Richard says. How much more than is necessary do we spend in sleep? forgetting that _The sleeping fox catches no poultry_, and that _There will be sleeping enough in the grave_, as Poor Richard says.
"_If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be_, as Poor Richard says, the _greatest prodigality_; since, as he elsewhere tells us, _Lost time is never found again; and what we call time enough, always proves little enough_. Let us, then, up and be doing, and doing to the purpose; so by diligence shall we do more with less perplexity. _Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all easy_; and _He that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night_; while _Laziness travels so slowly, that Poverty soon overtakes him_. _Drive thy business, let not that drive thee_; and _Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise_, as Poor Richard says.
"So what signifies wishing and hoping for better times? We may make these times better if we bestir ourselves. _Industry need not wish, and he that lives upon hopes will die fasting_. _There are no gains without pains; then help, hands, for I have no lands_; or, if I have, they are smartly taxed. _He that hath a trade hath an estate; and he that hath a calling hath an office of profit and honour_, as Poor Richard says; but then the trade must be worked at, and the calling followed, or neither the estate nor the office will enable us to pay our taxes. If we are industrious, we shall never starve; for, _At the workingman's house hunger looks in, but dares not enter_. Nor will the bailiff or the constable enter; for _Industry pays debts, while despair increaseth them_. What though you have found no treasure, nor has any rich relation left you a legacy? _Diligence is the mother of luck, and God gives all things to industry. Then plough deep while sluggards sleep, and you shall have corn to sell and to keep._ Work while it is called to-day, for you know not how much you may be hindered to-morrow. _One to-day is worth two to-morrows_, as Poor Richard says; and farther, _Never leave that till to-morrow which you can do to-day_. If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good master should catch you idle? Are you, then, your own master? Be ashamed to catch yourself idle when there is so much to be done for yourself, your family, and your country. Handle your tools without mittens; remember that _The cat in gloves catches no mice_, as Poor Richard says. It is true there is much to be done, and perhaps you are weak-handed; but stick to it steadily, and you will see great effects; for _Constant dropping wears away stones_; and _By diligence and patience the mouse ate in two the cable_; and _Little strokes fell great oaks_.
"Methinks I hear some of you say, 'Must a man afford himself no leisure?' I will tell thee, my friend, what Poor Richard says: _Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure; and, since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour_. Leisure is time for doing something useful; this leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy man never; for _A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. Many, without labour, would live by their wits only, but they break for want of stock_; whereas industry gives comfort, and plenty, and respect. _Fly pleasures, and they will follow you. The diligent spinner has a large shift; and now I have a sheep and a cow, everybody bids me good-morrow._
"II. But with our industry we must likewise be steady, settled, and careful, and oversee our own affairs with our own eyes, and not trust too much to others; for, as Poor Richard says,
_I never saw an oft-removed tree, Nor yet an oft-removed family, That throve so well as those that settled be._
And again, _Three removes are as bad as a fire_; and again, _Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee_; and again, _If you would have your business done, go; if not, send_. And again,
_He that by the plough would thrive, Himself must either hold or drive._
And again, _The eye of a master will do more work than both his hands_; and again, _Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge_; and again, _Not to oversee workmen is to leave them your purse open_. Trusting too much to others' care is the ruin of many; _for in the affairs of this world men are saved, not by faith, but by the want of it_; but a man's own care is profitable; for, _If you would have a faithful servant, and one that you like, serve yourself. A little neglect may breed great mischief; for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy; all for the want of a little care about a horseshoe nail._
"III. 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 industry more certainly successful. A man may, if he knows not how to save as he gets, keep his nose all his life to the grindstone, and die not worth a groat at last. _A fat kitchen makes a lean will_; and
_Many estates are spent in the getting, Since women for tea forsook spinning and knitting, And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting._
_If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as of getting. The Indies have not made Spain rich, because her outgoes are greater than her incomes._
"Away, then, with your expensive follies, and you will not then have so much cause to complain of hard times, heavy taxes, and chargeable families. And farther, _What maintains one vice would bring up two children_. You may think, perhaps, that a little tea, or a little punch now and then, diet a little more costly, clothes a little finer, and a little entertainment now and then, can be no great matter; but remember, _Many a little makes a mickle_. Beware of little expenses; _A small leak will sink a great ship_, as Poor Richard says; and again, _Who dainties love, shall beggars prove_; and moreover, _Fools make feasts, and wise men eat them_.
"Here you are all got together at this sale of fineries and knickknacks. You call them _goods_; but, if you do not take care, they will prove _evils_ to some of you. You expect they will be sold cheap, and perhaps they may for less than they cost; but, if you have no occasion for them, they must be dear to you. Remember what Poor Richard says: _Buy what thou hast no need of, and ere long thou shalt sell thy necessaries_. And again, _At a great pennyworth pause a while_. He means, that perhaps the cheapness is apparent only, and not real; or the bargain, by straitening thee in thy business, may do thee more harm than good. For in another place he says, _Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths_. Again, _It is foolish to lay out money in a purchase of repentance_; and yet this folly is practised every day at auctions, for want of minding the Almanac. Many a one, for the sake of finery on the back, have gone with a hungry belly, and half starved their families. _Silks and satins, scarlet and velvets, put out the kitchen fire_, as Poor Richard says.
"These are not the necessaries of life; they can scarcely be called the conveniences; and yet, only because they look pretty, how many want to have them! By these and other extravagances, the genteel are reduced to poverty, and forced to borrow of those whom they formerly despised, but who, through industry and frugality, have maintained their standing; in which case it appears plainly that _A ploughman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees_, as Poor Richard says. Perhaps they have had a small estate left them, which they knew not the getting of; they think _It is day, and will never be night_; that a little to be spent out of so much is not worth minding; but _Always taking out of the mealtub and never putting in, soon comes to the bottom_, as Poor Richard says; and then, _When the well is dry, they know the worth of water_. But this they might have known before if they had taken his advice. _If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some; for he that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing_, as Poor Richard says; and indeed so does he that lends to such people, when he goes to get it in again. Poor Dick farther advises, and says,
_Fond pride of dress is sure a very curse; Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse._
And again, _Pride is as loud a beggar as Want, and a great deal more saucy_. When you have bought one fine thing, you must buy ten more, that your appearance may be all of a piece; but Poor Dick says, _It is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it_. And it is as truly folly for the poor to ape the rich, as for the frog to swell in order to equal the ox.
_Vessels large may venture more, But little boats should keep near shore._
It is, however, a folly soon punished; for, as Poor Richard says, _Pride that dines on vanity, sups on contempt. 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 nor ease pain; it makes no increase of merit in the person; it creates envy; it hastens misfortune.
"But what madness must it be to _run in debt_ for these superfluities? We are offered, by the terms of this sale, 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 _The second vice is lying, the first is running in debt_, as Poor Richard says; and again, to the same purpose, _Lying rides upon Debt's back_, whereas a freeborn ought not to be ashamed nor afraid to see or speak to any man living. But poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue. _It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright._
"What would you think of that prince or of that government who should issue an edict forbidding you to dress like a gentleman or 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 your self under such 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 jail till you shall be able to pay him. When you have got your bargain, you may, perhaps, think little of payment; but, as Poor Richard says, _Creditors have better memories than debtors; 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 seemed so long, will, as it lessens, appear extremely short. Time will seem to have added wings to his heels as well as his shoulders. _Those have a short Lent who owe money to be paid at Easter_. At present, perhaps, you may think yourselves 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._
Gain may be temporary and uncertain, but ever, while you live, expense is constant and certain; and _It is easier to build two chimneys than to keep one in fuel_, as Poor Richard says; so, _Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt_.
"IV. 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 afterward prosperous.