Chapter 7

[i-117]Writings, VIII, 451.[i-118]For example seeibid., IX, 74, 557.[i-119]SeeWritings, VIII, 454.[i-120]See R. M. Gummere, "Socrates at the Printing Press. Benjamin Franklin and the Classics,"Classical Weekly, XXVI, 57-9 (Dec. 5, 1932).[i-121]Several of the following arguments are included in C. E. Jorgenson's "Sidelights on Benjamin Franklin's Principles of Rhetoric,"Revue Anglo-Américaine, Feb., 1934, 208-22.[i-122]Hume wrote to Franklin: "You are the first philosopher, and indeed the first great man of letters for whom we are beholden to her [America]" (Writings, IV, 154). Cowper exclaimed that Franklin was "one of the most important [men] in the literary world, that the present age can boast of" (Parton,op. cit., II, 439); for other engaging estimates of Franklin as a man of letters consult C. W. Moulton,Library of Literary Criticism ..., IV, 79-106.[i-123]Franklin found in an appendix to Greenwood'sEnglish Grammarand in theMemorabiliaspecimens of the Socratic method which influenced him to adopt the manner of "the humble inquirer and doubter," to write and harangue with a "modest diffidence." On several occasions he approvingly quotes Pope's rule: "to speak, tho' sure, with seeming Diffidence." Jefferson recognized Franklin's use of this kind of Machiavellian diffidence, noting, "It was one of the rules which, above all others, made Dr. Franklin the most amiable of men in society, never to contradict anybody," and that "if he was urged to announce an opinion, he did it rather by asking questions, as if for information, or by suggesting doubts." In theAutobiographyFranklin sees the Socratic method as a necessary ally to "doing good," observing that many who mean to be helpful "lessen their power of doing good by a positive, assuming manner, that seldom fails to disgust, tends to create opposition, and to defeat every one of those purposes for which speech was given to us."[i-124]Bunyan's dignified simplicity, his "sound and honest Gospel strains," may have been one of Franklin's incentives to write lucidly and compellingly. For Bunyan's literary ideals, see the prefaces to his works, especially that toGrace Abounding. The best study of Defoe and Swift as literary theorists is W. Gückel and E. Günther,D. Defoes und J. Swifts Belesenheit und literarische Kritik(Leipzig, 1925).[i-125]E. C. Cook,Literary Influences in Colonial Newspapers, 1704-1750, 15. This scholarly work shows the great influence in America of neoclassical authors.[i-126]For a generous catalog of the devices borrowed seeibid., 15 f.[i-127]Spectator, No. 167.[i-128]For a fuller discussion of Franklin's view of the ancients, see section on "Franklin's Theories of Education," p. xxxii above.[i-129]Cited in R. F. Jones, "Science and English Prose Style ...,"Publications of the Modern Language Association, XLV, 982 (Dec., 1930). On the backgrounds of literary theories underlying the sermons which Franklin heard, see scholarly studies such as Caroline F. Richardson'sEnglish Preachers and Preaching, 1640-1670(New York, 1928), and W. F. Mitchell'sEnglish Pulpit Oratory(New York, 1932). From 1750 on, however, the Puritan clergy in America increasingly advocated a simple, clear, and easy style. See Howard M. Jones, "American Prose Style; 1700-1770,"Huntington Library Bulletin, No. 6, 115-51 (Nov., 1934).[i-130]History of the Royal Society ...(2d ed., London, 1702), 113.[i-131]R. F. Jones,op. cit., 989. Tillotson, whom Franklin suggested as a model worthy of emulation (Writings, II, 391), was "another great exponent of the new style" (R. F. Jones,op. cit., 1002).[i-132]L. M. MacLaurin (Franklin's Vocabulary, 21) also suggests Franklin's probable indebtedness to the Royal Society program.[i-133]O. Elton,The Augustan Age, 8-12.[i-134]A. O. Lovejoy, "The Parallel of Deism and Classicism,"Modern Philology, XXIX, 281-99 (Feb., 1932).[i-135]Franklin's friend Henry Pemberton, in hisView of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy(London, 1728), had said (pp. 2-3) that the Newtonian thirst for knowledge, especially of the causes of the operations of nature, had become "so general, that all men of letters, I believe, find themselves influenced by it."[i-136]Writings, II, 157.[i-137]Ibid., I, 37.[i-138]Ibid., I, ix.[i-139]Ibid., III, 121. For his demand that sculpture and music have "beautiful simplicity" of form seeibid., VII, 194; VIII, 578; IV, 210, 377-8, 381; V, 530; VIII, 94. On the basis of confusion of genres, Franklin disliked the opera.[i-140]Ibid., I, 41. See also X, 33, 51.[i-141]Miss MacLaurin's research has disclosed that Franklin's vocabulary (4,062 words, between 1722 and 1751) contained only 19 words which "were discovered to be pure 'Americanisms,' and of these, 6 are the names of herbs or grasses; 1 is derived from the name of an American university, and 1 from the name of an American state" (op. cit., 38-9).[i-142]Quoted in Bruce,op. cit., II, 439. Also see his letters to Noah Webster,Writings, I, 29; X, 75-6.[i-143]S. A. Leonard,The Doctrine of Correctness in English Usage, 1700-1800, 14.[i-144]See L. Richardson,A History of Early American Magazines, 1741-1789, index, for the vogue of Swift. In the library of theNew England Courant, as early as 1722, there was a copy ofThe Tale of a Tub(T. G. Wright,Literary Culture in Early New England, 1620-1730, 187-8). Franklin was probably indebted to the Dean for his prophecies of the death of Titan Leeds (although he could have learned the use of this device from Defoe). InIdea of the English SchoolFranklin recommends Swift for use in the sixth class (Writings, III, 28). HisMeditation on a Quart Muggis undoubtedly derived from Swift'sMeditation upon a Broomstick, each forced to undergo the indignities of a "dirty wench." In 1757 he made the acquaintance of Dr. John Hawksworth, who in 1755 had edited Swift's works. It is likely that this friendly union may have helped to produce Franklin's 1773 masterpieces of caustic irony and the disarmingly effective hoaxes. Variously he quotes (acknowledged and otherwise) bits from Swift's poetry and prose. See Herbert Davis's "Swift's View of Poetry," inStudies In English by Members of University College, Toronto(1931), collected by M. W. Wallace.[i-145]Writings, III, 26.[i-146]To suggest that Franklin knew his Horace, seeibid., VI, 150; VIII, 148.[i-147]It seems unnecessary to extend a discussion of the didacticism inherent in Franklin's writing. Addison, and the ethical bent of neoclassicism in general, impinging on a mind no small part of which was motivated by its Puritan heritage, help to account for Franklin's ethicism, a lifelong quality. References illustrating his assumed role asCensor Morumare:Writings, I, 37, 243; II, 4, 50, 101, 110-1, 117, 175. Franklin proposes not only to delight, but also, in the Jonsonian and Meredithian sense, to instruct through a mild catharsis brought about by holding up man's excesses and vagaries for ridicule. He is firm in distinguishing good writing by its "tendency to benefit the reader, by improving his virtue or his knowledge." Consonant with Horace's"To teach—to please—comprise the poet's views,Or else at once to profit and amuse,"and with Sidney's "to teach delightfully," Franklin's literary purpose included a basic ethical motivation.[i-148]Writings, I, 226.[i-149]Ibid., I, 42-3.[i-150]Fully aware "that I am noPoet born" (Bruce,op. cit., II, 498), apparently agreeing with his father that poets "were generally beggars" (WritingsI, 240), Franklin allowed only that writing poetry may improve one's language. YetDogood PaperNo. VII and his estimate of Cowper (characterized by easiness in manner, correctness in language, clarity of expression, perspicuity, and justness of the sentiments) (ibid., VIII, 448-9), and the "Tears of Pleasure" he shed over Thomson, all suggest that he was not wholly blind to poetry. He hoped to see Philadelphia "become the Seat of theAmericanMuses" (ibid., II, 245, 110; IV, 181, 184; VI, 437).[i-151]A. Bosker,Literary Criticism in the Age of Johnson, 34. For important qualifications see the thorough study by Donald F. Bond, "'Distrust' of Imagination in English Neo-Classicism,"Philological Quarterly, XIV, 54-69 (Jan., 1935). Those interested in considering Franklin with reference to contemporary literary theory will find full materials in J. W. Draper'sEighteenth-Century English Aesthetics: A Bibliography, and additions to it by R. S. Crane,Modern Philology, XXIX, 25 ff. (1931); W. D. Templeman,ibid., XXX, 309-16; R. D. Havens,Modern Language Notes, XLVII, 118-20 (1932).[i-152]Writings, II, 24.[i-153]Ibid., V, 182; also II, 43, and VIII, 128, 163, 604.[i-154]See G. S. Eddy, "Dr. Benjamin Franklin's Library,"Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society,N. S.XXXIV, 206-26 (Oct., 1924).[i-155]See C. E. Jorgenson, "Benjamin Franklin and Rabelais,"Classical Journal, XXIX, 538-40 (April, 1934).[i-156]The Travels of Cyrus.[i-157]Independent WhigandCato's Letters.[i-158]For an interesting summary of Franklin's references to the classics, see R. M. Gummere,op. cit.[i-159]Add to this, Franklin's use of the Swiftian hoax and complex irony. After writingRules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One(1773) he explained to a friend: "These odd ways of presenting Matters to the publick View sometimes occasion them to be more read, talk'd of, and more attended to" (Writings, VI, 137). Parton observes that theEdict of the King of Prussia"was the nine-days' talk of the kingdom." Raynal unsuspectingly used Franklin'sPolly Baker, as an authentic document in hisHistoire .... Franklin'sExporting of Felons to the Colonies,The Sale of Hessians, andA Dialogue between Britain, France, Spain, Holland, Saxony, and Americaillustrate these trenchant devices used to achieve a political purpose.[i-160]Writings, I, 49.[i-161]The True Benjamin Franklin, 158.[i-162]Writings, I, 239.[i-163]Smyth's note,Writings, VIII, 336.[i-164]Writings, I, 238.[i-165]Writings, X, 4 (to Mrs. Catherine Greene, March 2, 1789).[i-166]There were eight towns in the colonies which had presses when Franklin went into business for himself: Cambridge, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Annapolis, New London (Conn.), Woodbridge (N. J.), and Williamsburg. See Isaiah Thomas,The History of Printing in America(Worcester, 1810), II,passim.[i-167]"A printer of first-rate eminence," according to Charles Henry Timperley'sA Dictionary of Printers and Printing(London, 1839), 714 note.[i-168]R. A. Austen Leigh, "William Strahan and His Ledgers," inTransactions of the Bibliographical Society,N. S.III, 286. For Strahan see also Spottiswoode & Co.'sThe Story of a Printing House, Being a Short Account of the Strahans and Spottiswoodes(London, 1911); and Timperley,op. cit., 754-6.[i-169]See G. S. Eddy, "Correspondence Between Dr. Benjamin Franklin and John Walter, Regarding the Logographic Process of Printing,"Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society,N. S.XXXVIII, 349-69 (Oct., 1928).[i-170]Writings, II, 175.[i-171]See W. P. and J. P. Cutler,Life, Journals and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, I, 269, letter of July 13, 1787; also G. S. Eddy,op. cit.[i-172]See Thomas,loc. cit.[i-173]A notable exception was the type of "letter to the editor" which Franklin used as a means of suggesting reforms, such as those affecting the city watch, the fire companies, and the cleaning and lighting of the streets. See J. B. McMaster,Benjamin Franklin as a Man of Letters, 82-5.[i-174]A correspondent of Franklin's paper commended Zenger's stand (seePennsylvania Gazette, May 11-18, 1738; reprinted in W. G. Bleyer,Main Currents in the History of American Journalism, 66-7), but Franklin shrewdly kept his own paper free of factional politics. See Livingston Rutherford,John Peter Zenger(New York, 1904).[i-175]See Clarence S. Brigham, "American Newspapers to 1820,"Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society,N. S.XXXII, 157-9 (April, 1922), for detailed bibliography of theGazette.[i-176]A. H. Smyth,Philadelphia Magazines and Their Contributors, 200.[i-177]Writings, I, 360.[i-178]For a list of the printers with whom Franklin had such connections, see M. R. King, "One Link in the First Newspaper Chain, theSouth Carolina Gazette," Journalism Quarterly, IX, 257 (Sept., 1932).[i-179]For sketches of both magazines, see L. N. Richardson,A History of Early American Magazines, 17-35, and F. L. Mott,A History of American Magazines, 1741-1850, 71-7. See also Philip Biddison, "The Magazine Franklin Failed to Remember,"American Literature, IV, 177 (June, 1932); the writer thinks certain accusations in the Bradford-Franklin controversy over the magazines discreditable to Franklin, so that the latter's lapse of memory saved him "embarrassment."[i-180]See letter to John Wright, Nov. 4, 1789 (Writings, X, 60-3). For European backgrounds of Franklin's economic views see Gide and Rist, in Bibliography. On American backgrounds the standard work is E. A. J. Johnson'sAmerican Economic Thought in the Seventeenth Century(London, 1932), which shows the intimate relation between economic and religious theories.[i-181]Lewis J. Carey,Franklin's Economic Views(Garden City, N. Y., 1928), 72.[i-182]Cited in Carey, 73. He had used in this article facts lent by Benezet concerning the "detestable commerce" motivated in part by English "laws for promoting the Guinea trade" (Writings, V, 431-2).[i-183]Writings, IX, 627.[i-184]In 1779 he professed mortification that the King of France gave "freedom to Slaves, while a king of England is endeavouring to make Slaves of Freemen" (ibid., VII, 402).[i-185]Ibid., IX, 404. See alsoibid., 6.[i-186]Suggestive notes on this point may be found in N. Foerster's article in theAmerican Review, IV, 129-46 (Dec., 1934).[i-187]Writings, VI, 102. See also VI, 39-40.[i-188]Ibid., III, 66.[i-189]Ibid., III, 66-7.[i-190]Ibid., III, 68.[i-191]Carey,op. cit., 69.[i-192]Writings, III, 65.[i-193]Ibid., III, 73.[i-194]That others in the colonies saw slavery as an economically unsound investment (without any reference to its beingmalum in se) may be witnessed in an article in theBoston News-Letter(March 3, 1718): "In the previous year there had been eighty burials of Indians and negroes in Boston. The writer argued that the loss of £30 each amounted to £2,400. If white servants had been employed instead, at £15 for the time of each, the 'town had saved £1,200.' A man could procure £12 to £15 to purchase the time of a white servant that could not pay £30 to £50 for a negro or Indian. 'The Whites Strengthens [sic] and Peoples the Country, others do not'" (W. B. Weeden,Economic and Social History of New England, 1620-1789, Boston, 1891, II, 456). Congruent with Franklin'sObservationsis John Adams's note that "Argument might have some weight in the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts, but the real cause was the multiplication of labouring white people, who would no longer suffer the rich to employ these sable rivals so much to their injury" (ibid., II, 453).[i-195]In Franklin's view, slavery was also politically subversive. In 1756 he feared that the slaves, along with servants and loose people in general, would desert to the French (Writings, III, 359). Since the danger undoubtedly existed (ibid., VII, 48, 69), Franklin had a right to be sardonic in commenting on Dr. Johnson's advice that slaves be incited "to rise, cut the throats of their purchasers, and resort to the British army, where they should be rewarded with freedom" (ibid., X, 110-1).[i-196]Printed inMaryland Gazette(Dec. 17, 1728); later as pamphlet (April 3, 1729).[i-197]Carey,op. cit., 7. SeeWritingsI, 306-7, for Franklin's own account of the effect of this work.[i-198]C. J. Bullock,Essays on the Monetary History of the United States, 51.[i-199]Weeden,op. cit., II, 485.[i-200]Financial History of the United States, 21. Bullock observes another factor: "Sooner or later all the plantations were deeply involved in the mazes of a fluctuating currency, for the burdens attending the various wars of the eighteenth century were so great as to induce even the most conservative colonies to resort to this easy method of meeting public obligations" (op. cit., 33).[i-201]Writings, II, 133-5.[i-202]See Carey,op. cit., chap. I, for suggestive survey of this pamphlet. Carey points out Franklin's indebtedness to writings of Sir William Petty.[i-203]Carey (chap. II, "Value and Interest") quotes Franklin: "Riches of a Country are to be valued by the Quantity of Labour its inhabitants are able to purchase, and not by the Quantity of Silver and Gold they possess" (Writings, II, 144).[i-204]See, for example,Plan for Saving One Hundred Thousand Pounds, 1755 (Writings, III, 293-5).[i-205]Writings, IV, 420:Examination of Benjamin Franklin. He was obliged to admit that Massachusetts colonists had taken a calmer view of the 1751 act (IV, 428).[i-206]G. L. Beer,British Colonial Policy, 1754-1765, 188.[i-207]Although it is true that Pennsylvania suffered less from paper money because of better security (Carey,op. cit., 23 note), it seems curious that Franklin should have been blind to the evils of inflation and the operations of Gresham's law.[i-208]Paper in William Smith Mason Collection; cited in Carey,op. cit., 20. See alsoWritings, V, 189, in which he repeats the threat. British restraint must hence provoke colonial "industry and frugality."[i-209]Writings, VII, 294. Cf.ibid., IX, 231-6.[i-210]SeeWritings, VII, 275, 335, 341.[i-211]To Josiah Quincy, Sept. 11, 1783 (Writings, IX, 93-5).[i-212]In 1779 (seeWritings, VII, 294) Franklin explained that the French knew little of paper currency. Mr. Carey offers convincing evidence to show that Franklin helped to predispose the deputies of the first National Assembly to use assignats (op. cit., 27-33). SeeOf the Paper Money of the United States of America(Writings, IX, 231-6).[i-213]J. F. Watson,Annals of Philadelphia(1844 ed.), I, 533.[i-214]Cited by J. Rae in hisLife of Adam Smith(London, 1895), 265.[i-215]Ibid., 266. See Carey's chapter, "Franklin's Influence on Adam Smith," for an exhaustive survey of thepersonalialinking Adam Smith and Franklin. Both were in London in 1773-1776 and were occasional companions, having in 1759 met in Edinburgh at the home of Dr. Robertson. Probably they again met in Glasgow during the same year. Smith could have received copies of Franklin's works through Hume and Lord Kames; among Franklin's works in Smith's library wasObservations Concerning the Increase of Mankind; when Smith in theWealth of Nationsobserves that colonial population doubles in every twenty to twenty-five years, it seems reasonable to infer that he was beholden to Franklin for the suggestion. It is within the realm of reasonable inference, says Mr. Carey, that Franklin did, as Parton urges, help to educate Smith in the colonial point of view. T. D. Eliot, in "The Relations Between Adam Smith and Benjamin Franklin before 1776,"Political Science Quarterly, XXXIX, 67-96 (March, 1924), after calling attention to the lack of extant correspondence between them and the silence of their contemporaries concerning a vital relationship, shows a reasonable hesitancy in observing that little is known about Smith's alleged debt to Franklin. Like Wetzel and Carey, Eliot thinks the debt has been exaggerated. He has been unable to prove Dr. Patten's intuition that in 1759 Franklin went to Smith in Scotland to urge him to write a treatise on colonial policy. In 1765 Turgot met Adam Smith. In the following year he published hisRéflexions sur la formation et la distribution des richesses, antedating Smith'sWealth of Nationsby ten years. See J. Delvaille'sEssai sur l'histoire de l'idée de progrès(Paris, 1910), chap. IV, on Adam Smith; and Carey,op. cit., 152, 158-9, for the relationship between Turgot and Franklin.[i-216]Although both Franklin and Smith held to the labor theory of value (Franklin was indebted to Petty for his use of the term), Smith was confirmed in his belief before he knew of Franklin or his works.[i-217]According to Jacob Viner ("Adam Smith and Laissez Faire," inAdam Smith, 1776-1926. Lectures to Commemorate the Sesqui-Centennial of the Publication of 'The Wealth of Nations,' 116-55), "Smith's major claim to fame ... seems to rest on his elaborate and detailed application to the economic world of the concept of a unified natural order, operating according to natural law, and if left to its own course producing results beneficial to mankind" (p. 118), which suggests, especially inTheory of Moral Sentiments, that self-love and social are the same. When Smith came to write theWealth of Nations, he tended, Viner asserts, to distrust the operations of the harmonious natural order—yet Viner admits that many passages tend to corroborate his earlier view expressed inTheory of Moral Sentimentsand that "There is no possible room for doubt that Smith in general believed that there was, to say the least, a stronger presumption against government activity beyond its fundamental duties of protection against its foreign foes and maintenance of justice" (p. 140). We shall see elsewhere that Franklin seems to have urged a less frugal governmental restraint in activities other than economic.[i-218]The Colonial Mind, 173. It is generally thought thatPrinciples of Tradeis "partly" Franklin's "own composition" (Carey,op. cit., 161).[i-219]Philadelphia, Sept. 13, 1775: MS letter (unpublished) in W. S. Mason Collection.[i-220]London, Sept. 29, 1769: MS letter (unpublished) in W. S. Mason Collection.[i-221]London, Feb. 20, 1768 (Writings, V, 102).[i-222]Dated April 4, 1769 (ibid., V, 200-2).[i-223]Writings, V, 202.[i-224]Cited by F. W. Garrison in "Franklin and the Physiocrats,"Freeman, VIII, 154-6 (Oct. 24, 1923).[i-225]Dupont de Nemours's opinion of Franklin (Writings, V, 153-4).[i-226]Writings, V, 156. See W. Steell's entertaining "The First Visit to Paris," inBenjamin Franklin of Paris, 3-21; also E. E. Hale and E. E. Hale, Jr.,Franklin in France, I, 7-13.

[i-117]Writings, VIII, 451.

[i-118]For example seeibid., IX, 74, 557.

[i-119]SeeWritings, VIII, 454.

[i-120]See R. M. Gummere, "Socrates at the Printing Press. Benjamin Franklin and the Classics,"Classical Weekly, XXVI, 57-9 (Dec. 5, 1932).

[i-121]Several of the following arguments are included in C. E. Jorgenson's "Sidelights on Benjamin Franklin's Principles of Rhetoric,"Revue Anglo-Américaine, Feb., 1934, 208-22.

[i-122]Hume wrote to Franklin: "You are the first philosopher, and indeed the first great man of letters for whom we are beholden to her [America]" (Writings, IV, 154). Cowper exclaimed that Franklin was "one of the most important [men] in the literary world, that the present age can boast of" (Parton,op. cit., II, 439); for other engaging estimates of Franklin as a man of letters consult C. W. Moulton,Library of Literary Criticism ..., IV, 79-106.

[i-123]Franklin found in an appendix to Greenwood'sEnglish Grammarand in theMemorabiliaspecimens of the Socratic method which influenced him to adopt the manner of "the humble inquirer and doubter," to write and harangue with a "modest diffidence." On several occasions he approvingly quotes Pope's rule: "to speak, tho' sure, with seeming Diffidence." Jefferson recognized Franklin's use of this kind of Machiavellian diffidence, noting, "It was one of the rules which, above all others, made Dr. Franklin the most amiable of men in society, never to contradict anybody," and that "if he was urged to announce an opinion, he did it rather by asking questions, as if for information, or by suggesting doubts." In theAutobiographyFranklin sees the Socratic method as a necessary ally to "doing good," observing that many who mean to be helpful "lessen their power of doing good by a positive, assuming manner, that seldom fails to disgust, tends to create opposition, and to defeat every one of those purposes for which speech was given to us."

[i-124]Bunyan's dignified simplicity, his "sound and honest Gospel strains," may have been one of Franklin's incentives to write lucidly and compellingly. For Bunyan's literary ideals, see the prefaces to his works, especially that toGrace Abounding. The best study of Defoe and Swift as literary theorists is W. Gückel and E. Günther,D. Defoes und J. Swifts Belesenheit und literarische Kritik(Leipzig, 1925).

[i-125]E. C. Cook,Literary Influences in Colonial Newspapers, 1704-1750, 15. This scholarly work shows the great influence in America of neoclassical authors.

[i-126]For a generous catalog of the devices borrowed seeibid., 15 f.

[i-127]Spectator, No. 167.

[i-128]For a fuller discussion of Franklin's view of the ancients, see section on "Franklin's Theories of Education," p. xxxii above.

[i-129]Cited in R. F. Jones, "Science and English Prose Style ...,"Publications of the Modern Language Association, XLV, 982 (Dec., 1930). On the backgrounds of literary theories underlying the sermons which Franklin heard, see scholarly studies such as Caroline F. Richardson'sEnglish Preachers and Preaching, 1640-1670(New York, 1928), and W. F. Mitchell'sEnglish Pulpit Oratory(New York, 1932). From 1750 on, however, the Puritan clergy in America increasingly advocated a simple, clear, and easy style. See Howard M. Jones, "American Prose Style; 1700-1770,"Huntington Library Bulletin, No. 6, 115-51 (Nov., 1934).

[i-130]History of the Royal Society ...(2d ed., London, 1702), 113.

[i-131]R. F. Jones,op. cit., 989. Tillotson, whom Franklin suggested as a model worthy of emulation (Writings, II, 391), was "another great exponent of the new style" (R. F. Jones,op. cit., 1002).

[i-132]L. M. MacLaurin (Franklin's Vocabulary, 21) also suggests Franklin's probable indebtedness to the Royal Society program.

[i-133]O. Elton,The Augustan Age, 8-12.

[i-134]A. O. Lovejoy, "The Parallel of Deism and Classicism,"Modern Philology, XXIX, 281-99 (Feb., 1932).

[i-135]Franklin's friend Henry Pemberton, in hisView of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy(London, 1728), had said (pp. 2-3) that the Newtonian thirst for knowledge, especially of the causes of the operations of nature, had become "so general, that all men of letters, I believe, find themselves influenced by it."

[i-136]Writings, II, 157.

[i-137]Ibid., I, 37.

[i-138]Ibid., I, ix.

[i-139]Ibid., III, 121. For his demand that sculpture and music have "beautiful simplicity" of form seeibid., VII, 194; VIII, 578; IV, 210, 377-8, 381; V, 530; VIII, 94. On the basis of confusion of genres, Franklin disliked the opera.

[i-140]Ibid., I, 41. See also X, 33, 51.

[i-141]Miss MacLaurin's research has disclosed that Franklin's vocabulary (4,062 words, between 1722 and 1751) contained only 19 words which "were discovered to be pure 'Americanisms,' and of these, 6 are the names of herbs or grasses; 1 is derived from the name of an American university, and 1 from the name of an American state" (op. cit., 38-9).

[i-142]Quoted in Bruce,op. cit., II, 439. Also see his letters to Noah Webster,Writings, I, 29; X, 75-6.

[i-143]S. A. Leonard,The Doctrine of Correctness in English Usage, 1700-1800, 14.

[i-144]See L. Richardson,A History of Early American Magazines, 1741-1789, index, for the vogue of Swift. In the library of theNew England Courant, as early as 1722, there was a copy ofThe Tale of a Tub(T. G. Wright,Literary Culture in Early New England, 1620-1730, 187-8). Franklin was probably indebted to the Dean for his prophecies of the death of Titan Leeds (although he could have learned the use of this device from Defoe). InIdea of the English SchoolFranklin recommends Swift for use in the sixth class (Writings, III, 28). HisMeditation on a Quart Muggis undoubtedly derived from Swift'sMeditation upon a Broomstick, each forced to undergo the indignities of a "dirty wench." In 1757 he made the acquaintance of Dr. John Hawksworth, who in 1755 had edited Swift's works. It is likely that this friendly union may have helped to produce Franklin's 1773 masterpieces of caustic irony and the disarmingly effective hoaxes. Variously he quotes (acknowledged and otherwise) bits from Swift's poetry and prose. See Herbert Davis's "Swift's View of Poetry," inStudies In English by Members of University College, Toronto(1931), collected by M. W. Wallace.

[i-145]Writings, III, 26.

[i-146]To suggest that Franklin knew his Horace, seeibid., VI, 150; VIII, 148.

[i-147]It seems unnecessary to extend a discussion of the didacticism inherent in Franklin's writing. Addison, and the ethical bent of neoclassicism in general, impinging on a mind no small part of which was motivated by its Puritan heritage, help to account for Franklin's ethicism, a lifelong quality. References illustrating his assumed role asCensor Morumare:Writings, I, 37, 243; II, 4, 50, 101, 110-1, 117, 175. Franklin proposes not only to delight, but also, in the Jonsonian and Meredithian sense, to instruct through a mild catharsis brought about by holding up man's excesses and vagaries for ridicule. He is firm in distinguishing good writing by its "tendency to benefit the reader, by improving his virtue or his knowledge." Consonant with Horace's"To teach—to please—comprise the poet's views,Or else at once to profit and amuse,"and with Sidney's "to teach delightfully," Franklin's literary purpose included a basic ethical motivation.

"To teach—to please—comprise the poet's views,Or else at once to profit and amuse,"

and with Sidney's "to teach delightfully," Franklin's literary purpose included a basic ethical motivation.

[i-148]Writings, I, 226.

[i-149]Ibid., I, 42-3.

[i-150]Fully aware "that I am noPoet born" (Bruce,op. cit., II, 498), apparently agreeing with his father that poets "were generally beggars" (WritingsI, 240), Franklin allowed only that writing poetry may improve one's language. YetDogood PaperNo. VII and his estimate of Cowper (characterized by easiness in manner, correctness in language, clarity of expression, perspicuity, and justness of the sentiments) (ibid., VIII, 448-9), and the "Tears of Pleasure" he shed over Thomson, all suggest that he was not wholly blind to poetry. He hoped to see Philadelphia "become the Seat of theAmericanMuses" (ibid., II, 245, 110; IV, 181, 184; VI, 437).

[i-151]A. Bosker,Literary Criticism in the Age of Johnson, 34. For important qualifications see the thorough study by Donald F. Bond, "'Distrust' of Imagination in English Neo-Classicism,"Philological Quarterly, XIV, 54-69 (Jan., 1935). Those interested in considering Franklin with reference to contemporary literary theory will find full materials in J. W. Draper'sEighteenth-Century English Aesthetics: A Bibliography, and additions to it by R. S. Crane,Modern Philology, XXIX, 25 ff. (1931); W. D. Templeman,ibid., XXX, 309-16; R. D. Havens,Modern Language Notes, XLVII, 118-20 (1932).

[i-152]Writings, II, 24.

[i-153]Ibid., V, 182; also II, 43, and VIII, 128, 163, 604.

[i-154]See G. S. Eddy, "Dr. Benjamin Franklin's Library,"Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society,N. S.XXXIV, 206-26 (Oct., 1924).

[i-155]See C. E. Jorgenson, "Benjamin Franklin and Rabelais,"Classical Journal, XXIX, 538-40 (April, 1934).

[i-156]The Travels of Cyrus.

[i-157]Independent WhigandCato's Letters.

[i-158]For an interesting summary of Franklin's references to the classics, see R. M. Gummere,op. cit.

[i-159]Add to this, Franklin's use of the Swiftian hoax and complex irony. After writingRules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One(1773) he explained to a friend: "These odd ways of presenting Matters to the publick View sometimes occasion them to be more read, talk'd of, and more attended to" (Writings, VI, 137). Parton observes that theEdict of the King of Prussia"was the nine-days' talk of the kingdom." Raynal unsuspectingly used Franklin'sPolly Baker, as an authentic document in hisHistoire .... Franklin'sExporting of Felons to the Colonies,The Sale of Hessians, andA Dialogue between Britain, France, Spain, Holland, Saxony, and Americaillustrate these trenchant devices used to achieve a political purpose.

[i-160]Writings, I, 49.

[i-161]The True Benjamin Franklin, 158.

[i-162]Writings, I, 239.

[i-163]Smyth's note,Writings, VIII, 336.

[i-164]Writings, I, 238.

[i-165]Writings, X, 4 (to Mrs. Catherine Greene, March 2, 1789).

[i-166]There were eight towns in the colonies which had presses when Franklin went into business for himself: Cambridge, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Annapolis, New London (Conn.), Woodbridge (N. J.), and Williamsburg. See Isaiah Thomas,The History of Printing in America(Worcester, 1810), II,passim.

[i-167]"A printer of first-rate eminence," according to Charles Henry Timperley'sA Dictionary of Printers and Printing(London, 1839), 714 note.

[i-168]R. A. Austen Leigh, "William Strahan and His Ledgers," inTransactions of the Bibliographical Society,N. S.III, 286. For Strahan see also Spottiswoode & Co.'sThe Story of a Printing House, Being a Short Account of the Strahans and Spottiswoodes(London, 1911); and Timperley,op. cit., 754-6.

[i-169]See G. S. Eddy, "Correspondence Between Dr. Benjamin Franklin and John Walter, Regarding the Logographic Process of Printing,"Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society,N. S.XXXVIII, 349-69 (Oct., 1928).

[i-170]Writings, II, 175.

[i-171]See W. P. and J. P. Cutler,Life, Journals and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, I, 269, letter of July 13, 1787; also G. S. Eddy,op. cit.

[i-172]See Thomas,loc. cit.

[i-173]A notable exception was the type of "letter to the editor" which Franklin used as a means of suggesting reforms, such as those affecting the city watch, the fire companies, and the cleaning and lighting of the streets. See J. B. McMaster,Benjamin Franklin as a Man of Letters, 82-5.

[i-174]A correspondent of Franklin's paper commended Zenger's stand (seePennsylvania Gazette, May 11-18, 1738; reprinted in W. G. Bleyer,Main Currents in the History of American Journalism, 66-7), but Franklin shrewdly kept his own paper free of factional politics. See Livingston Rutherford,John Peter Zenger(New York, 1904).

[i-175]See Clarence S. Brigham, "American Newspapers to 1820,"Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society,N. S.XXXII, 157-9 (April, 1922), for detailed bibliography of theGazette.

[i-176]A. H. Smyth,Philadelphia Magazines and Their Contributors, 200.

[i-177]Writings, I, 360.

[i-178]For a list of the printers with whom Franklin had such connections, see M. R. King, "One Link in the First Newspaper Chain, theSouth Carolina Gazette," Journalism Quarterly, IX, 257 (Sept., 1932).

[i-179]For sketches of both magazines, see L. N. Richardson,A History of Early American Magazines, 17-35, and F. L. Mott,A History of American Magazines, 1741-1850, 71-7. See also Philip Biddison, "The Magazine Franklin Failed to Remember,"American Literature, IV, 177 (June, 1932); the writer thinks certain accusations in the Bradford-Franklin controversy over the magazines discreditable to Franklin, so that the latter's lapse of memory saved him "embarrassment."

[i-180]See letter to John Wright, Nov. 4, 1789 (Writings, X, 60-3). For European backgrounds of Franklin's economic views see Gide and Rist, in Bibliography. On American backgrounds the standard work is E. A. J. Johnson'sAmerican Economic Thought in the Seventeenth Century(London, 1932), which shows the intimate relation between economic and religious theories.

[i-181]Lewis J. Carey,Franklin's Economic Views(Garden City, N. Y., 1928), 72.

[i-182]Cited in Carey, 73. He had used in this article facts lent by Benezet concerning the "detestable commerce" motivated in part by English "laws for promoting the Guinea trade" (Writings, V, 431-2).

[i-183]Writings, IX, 627.

[i-184]In 1779 he professed mortification that the King of France gave "freedom to Slaves, while a king of England is endeavouring to make Slaves of Freemen" (ibid., VII, 402).

[i-185]Ibid., IX, 404. See alsoibid., 6.

[i-186]Suggestive notes on this point may be found in N. Foerster's article in theAmerican Review, IV, 129-46 (Dec., 1934).

[i-187]Writings, VI, 102. See also VI, 39-40.

[i-188]Ibid., III, 66.

[i-189]Ibid., III, 66-7.

[i-190]Ibid., III, 68.

[i-191]Carey,op. cit., 69.

[i-192]Writings, III, 65.

[i-193]Ibid., III, 73.

[i-194]That others in the colonies saw slavery as an economically unsound investment (without any reference to its beingmalum in se) may be witnessed in an article in theBoston News-Letter(March 3, 1718): "In the previous year there had been eighty burials of Indians and negroes in Boston. The writer argued that the loss of £30 each amounted to £2,400. If white servants had been employed instead, at £15 for the time of each, the 'town had saved £1,200.' A man could procure £12 to £15 to purchase the time of a white servant that could not pay £30 to £50 for a negro or Indian. 'The Whites Strengthens [sic] and Peoples the Country, others do not'" (W. B. Weeden,Economic and Social History of New England, 1620-1789, Boston, 1891, II, 456). Congruent with Franklin'sObservationsis John Adams's note that "Argument might have some weight in the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts, but the real cause was the multiplication of labouring white people, who would no longer suffer the rich to employ these sable rivals so much to their injury" (ibid., II, 453).

[i-195]In Franklin's view, slavery was also politically subversive. In 1756 he feared that the slaves, along with servants and loose people in general, would desert to the French (Writings, III, 359). Since the danger undoubtedly existed (ibid., VII, 48, 69), Franklin had a right to be sardonic in commenting on Dr. Johnson's advice that slaves be incited "to rise, cut the throats of their purchasers, and resort to the British army, where they should be rewarded with freedom" (ibid., X, 110-1).

[i-196]Printed inMaryland Gazette(Dec. 17, 1728); later as pamphlet (April 3, 1729).

[i-197]Carey,op. cit., 7. SeeWritingsI, 306-7, for Franklin's own account of the effect of this work.

[i-198]C. J. Bullock,Essays on the Monetary History of the United States, 51.

[i-199]Weeden,op. cit., II, 485.

[i-200]Financial History of the United States, 21. Bullock observes another factor: "Sooner or later all the plantations were deeply involved in the mazes of a fluctuating currency, for the burdens attending the various wars of the eighteenth century were so great as to induce even the most conservative colonies to resort to this easy method of meeting public obligations" (op. cit., 33).

[i-201]Writings, II, 133-5.

[i-202]See Carey,op. cit., chap. I, for suggestive survey of this pamphlet. Carey points out Franklin's indebtedness to writings of Sir William Petty.

[i-203]Carey (chap. II, "Value and Interest") quotes Franklin: "Riches of a Country are to be valued by the Quantity of Labour its inhabitants are able to purchase, and not by the Quantity of Silver and Gold they possess" (Writings, II, 144).

[i-204]See, for example,Plan for Saving One Hundred Thousand Pounds, 1755 (Writings, III, 293-5).

[i-205]Writings, IV, 420:Examination of Benjamin Franklin. He was obliged to admit that Massachusetts colonists had taken a calmer view of the 1751 act (IV, 428).

[i-206]G. L. Beer,British Colonial Policy, 1754-1765, 188.

[i-207]Although it is true that Pennsylvania suffered less from paper money because of better security (Carey,op. cit., 23 note), it seems curious that Franklin should have been blind to the evils of inflation and the operations of Gresham's law.

[i-208]Paper in William Smith Mason Collection; cited in Carey,op. cit., 20. See alsoWritings, V, 189, in which he repeats the threat. British restraint must hence provoke colonial "industry and frugality."

[i-209]Writings, VII, 294. Cf.ibid., IX, 231-6.

[i-210]SeeWritings, VII, 275, 335, 341.

[i-211]To Josiah Quincy, Sept. 11, 1783 (Writings, IX, 93-5).

[i-212]In 1779 (seeWritings, VII, 294) Franklin explained that the French knew little of paper currency. Mr. Carey offers convincing evidence to show that Franklin helped to predispose the deputies of the first National Assembly to use assignats (op. cit., 27-33). SeeOf the Paper Money of the United States of America(Writings, IX, 231-6).

[i-213]J. F. Watson,Annals of Philadelphia(1844 ed.), I, 533.

[i-214]Cited by J. Rae in hisLife of Adam Smith(London, 1895), 265.

[i-215]Ibid., 266. See Carey's chapter, "Franklin's Influence on Adam Smith," for an exhaustive survey of thepersonalialinking Adam Smith and Franklin. Both were in London in 1773-1776 and were occasional companions, having in 1759 met in Edinburgh at the home of Dr. Robertson. Probably they again met in Glasgow during the same year. Smith could have received copies of Franklin's works through Hume and Lord Kames; among Franklin's works in Smith's library wasObservations Concerning the Increase of Mankind; when Smith in theWealth of Nationsobserves that colonial population doubles in every twenty to twenty-five years, it seems reasonable to infer that he was beholden to Franklin for the suggestion. It is within the realm of reasonable inference, says Mr. Carey, that Franklin did, as Parton urges, help to educate Smith in the colonial point of view. T. D. Eliot, in "The Relations Between Adam Smith and Benjamin Franklin before 1776,"Political Science Quarterly, XXXIX, 67-96 (March, 1924), after calling attention to the lack of extant correspondence between them and the silence of their contemporaries concerning a vital relationship, shows a reasonable hesitancy in observing that little is known about Smith's alleged debt to Franklin. Like Wetzel and Carey, Eliot thinks the debt has been exaggerated. He has been unable to prove Dr. Patten's intuition that in 1759 Franklin went to Smith in Scotland to urge him to write a treatise on colonial policy. In 1765 Turgot met Adam Smith. In the following year he published hisRéflexions sur la formation et la distribution des richesses, antedating Smith'sWealth of Nationsby ten years. See J. Delvaille'sEssai sur l'histoire de l'idée de progrès(Paris, 1910), chap. IV, on Adam Smith; and Carey,op. cit., 152, 158-9, for the relationship between Turgot and Franklin.

[i-216]Although both Franklin and Smith held to the labor theory of value (Franklin was indebted to Petty for his use of the term), Smith was confirmed in his belief before he knew of Franklin or his works.

[i-217]According to Jacob Viner ("Adam Smith and Laissez Faire," inAdam Smith, 1776-1926. Lectures to Commemorate the Sesqui-Centennial of the Publication of 'The Wealth of Nations,' 116-55), "Smith's major claim to fame ... seems to rest on his elaborate and detailed application to the economic world of the concept of a unified natural order, operating according to natural law, and if left to its own course producing results beneficial to mankind" (p. 118), which suggests, especially inTheory of Moral Sentiments, that self-love and social are the same. When Smith came to write theWealth of Nations, he tended, Viner asserts, to distrust the operations of the harmonious natural order—yet Viner admits that many passages tend to corroborate his earlier view expressed inTheory of Moral Sentimentsand that "There is no possible room for doubt that Smith in general believed that there was, to say the least, a stronger presumption against government activity beyond its fundamental duties of protection against its foreign foes and maintenance of justice" (p. 140). We shall see elsewhere that Franklin seems to have urged a less frugal governmental restraint in activities other than economic.

[i-218]The Colonial Mind, 173. It is generally thought thatPrinciples of Tradeis "partly" Franklin's "own composition" (Carey,op. cit., 161).

[i-219]Philadelphia, Sept. 13, 1775: MS letter (unpublished) in W. S. Mason Collection.

[i-220]London, Sept. 29, 1769: MS letter (unpublished) in W. S. Mason Collection.

[i-221]London, Feb. 20, 1768 (Writings, V, 102).

[i-222]Dated April 4, 1769 (ibid., V, 200-2).

[i-223]Writings, V, 202.

[i-224]Cited by F. W. Garrison in "Franklin and the Physiocrats,"Freeman, VIII, 154-6 (Oct. 24, 1923).

[i-225]Dupont de Nemours's opinion of Franklin (Writings, V, 153-4).

[i-226]Writings, V, 156. See W. Steell's entertaining "The First Visit to Paris," inBenjamin Franklin of Paris, 3-21; also E. E. Hale and E. E. Hale, Jr.,Franklin in France, I, 7-13.

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