[i-340]Ibid., 222.[i-341]Cited in W. T. Franklin's edition, I, 303-4. E. P. Oberholtzer, essentially hostile to Franklin, is obliged to admit that Franklin "seems not to have had more than an advisory part" in making the Constitution of 1776. He adds that if Franklin did not form it, "he was at any rate a loyal defender of its principles," and that he seems to have allowed the French to think that the Constitution was his own (The Referendum in America, New York, 1900, 26-42). For Franklin's later defenses of unicameralism, seeWritings, IX, 645, 674; X; 56-8.[i-342]Cited in B. Faÿ,The Revolutionary Spirit In France and America, 289. Faÿ shows that in France the "revolutionary leaders" who took lessons from Franklin regarded him as "the prophet and saint of a new religion," as the "high priest of Philosophy." See also E. J. Lowell,The Eve of the French Revolution(Boston, 1892), chaps. XVI and XVIII.[i-343]B. Faÿ,The Revolutionary Spirit in France and America, 302.[i-344]Writings, VIII, 34.[i-345]Ibid., VIII, 452; June 7, 1782 (to Joseph Priestley).[i-346]Ibid., IX, 241.[i-347]Ibid., IX, 330.[i-348]Ibid., IX, 521; see also IX, 489.[i-349]Although the preponderance of evidence bears out the trustworthiness of this assertion, one can not idly dismiss hisSome Good Whig Principlesor disregard his expressed belief that the people "seldom continue long in the wrong" and if misled they "come right again, and double their former affections" (cited in W. C. Bruce,Benjamin Franklin, Self-Revealed, II, 100; also seeWritings, X, 130). There is a clearly evident polarity in Franklin's mind between ultra-democratic faith and a rigorous observation that if "people" are so constituted, many men are utter rascals. One almost senses a dichotomy between Franklin the politician and Franklin the man and moralist.[i-350]See hisThe Constitution of the United States(New York, 1924).[i-351]The Records of the Federal Convention, ed. by Max Farrand, I, 488; seeWritings, IX, 602-3, 595-9.[i-352]Writings, IX, 596.[i-353]The Records of the Federal Convention, I, 47.[i-354]Ibid., I, 165.[i-355]Writings, IX, 593.[i-356]The Records of the Federal Convention, I, 109.[i-357]Ibid., II, 120.[i-358]Ibid., II, 204.[i-359]Franklin objected to primogeniture and entail.[i-360]Ibid., II, 249.[i-361]Gettell,op. cit., 122.[i-362]Writings, X, 56-8.[i-363]Ibid., IX, 698-703.[i-364]Ibid., IX, 608.[i-365]Ibid., IX, 638.[i-366]Writings, X, 7.[i-367]Letter in American Philosophical Society Library; cited by B. M. Victory,Benjamin Franklin and Germany, 128.[i-368]Writings, III, 96.[i-369]Ibid., III, 97.[i-370]Ibid., III, 107.[i-371]Ibid., IV, 221.[i-372]Ibid., IV, 377.[i-373]Ibid., V, 165. He repeated this thought to Beccaria in 1773 (ibid., VI, 112). Also see V, 206, 410-1, VII, 49.[i-374]Ibid., VII, 418; also see VIII, 211.[i-375]Ibid., VIII, 315; also see letter to Priestley, June 7, 1782, VIII, 451; to Comte de Salmes, July 5, 1785, IX, 361.[i-376]Ibid., IX, 652.[i-377]Ibid., IX, 621. He wrote this after he was reappointed President of Pennsylvania in 1787. He confessed, however, that this honor gave him "no small pleasure."[i-378]W. P. and J. P. Cutler,Life, Journals and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, I, 269-70.[i-379]Joseph and Benjamin, A Conversation, Trans. from a French Manuscript (London, 1787), 72. If this meeting never took place, the reported conversation is anything but "decidedly silly" as Ford opines (Franklin Bibliography, #936, 371).[i-380]Writings, IV, 143.[i-381]Ibid., VIII, 601. Also see IX, 53.[i-382]Ibid., VIII, 593.[i-383]Brother Potamian and J. J. Walsh,Makers of Electricity, 126.[i-384]"Letters and Papers of Cadwallader Colden, IV (1748-54),"Collections of the New York Historical Society(1920), 372.[i-385]"An Outline of Philosophy in America,"Western Reserve University Bulletin(March, 1896). See also I. W. Riley,American Philosophy: The Early Schools, 229-65.[i-386]Franklin, the Apostle of Modern Times, iv.[i-387]Writings, I, 295.[i-388]Boston News-Letter, Jan. 17, 1744/5. Also see 1669-1882.An Historical Catalogue of the Old South Church (Third Church), Boston(Boston, 1883), 304.[i-389]Writings, I, 324.[i-390]Writings, IX, 208.[i-391]Essays to do Good, with an Introductory Essay by A. Thomson (Glasgow, 1825), 102.[i-392]Ibid., 213-4.[i-393]Works of Daniel Defoe, ed. by Wm. Hazlitt (London, 1843), I, 22.[i-394]Writings, I, 239.[i-395]SeeNew England Courant, No. 48, June 25-July 2, 1722.[i-396]Writings, I, 244.[i-397]Consecrated to piety, Robert Boyle at his death left £50 per annum, for a clergyman elected to "preach eight sermons in the year for proving the Christian religion against notorious infidels,viz.Atheists, Theists, Pagans, Jews, and Mahometans ..." (Works of Robert Boyle, London, 1772, I, clxvii.)[i-398]Writings, I, 295.[i-399]In his Introduction toSelections from Cotton Mather(New York, 1926), xlix-li, K. B. Murdock agrees with I. W. Riley thatThe Christian Philosopher(1721) represents the first stage of the reaction from scriptural Calvinism to the scientific deism of Paine and Franklin. T. Hornberger's "The Date, the Source, and the Significance of Cotton Mather's Interest in Science" (loc. cit.) shows that "as early as 1693 Cotton Mather was expressing that delight in the wonder and beauty of design in the external world which Professors Murdock and Riley regard as deistic in tendency," that he "was unconsciously vacillating between two points of view."[i-400]Works of Richard Bentley, ed. by A. Dyce (London, 1838), III, 74-5.[i-401]Ibid., III, 79.[i-402]Physico-Theology ...(5th ed., London, 1720), 25-6. God's "exquisite Workmanship" is seen in "every Creature" (p. 27).[i-403]SeeA Discourse of Free-Thinking(London, 1713).[i-404]Priestcraft in Perfection ...(London, 1710).[i-405]Writings, I, 243.[i-406]A. C. Fraser ed. (Oxford, 1894), II, 425-6.[i-407]Ibid., II, 121. For Locke and his place in the age see S. G. Hefelbower'sThe Relation of John Locke to English Deism. About the time he read Locke, Franklin notes he studied Arnauld and Nicole'sLa logique ou l'art de penser. Mr. G. S. Eddy has informed one of the editors that the Library Company of Philadelphia owns John Ozell's translation of the work (London, 1718), and that this was the copy owned by Franklin. (See Lowndes'sBibliographer's Manual, IV, 1930, andDictionary of National Biography, "John Ozell.") In accord with the English deistic and rationalistic tendency,La logiqueadmits that Aristotle's authority is not good, that "Men cannot long endure such constraint" (Thomas S. Bayne's trans., 8th ed., Edinburgh and London, n.d., 23). Indebted to Pascal and Descartes, it admits with the latter that geometry and astronomy may help one achieve justness of mind, but it vigorously asserts that this justness of mind is more important than speculative science (p. 1). Anti-sensational, it denies "that all our ideas come through sense" (p. 34), affirming that we have within us ideas of things (p. 31). It is uncertain of the value of induction, which "is never a certain means of acquiring perfect knowledge" (p. 265; see also 304, 307, 308, 350). It accords little praise to the sciences and reason, and seems wary of metaphysical speculation, assuring more humbly that "Piety, wisdom, moderation, are without doubt the most estimable qualities in the world" (p. 291). As we shall discover, this work on the whole seems to have had (with the exception of the last very general principle) little formative influence on the young mind which was fast impregnating itself with scientific deism. Were it not for the recurring implications (particularly in the harvest of editions of theAutobiography) thatLa logiqueis as significant for our study as, for example, the works of Locke and Shaftesbury, this note would be pedantic supererogation.[i-408]A. C. Fraser,op. cit., I, 99. See also 190, 402-3; II, 65, 68, 352.[i-409]Cited in C. A. Moore, "Shaftesbury and the Ethical Poets in England, 1700-1760,"Publications of the Modern Language Association, XXXI (N. S.XXIV), 276 (June, 1916).[i-410]Ibid., 271.[i-411]J. M. Robertson, ed.,Characteristics ...(New York, 1900), I, 27.[i-412]Ibid., I, 241-2.[i-413]Moore,op. cit., 267.[i-414]InDogood PaperNo. XIV Franklin suggests (autobiographically?): "In Matters of Religion, he that alters his Opinion on areligious Account, must certainly go thro' much Reading, hear many Arguments on both Sides, and undergo many Struggles in his Conscience, before he can come to a full Resolution" (Writings, II, 46).[i-415]He read Thomas Tryon'sThe Way to Health, Long Life and Happiness, probably the second edition (London, 1691), a copy of which is in the W. S. Mason Collection. Tryon holds that no "greater Happiness" than Attic sobriety is "attainable upon Earth" (p. 1). Divine Temperance is the "spring head of all Virtues" (p. 33). Inward harmony "is both the Glory and the Happiness, the Joy and Solace of created Beings, the celebrated Musick of the Spheres, the Eccho of Heaven, the Business of Seraphims, and the Imployment of Eternity" (p. 500). From Xenophon he learned that "self-restraint" is "the very corner-stone of virtue." The classic core of theMemorabiliais the love of the moderate contending with the love of the incontinent. Franklin has impressed many as representing an American Socrates. Emerson was certain that Socrates "had a Franklin-like wisdom" (Centenary Ed., IV, 72). Franklin's fondness for Socratic centrality, discipline, and knowledge of self is fragmentarily shown by the aphorisms appropriated inPoor Richard. There are scores of the quality of the following: "He that lives carnally won't live eternally." "Who has deceived thee so oft as thyself?" "Caesar did not merit the triumphal car more than he that conquers himself." "If Passion drives, let Reason hold the Reins." "A man in a Passion rides a mad Horse." "There are three Things extremely hard, Steel, a Diamond and to know one's self." Consult T. H. Russell'sThe Sayings of Poor Richard, 1733-1758.[i-416]See S. Bloore, "Samuel Keimer. A Footnote to the Life of Franklin,"Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, LIV, 255-87 (July, 1930), and "Samuel Keimer," inDictionary of American Biography, X, 288-9. In 1724 Samuel Keimer (probably with Franklin's aid) reprinted Gordon and Trenchard'sThe Independent Whig. (See W. J. Campbell'sA Short-Title Check List of all the Books, Pamphlets, Broadsides, known to have been printed by Benjamin Franklin.) Franklin also was acquainted with theirCato's Letters, having helped to set up parts from it while working on theNew England Courant.The Independent Whigemphasizes humanitarian morality rather than theological dogma, morality which "prompts us to do good to all Men, and to all Men alike" (London, 1721, xlviii). It is fearful of metaphysical vagaries (p. 26). Warring against priests and their "Monkey Tricks at Church" (p. 165)—"One Drop of Priestcraft is enough to contaminate the Ocean" (p. 168)—it sets up a violent antithesis between reason and authority (p. 212), declaring that "we must judge from Scripture what is Orthodoxy"but"we must judge from Reason, what is Scripture" (p. 276). Tilting at a Deity "revengeful, cruel, capricious, impotent, vain, fond of Commendation and Flattery," exalting an "All-powerful, All-wise, and All-merciful God" (p. 413),The Independent Whig, like Franklin'sArticles, suggests that "it is absurd to suppose, that we can direct the All-wise Being in the Dispensation of his Providence; or can flatter or persuade him out of his eternal Decrees" (p. 436). InCato's Letters(3rd ed., 4 vols., London, 1733), which were tremendously popular in the American colonies, Franklin could have read that "The People have no Biass to be Knaves" (I, 178), that man "cannot enter into the Rationale of God's punishing all Mankind for the Sin of their first Parents, which they could not help" (IV, 38), "That we cannot provoke him, when we intend to adore him; that the best Way to serve him, is to be serviceable to one another" (IV, 103). Jesus instituted a natural religion, a worship of One Immutable God, free from priests, sacrifices, and ceremonies, in which one shows through "doing Good to men" his adoration for God (IV, 265-6). Here are observations which could easily have reinforced Franklin's deistic rationale. For interesting evidence of further deistic and rationalistic works available to Franklin, see L. C. Wroth'sAn American Bookshelf, 1755.[i-417]One of the editors has examined the photostatedNew England Courantin the W. S. Mason Collection. For readable accounts of this newspaper see: W. G. Bleyer,Main Currents in the History of American Journalism, chaps. I-II; C. A. Duniway,The Development of Freedom of the Press in Massachusetts, 97-103; W. C. Ford, "Franklin's New England Courant,"Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, LVII, 336-53 (April, 1924); H. F. Kane, "James Franklin Senior, Printer of Boston and Newport,"American Collector, III, 17-26 (Oct., 1926).[i-418]SeeWritings, II, 52-3.[i-419]One of the editors has used the Huth copy now possessed by W. S. Mason. Not included in the Sparks, Bigelow, or Smyth editions of his works, it was printed by Parton as an Appendix to hisLife; by I. W. Riley,op. cit., and recently edited by L. C. Wroth for The Facsimile Text Society.[i-420]Franklin must have been mistaken in his belief that he set up the second edition. The work was privately printed in 1722, reprinted in 1724 and a second time in 1725. Hence Franklin really set up thethirdedition. For an extensive analysis of this work, see C. G. Thompson's dissertation,The Ethics of William Wollaston(Boston, 1922).[i-421]Wollaston,op. cit., 15.[i-422]Ibid., 23.[i-423]Ibid., 78-9.[i-424]Ibid., 80.[i-425]Ibid.[i-426]Ibid., 83.[i-427]It would be interesting to know whether Franklin's much discussed prudential virtues (listed inAutobiography) were not in part motivated by Wollaston's pages 173-80.[i-428]Ibid., 7.[i-429]Ibid., 26.[i-430]Ibid., 63 ff.[i-431]Writings, VII, 412.[i-432]A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity,Pleasure and Pain(London, 1725), 4.[i-433]Ibid., 5.[i-434]For an incisive exposition of the earlier and contemporary controversy regarding freedom of the will, see C. H. Faust and T. H. Johnson's Introduction toJonathan Edwards(American Writers Series, New York, 1935), xliii-lxiv.[i-435]A Dissertation ..., 10-1.[i-436]In Franklin's liturgy of the '30's (in theAutobiography) he quotes from Thomson'sWinter(lines 217 ff.). While the references to Thomson are few in the complete works, his later influence on Franklin need not be underestimated. See Franklin's letter to W. Strahan (Writings, II, 242-3) in which he confesses that "That charming Poet has brought more Tears of Pleasure into my Eyes than all I ever read before." It is not inconceivable that in Thomson Franklin found additional sanction for his humanitarian bias. One remembers the wide differences between the humanitarianism of Thomson and Franklin. Franklin's practical and masculine-humanitarianism keyed to the saving of time and energy was unlike the sentimental warmheartedness often displayed by Thomson. Franklin was never moved to tears at beholding the worm's "convulsive twist in agonizing folds."[i-437]Phillips Russell has suggestedSpectator, No. 183, as Franklin's probable source in Part II of theDissertation. There, pleasure and pain are "such constant yoke-fellows." This intuitive assertion can hardly be conceived as the elaborate metaphysical rationale upon which this idea rests in Franklin's work.[i-438]Robertson,op. cit., 239-40.[i-439]London (4th ed.), 1724. A despiser of authoritarianism in religion, intrigued by the physico-deistic thought of his day, Lyons (with a vituperative force akin to Thomas Paine's) damns those who damn men for revolting against divine and absolute revelation (p. 25). "Men haveReasonsufficient to find out proper and regular ways for improving and perfecting their laws." Faith he calls "an unintelligible Chymæra of the Phantasie" (p. 92). The doctrine of the Trinity "is one of the most nice Inventions that ever the subtlest Virtuoso constru'd to puzzle the Wit of Man with" (p. 112). Through faith people make of God "only a confus'd unintelligible Description of aHeterogeneous Monsterof their own Making" (p. 117). Deistically he opines that "we shall soon see that the Object ofTrue Religion, and all Rational Mens Speculations, is an Eternal, Unchangeable, Omnipotent Being, infinitely Good, Just and Wise" (p. 123). Like Toland he urges, "To pretend to Believe a Thing or the Working of a Miracle, is a stupid and gaping Astonishment" (p. 195). Although he enjoyed Franklin's dissertation, he does not in his work hold to Franklin's necessitarianism: "Nothing interrupts Men, but only as they interrupt one another" (p. 238). Religion to Lyons is remote from books, but is found in the "unalterable laws of Nature, which no Authority can destroy, or Interpolator corrupt" (p. 252).[i-440]Although Franklin indicates in hisAutobiographythat he delighted to listen to Mandeville hold forth at the Horns, there seems to be traceable in his writings no direct influence of Mandeville's thought. (One may wonder whether Franklin's use of the name "Horatio" in his 1730 dialogues between Philocles and Horatio could be traced to Mandeville's use of the name in his dialogues between Cleomenes and Horatio.) Mandeville's empirical view of man's essential egoism would have found sympathetic response from Franklin. On the other hand, Mandeville's ethical rigorism (see Kaye's Introd. to TheFable of the Bees) differs from the utilitarian cast Franklin sheds over his strenuous ethicism. One may suspect that like a Bunyan, a Swift, a Rabelais, Mandeville would have fortified Franklin against accepting too blithely Shaftesbury's faith in man's innate altruism, even if he did not short-circuit Franklin's growing humanitarianism.[i-441]Writings, I, 278.[i-442]David Brewster,Life of Sir Isaac Newton(New York, 1831), 258. For fuller treatment see hisMemoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton(Edinburgh, 1855), II, 378 ff., andpassim.[i-443]Quoted in C. S. Duncan,op. cit., 16. See Desaguliers'sA System of Experimental Philosophy, Prov'd by Mechanicks ...(London, 1719), and hisThe Newtonian System of the World, The Best Model of Government: An Allegorical Poem(Westminster, 1728). The popularizers of Newton were legion: see especially Watts, Derham, Ray, Huygens, Blackmore, Locke, Thomson, Shaftesbury, S. Clarke, Whiston, Keill, Maclaurin.[i-444]A View of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy(London, 1728), 2-3.[i-445]Ibid., 405. Cf. also 13, 18, 181, 406.[i-446]Not to be neglected in a summary of the factors influencing Franklin during his youth is Quakerism. Taught in Boston to suspect the Quakers, in Philadelphia in the midst of their stronghold he came soon, one may imagine, to have a sympathetic regard for them. Quakerism, in its antagonism towards sacraments and ceremonies, in its emphasis on the priesthood of every man and the right of private judgment, in its strenuous effort to promote fellow-service, was congenial to the young printer, reacting against Presbyterianism. Like the radical thought of the age, Quakerism refused first place to scriptural revelation, which became secondary to the light within, the dictates of one's heart. Often, we may suspect, the light within was blended with the concept in deism, that regardless of the promptings of scripture, each man has within him a natural sense which enables him to apprehend the truths of nature. The effort of deism to simplify religion was historically shared by Quakerism. During the years we have under consideration Franklin was endeavoring to make a simple worship out of the subtle theology which had been offered him during his early years. Presbyterianism had frowned upon a covenant of works; Quakerism attempted to express its covenant with God in terms of human kindliness, fellowship, and service.[i-447]It would be interesting to know if M. Faÿ is able to document his statement that the Junto "had Masonic leanings" ("Learned Societies in Europe and America in the Eighteenth Century,"American Historical Review, XXXVII, 258 [1932]). R. F. Gould (The History of Freemasonry, London, 1887, III, 424) conjectures whether where was a lodge in Boston as early as 1720 but can offer no evidence of a real history of Masonry in the colonies until 1730, when colonial Masonry "may be said to have its commencement." Chroniclers of Franklin's Masonic career have found no documentary evidence of his affiliation with Masonry until February, 1731, when he entered St. John's Lodge. See J. F. Sachse,Benjamin Franklin as a Free Mason; J. H. Tatsch,Freemasonry in the Thirteen Colonies(New York, 1924);Early Newspaper Accounts of Free Masonry in Pennsylvania, England, Ireland, and Scotland. From 1730 to 1750 by Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Reprinted from Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette(Philadelphia, 1886);Masonic Letters of Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia to H. Price of Boston, ed. by C. P. MacCalla (Philadelphia, 1888); M. M. Johnson,The Beginnings of Freemasonry in America(New York, 1924). See "Prefatory Note" in W. B. Loewy's reprint of Anderson'sConstitutions(a reprint of Franklin's imprint of 1734) inPublications of the Masonic Historical Society of New York, No. 3 (New York, 1905). Arriving in London only seven years after the inauguration of the Grand Lodge, Franklin could hardly have been unaware of the broader speculations of Masonry. In London only a year after Anderson'sConstitutionswere printed (in 1723), he may conceivably have read the volume.Stressing toleration, the universality of natural religion, morality rather than theology, reason rather than faith, Masonry could easily have augmented these ideas as they were latent or already developed in Franklin's mind. Scholars have yet to work out the extent to which Freemasonry, yokefellow of deism, reinforced free thought and was one of the subversive forces breaking down colonial orthodoxy. B. Faÿ'sRevolution and Freemasonry, 1680-1800neglects non-political influences of Freemasonry.Although there is no evidence that Franklin as early as 1728 read such works (popular in the colonies) as De Ramsay'sThe Travels of Cyrusand Rowe's translation ofThe Golden Sayings of Pythagoras, the manner in which oriental lore augmented science and Masonry in fostering deism is an intriguing problem in eighteenth-century colonial letters.[i-448]See I. W. Riley,op. cit., 249. Also see C. M. Walsh, "Franklin and Plato,"Open Court, XX, 129 ff.
[i-340]Ibid., 222.
[i-340]Ibid., 222.
[i-341]Cited in W. T. Franklin's edition, I, 303-4. E. P. Oberholtzer, essentially hostile to Franklin, is obliged to admit that Franklin "seems not to have had more than an advisory part" in making the Constitution of 1776. He adds that if Franklin did not form it, "he was at any rate a loyal defender of its principles," and that he seems to have allowed the French to think that the Constitution was his own (The Referendum in America, New York, 1900, 26-42). For Franklin's later defenses of unicameralism, seeWritings, IX, 645, 674; X; 56-8.
[i-341]Cited in W. T. Franklin's edition, I, 303-4. E. P. Oberholtzer, essentially hostile to Franklin, is obliged to admit that Franklin "seems not to have had more than an advisory part" in making the Constitution of 1776. He adds that if Franklin did not form it, "he was at any rate a loyal defender of its principles," and that he seems to have allowed the French to think that the Constitution was his own (The Referendum in America, New York, 1900, 26-42). For Franklin's later defenses of unicameralism, seeWritings, IX, 645, 674; X; 56-8.
[i-342]Cited in B. Faÿ,The Revolutionary Spirit In France and America, 289. Faÿ shows that in France the "revolutionary leaders" who took lessons from Franklin regarded him as "the prophet and saint of a new religion," as the "high priest of Philosophy." See also E. J. Lowell,The Eve of the French Revolution(Boston, 1892), chaps. XVI and XVIII.
[i-342]Cited in B. Faÿ,The Revolutionary Spirit In France and America, 289. Faÿ shows that in France the "revolutionary leaders" who took lessons from Franklin regarded him as "the prophet and saint of a new religion," as the "high priest of Philosophy." See also E. J. Lowell,The Eve of the French Revolution(Boston, 1892), chaps. XVI and XVIII.
[i-343]B. Faÿ,The Revolutionary Spirit in France and America, 302.
[i-343]B. Faÿ,The Revolutionary Spirit in France and America, 302.
[i-344]Writings, VIII, 34.
[i-344]Writings, VIII, 34.
[i-345]Ibid., VIII, 452; June 7, 1782 (to Joseph Priestley).
[i-345]Ibid., VIII, 452; June 7, 1782 (to Joseph Priestley).
[i-346]Ibid., IX, 241.
[i-346]Ibid., IX, 241.
[i-347]Ibid., IX, 330.
[i-347]Ibid., IX, 330.
[i-348]Ibid., IX, 521; see also IX, 489.
[i-348]Ibid., IX, 521; see also IX, 489.
[i-349]Although the preponderance of evidence bears out the trustworthiness of this assertion, one can not idly dismiss hisSome Good Whig Principlesor disregard his expressed belief that the people "seldom continue long in the wrong" and if misled they "come right again, and double their former affections" (cited in W. C. Bruce,Benjamin Franklin, Self-Revealed, II, 100; also seeWritings, X, 130). There is a clearly evident polarity in Franklin's mind between ultra-democratic faith and a rigorous observation that if "people" are so constituted, many men are utter rascals. One almost senses a dichotomy between Franklin the politician and Franklin the man and moralist.
[i-349]Although the preponderance of evidence bears out the trustworthiness of this assertion, one can not idly dismiss hisSome Good Whig Principlesor disregard his expressed belief that the people "seldom continue long in the wrong" and if misled they "come right again, and double their former affections" (cited in W. C. Bruce,Benjamin Franklin, Self-Revealed, II, 100; also seeWritings, X, 130). There is a clearly evident polarity in Franklin's mind between ultra-democratic faith and a rigorous observation that if "people" are so constituted, many men are utter rascals. One almost senses a dichotomy between Franklin the politician and Franklin the man and moralist.
[i-350]See hisThe Constitution of the United States(New York, 1924).
[i-350]See hisThe Constitution of the United States(New York, 1924).
[i-351]The Records of the Federal Convention, ed. by Max Farrand, I, 488; seeWritings, IX, 602-3, 595-9.
[i-351]The Records of the Federal Convention, ed. by Max Farrand, I, 488; seeWritings, IX, 602-3, 595-9.
[i-352]Writings, IX, 596.
[i-352]Writings, IX, 596.
[i-353]The Records of the Federal Convention, I, 47.
[i-353]The Records of the Federal Convention, I, 47.
[i-354]Ibid., I, 165.
[i-354]Ibid., I, 165.
[i-355]Writings, IX, 593.
[i-355]Writings, IX, 593.
[i-356]The Records of the Federal Convention, I, 109.
[i-356]The Records of the Federal Convention, I, 109.
[i-357]Ibid., II, 120.
[i-357]Ibid., II, 120.
[i-358]Ibid., II, 204.
[i-358]Ibid., II, 204.
[i-359]Franklin objected to primogeniture and entail.
[i-359]Franklin objected to primogeniture and entail.
[i-360]Ibid., II, 249.
[i-360]Ibid., II, 249.
[i-361]Gettell,op. cit., 122.
[i-361]Gettell,op. cit., 122.
[i-362]Writings, X, 56-8.
[i-362]Writings, X, 56-8.
[i-363]Ibid., IX, 698-703.
[i-363]Ibid., IX, 698-703.
[i-364]Ibid., IX, 608.
[i-364]Ibid., IX, 608.
[i-365]Ibid., IX, 638.
[i-365]Ibid., IX, 638.
[i-366]Writings, X, 7.
[i-366]Writings, X, 7.
[i-367]Letter in American Philosophical Society Library; cited by B. M. Victory,Benjamin Franklin and Germany, 128.
[i-367]Letter in American Philosophical Society Library; cited by B. M. Victory,Benjamin Franklin and Germany, 128.
[i-368]Writings, III, 96.
[i-368]Writings, III, 96.
[i-369]Ibid., III, 97.
[i-369]Ibid., III, 97.
[i-370]Ibid., III, 107.
[i-370]Ibid., III, 107.
[i-371]Ibid., IV, 221.
[i-371]Ibid., IV, 221.
[i-372]Ibid., IV, 377.
[i-372]Ibid., IV, 377.
[i-373]Ibid., V, 165. He repeated this thought to Beccaria in 1773 (ibid., VI, 112). Also see V, 206, 410-1, VII, 49.
[i-373]Ibid., V, 165. He repeated this thought to Beccaria in 1773 (ibid., VI, 112). Also see V, 206, 410-1, VII, 49.
[i-374]Ibid., VII, 418; also see VIII, 211.
[i-374]Ibid., VII, 418; also see VIII, 211.
[i-375]Ibid., VIII, 315; also see letter to Priestley, June 7, 1782, VIII, 451; to Comte de Salmes, July 5, 1785, IX, 361.
[i-375]Ibid., VIII, 315; also see letter to Priestley, June 7, 1782, VIII, 451; to Comte de Salmes, July 5, 1785, IX, 361.
[i-376]Ibid., IX, 652.
[i-376]Ibid., IX, 652.
[i-377]Ibid., IX, 621. He wrote this after he was reappointed President of Pennsylvania in 1787. He confessed, however, that this honor gave him "no small pleasure."
[i-377]Ibid., IX, 621. He wrote this after he was reappointed President of Pennsylvania in 1787. He confessed, however, that this honor gave him "no small pleasure."
[i-378]W. P. and J. P. Cutler,Life, Journals and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, I, 269-70.
[i-378]W. P. and J. P. Cutler,Life, Journals and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, I, 269-70.
[i-379]Joseph and Benjamin, A Conversation, Trans. from a French Manuscript (London, 1787), 72. If this meeting never took place, the reported conversation is anything but "decidedly silly" as Ford opines (Franklin Bibliography, #936, 371).
[i-379]Joseph and Benjamin, A Conversation, Trans. from a French Manuscript (London, 1787), 72. If this meeting never took place, the reported conversation is anything but "decidedly silly" as Ford opines (Franklin Bibliography, #936, 371).
[i-380]Writings, IV, 143.
[i-380]Writings, IV, 143.
[i-381]Ibid., VIII, 601. Also see IX, 53.
[i-381]Ibid., VIII, 601. Also see IX, 53.
[i-382]Ibid., VIII, 593.
[i-382]Ibid., VIII, 593.
[i-383]Brother Potamian and J. J. Walsh,Makers of Electricity, 126.
[i-383]Brother Potamian and J. J. Walsh,Makers of Electricity, 126.
[i-384]"Letters and Papers of Cadwallader Colden, IV (1748-54),"Collections of the New York Historical Society(1920), 372.
[i-384]"Letters and Papers of Cadwallader Colden, IV (1748-54),"Collections of the New York Historical Society(1920), 372.
[i-385]"An Outline of Philosophy in America,"Western Reserve University Bulletin(March, 1896). See also I. W. Riley,American Philosophy: The Early Schools, 229-65.
[i-385]"An Outline of Philosophy in America,"Western Reserve University Bulletin(March, 1896). See also I. W. Riley,American Philosophy: The Early Schools, 229-65.
[i-386]Franklin, the Apostle of Modern Times, iv.
[i-386]Franklin, the Apostle of Modern Times, iv.
[i-387]Writings, I, 295.
[i-387]Writings, I, 295.
[i-388]Boston News-Letter, Jan. 17, 1744/5. Also see 1669-1882.An Historical Catalogue of the Old South Church (Third Church), Boston(Boston, 1883), 304.
[i-388]Boston News-Letter, Jan. 17, 1744/5. Also see 1669-1882.An Historical Catalogue of the Old South Church (Third Church), Boston(Boston, 1883), 304.
[i-389]Writings, I, 324.
[i-389]Writings, I, 324.
[i-390]Writings, IX, 208.
[i-390]Writings, IX, 208.
[i-391]Essays to do Good, with an Introductory Essay by A. Thomson (Glasgow, 1825), 102.
[i-391]Essays to do Good, with an Introductory Essay by A. Thomson (Glasgow, 1825), 102.
[i-392]Ibid., 213-4.
[i-392]Ibid., 213-4.
[i-393]Works of Daniel Defoe, ed. by Wm. Hazlitt (London, 1843), I, 22.
[i-393]Works of Daniel Defoe, ed. by Wm. Hazlitt (London, 1843), I, 22.
[i-394]Writings, I, 239.
[i-394]Writings, I, 239.
[i-395]SeeNew England Courant, No. 48, June 25-July 2, 1722.
[i-395]SeeNew England Courant, No. 48, June 25-July 2, 1722.
[i-396]Writings, I, 244.
[i-396]Writings, I, 244.
[i-397]Consecrated to piety, Robert Boyle at his death left £50 per annum, for a clergyman elected to "preach eight sermons in the year for proving the Christian religion against notorious infidels,viz.Atheists, Theists, Pagans, Jews, and Mahometans ..." (Works of Robert Boyle, London, 1772, I, clxvii.)
[i-397]Consecrated to piety, Robert Boyle at his death left £50 per annum, for a clergyman elected to "preach eight sermons in the year for proving the Christian religion against notorious infidels,viz.Atheists, Theists, Pagans, Jews, and Mahometans ..." (Works of Robert Boyle, London, 1772, I, clxvii.)
[i-398]Writings, I, 295.
[i-398]Writings, I, 295.
[i-399]In his Introduction toSelections from Cotton Mather(New York, 1926), xlix-li, K. B. Murdock agrees with I. W. Riley thatThe Christian Philosopher(1721) represents the first stage of the reaction from scriptural Calvinism to the scientific deism of Paine and Franklin. T. Hornberger's "The Date, the Source, and the Significance of Cotton Mather's Interest in Science" (loc. cit.) shows that "as early as 1693 Cotton Mather was expressing that delight in the wonder and beauty of design in the external world which Professors Murdock and Riley regard as deistic in tendency," that he "was unconsciously vacillating between two points of view."
[i-399]In his Introduction toSelections from Cotton Mather(New York, 1926), xlix-li, K. B. Murdock agrees with I. W. Riley thatThe Christian Philosopher(1721) represents the first stage of the reaction from scriptural Calvinism to the scientific deism of Paine and Franklin. T. Hornberger's "The Date, the Source, and the Significance of Cotton Mather's Interest in Science" (loc. cit.) shows that "as early as 1693 Cotton Mather was expressing that delight in the wonder and beauty of design in the external world which Professors Murdock and Riley regard as deistic in tendency," that he "was unconsciously vacillating between two points of view."
[i-400]Works of Richard Bentley, ed. by A. Dyce (London, 1838), III, 74-5.
[i-400]Works of Richard Bentley, ed. by A. Dyce (London, 1838), III, 74-5.
[i-401]Ibid., III, 79.
[i-401]Ibid., III, 79.
[i-402]Physico-Theology ...(5th ed., London, 1720), 25-6. God's "exquisite Workmanship" is seen in "every Creature" (p. 27).
[i-402]Physico-Theology ...(5th ed., London, 1720), 25-6. God's "exquisite Workmanship" is seen in "every Creature" (p. 27).
[i-403]SeeA Discourse of Free-Thinking(London, 1713).
[i-403]SeeA Discourse of Free-Thinking(London, 1713).
[i-404]Priestcraft in Perfection ...(London, 1710).
[i-404]Priestcraft in Perfection ...(London, 1710).
[i-405]Writings, I, 243.
[i-405]Writings, I, 243.
[i-406]A. C. Fraser ed. (Oxford, 1894), II, 425-6.
[i-406]A. C. Fraser ed. (Oxford, 1894), II, 425-6.
[i-407]Ibid., II, 121. For Locke and his place in the age see S. G. Hefelbower'sThe Relation of John Locke to English Deism. About the time he read Locke, Franklin notes he studied Arnauld and Nicole'sLa logique ou l'art de penser. Mr. G. S. Eddy has informed one of the editors that the Library Company of Philadelphia owns John Ozell's translation of the work (London, 1718), and that this was the copy owned by Franklin. (See Lowndes'sBibliographer's Manual, IV, 1930, andDictionary of National Biography, "John Ozell.") In accord with the English deistic and rationalistic tendency,La logiqueadmits that Aristotle's authority is not good, that "Men cannot long endure such constraint" (Thomas S. Bayne's trans., 8th ed., Edinburgh and London, n.d., 23). Indebted to Pascal and Descartes, it admits with the latter that geometry and astronomy may help one achieve justness of mind, but it vigorously asserts that this justness of mind is more important than speculative science (p. 1). Anti-sensational, it denies "that all our ideas come through sense" (p. 34), affirming that we have within us ideas of things (p. 31). It is uncertain of the value of induction, which "is never a certain means of acquiring perfect knowledge" (p. 265; see also 304, 307, 308, 350). It accords little praise to the sciences and reason, and seems wary of metaphysical speculation, assuring more humbly that "Piety, wisdom, moderation, are without doubt the most estimable qualities in the world" (p. 291). As we shall discover, this work on the whole seems to have had (with the exception of the last very general principle) little formative influence on the young mind which was fast impregnating itself with scientific deism. Were it not for the recurring implications (particularly in the harvest of editions of theAutobiography) thatLa logiqueis as significant for our study as, for example, the works of Locke and Shaftesbury, this note would be pedantic supererogation.
[i-407]Ibid., II, 121. For Locke and his place in the age see S. G. Hefelbower'sThe Relation of John Locke to English Deism. About the time he read Locke, Franklin notes he studied Arnauld and Nicole'sLa logique ou l'art de penser. Mr. G. S. Eddy has informed one of the editors that the Library Company of Philadelphia owns John Ozell's translation of the work (London, 1718), and that this was the copy owned by Franklin. (See Lowndes'sBibliographer's Manual, IV, 1930, andDictionary of National Biography, "John Ozell.") In accord with the English deistic and rationalistic tendency,La logiqueadmits that Aristotle's authority is not good, that "Men cannot long endure such constraint" (Thomas S. Bayne's trans., 8th ed., Edinburgh and London, n.d., 23). Indebted to Pascal and Descartes, it admits with the latter that geometry and astronomy may help one achieve justness of mind, but it vigorously asserts that this justness of mind is more important than speculative science (p. 1). Anti-sensational, it denies "that all our ideas come through sense" (p. 34), affirming that we have within us ideas of things (p. 31). It is uncertain of the value of induction, which "is never a certain means of acquiring perfect knowledge" (p. 265; see also 304, 307, 308, 350). It accords little praise to the sciences and reason, and seems wary of metaphysical speculation, assuring more humbly that "Piety, wisdom, moderation, are without doubt the most estimable qualities in the world" (p. 291). As we shall discover, this work on the whole seems to have had (with the exception of the last very general principle) little formative influence on the young mind which was fast impregnating itself with scientific deism. Were it not for the recurring implications (particularly in the harvest of editions of theAutobiography) thatLa logiqueis as significant for our study as, for example, the works of Locke and Shaftesbury, this note would be pedantic supererogation.
[i-408]A. C. Fraser,op. cit., I, 99. See also 190, 402-3; II, 65, 68, 352.
[i-408]A. C. Fraser,op. cit., I, 99. See also 190, 402-3; II, 65, 68, 352.
[i-409]Cited in C. A. Moore, "Shaftesbury and the Ethical Poets in England, 1700-1760,"Publications of the Modern Language Association, XXXI (N. S.XXIV), 276 (June, 1916).
[i-409]Cited in C. A. Moore, "Shaftesbury and the Ethical Poets in England, 1700-1760,"Publications of the Modern Language Association, XXXI (N. S.XXIV), 276 (June, 1916).
[i-410]Ibid., 271.
[i-410]Ibid., 271.
[i-411]J. M. Robertson, ed.,Characteristics ...(New York, 1900), I, 27.
[i-411]J. M. Robertson, ed.,Characteristics ...(New York, 1900), I, 27.
[i-412]Ibid., I, 241-2.
[i-412]Ibid., I, 241-2.
[i-413]Moore,op. cit., 267.
[i-413]Moore,op. cit., 267.
[i-414]InDogood PaperNo. XIV Franklin suggests (autobiographically?): "In Matters of Religion, he that alters his Opinion on areligious Account, must certainly go thro' much Reading, hear many Arguments on both Sides, and undergo many Struggles in his Conscience, before he can come to a full Resolution" (Writings, II, 46).
[i-414]InDogood PaperNo. XIV Franklin suggests (autobiographically?): "In Matters of Religion, he that alters his Opinion on areligious Account, must certainly go thro' much Reading, hear many Arguments on both Sides, and undergo many Struggles in his Conscience, before he can come to a full Resolution" (Writings, II, 46).
[i-415]He read Thomas Tryon'sThe Way to Health, Long Life and Happiness, probably the second edition (London, 1691), a copy of which is in the W. S. Mason Collection. Tryon holds that no "greater Happiness" than Attic sobriety is "attainable upon Earth" (p. 1). Divine Temperance is the "spring head of all Virtues" (p. 33). Inward harmony "is both the Glory and the Happiness, the Joy and Solace of created Beings, the celebrated Musick of the Spheres, the Eccho of Heaven, the Business of Seraphims, and the Imployment of Eternity" (p. 500). From Xenophon he learned that "self-restraint" is "the very corner-stone of virtue." The classic core of theMemorabiliais the love of the moderate contending with the love of the incontinent. Franklin has impressed many as representing an American Socrates. Emerson was certain that Socrates "had a Franklin-like wisdom" (Centenary Ed., IV, 72). Franklin's fondness for Socratic centrality, discipline, and knowledge of self is fragmentarily shown by the aphorisms appropriated inPoor Richard. There are scores of the quality of the following: "He that lives carnally won't live eternally." "Who has deceived thee so oft as thyself?" "Caesar did not merit the triumphal car more than he that conquers himself." "If Passion drives, let Reason hold the Reins." "A man in a Passion rides a mad Horse." "There are three Things extremely hard, Steel, a Diamond and to know one's self." Consult T. H. Russell'sThe Sayings of Poor Richard, 1733-1758.
[i-415]He read Thomas Tryon'sThe Way to Health, Long Life and Happiness, probably the second edition (London, 1691), a copy of which is in the W. S. Mason Collection. Tryon holds that no "greater Happiness" than Attic sobriety is "attainable upon Earth" (p. 1). Divine Temperance is the "spring head of all Virtues" (p. 33). Inward harmony "is both the Glory and the Happiness, the Joy and Solace of created Beings, the celebrated Musick of the Spheres, the Eccho of Heaven, the Business of Seraphims, and the Imployment of Eternity" (p. 500). From Xenophon he learned that "self-restraint" is "the very corner-stone of virtue." The classic core of theMemorabiliais the love of the moderate contending with the love of the incontinent. Franklin has impressed many as representing an American Socrates. Emerson was certain that Socrates "had a Franklin-like wisdom" (Centenary Ed., IV, 72). Franklin's fondness for Socratic centrality, discipline, and knowledge of self is fragmentarily shown by the aphorisms appropriated inPoor Richard. There are scores of the quality of the following: "He that lives carnally won't live eternally." "Who has deceived thee so oft as thyself?" "Caesar did not merit the triumphal car more than he that conquers himself." "If Passion drives, let Reason hold the Reins." "A man in a Passion rides a mad Horse." "There are three Things extremely hard, Steel, a Diamond and to know one's self." Consult T. H. Russell'sThe Sayings of Poor Richard, 1733-1758.
[i-416]See S. Bloore, "Samuel Keimer. A Footnote to the Life of Franklin,"Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, LIV, 255-87 (July, 1930), and "Samuel Keimer," inDictionary of American Biography, X, 288-9. In 1724 Samuel Keimer (probably with Franklin's aid) reprinted Gordon and Trenchard'sThe Independent Whig. (See W. J. Campbell'sA Short-Title Check List of all the Books, Pamphlets, Broadsides, known to have been printed by Benjamin Franklin.) Franklin also was acquainted with theirCato's Letters, having helped to set up parts from it while working on theNew England Courant.The Independent Whigemphasizes humanitarian morality rather than theological dogma, morality which "prompts us to do good to all Men, and to all Men alike" (London, 1721, xlviii). It is fearful of metaphysical vagaries (p. 26). Warring against priests and their "Monkey Tricks at Church" (p. 165)—"One Drop of Priestcraft is enough to contaminate the Ocean" (p. 168)—it sets up a violent antithesis between reason and authority (p. 212), declaring that "we must judge from Scripture what is Orthodoxy"but"we must judge from Reason, what is Scripture" (p. 276). Tilting at a Deity "revengeful, cruel, capricious, impotent, vain, fond of Commendation and Flattery," exalting an "All-powerful, All-wise, and All-merciful God" (p. 413),The Independent Whig, like Franklin'sArticles, suggests that "it is absurd to suppose, that we can direct the All-wise Being in the Dispensation of his Providence; or can flatter or persuade him out of his eternal Decrees" (p. 436). InCato's Letters(3rd ed., 4 vols., London, 1733), which were tremendously popular in the American colonies, Franklin could have read that "The People have no Biass to be Knaves" (I, 178), that man "cannot enter into the Rationale of God's punishing all Mankind for the Sin of their first Parents, which they could not help" (IV, 38), "That we cannot provoke him, when we intend to adore him; that the best Way to serve him, is to be serviceable to one another" (IV, 103). Jesus instituted a natural religion, a worship of One Immutable God, free from priests, sacrifices, and ceremonies, in which one shows through "doing Good to men" his adoration for God (IV, 265-6). Here are observations which could easily have reinforced Franklin's deistic rationale. For interesting evidence of further deistic and rationalistic works available to Franklin, see L. C. Wroth'sAn American Bookshelf, 1755.
[i-416]See S. Bloore, "Samuel Keimer. A Footnote to the Life of Franklin,"Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, LIV, 255-87 (July, 1930), and "Samuel Keimer," inDictionary of American Biography, X, 288-9. In 1724 Samuel Keimer (probably with Franklin's aid) reprinted Gordon and Trenchard'sThe Independent Whig. (See W. J. Campbell'sA Short-Title Check List of all the Books, Pamphlets, Broadsides, known to have been printed by Benjamin Franklin.) Franklin also was acquainted with theirCato's Letters, having helped to set up parts from it while working on theNew England Courant.The Independent Whigemphasizes humanitarian morality rather than theological dogma, morality which "prompts us to do good to all Men, and to all Men alike" (London, 1721, xlviii). It is fearful of metaphysical vagaries (p. 26). Warring against priests and their "Monkey Tricks at Church" (p. 165)—"One Drop of Priestcraft is enough to contaminate the Ocean" (p. 168)—it sets up a violent antithesis between reason and authority (p. 212), declaring that "we must judge from Scripture what is Orthodoxy"but"we must judge from Reason, what is Scripture" (p. 276). Tilting at a Deity "revengeful, cruel, capricious, impotent, vain, fond of Commendation and Flattery," exalting an "All-powerful, All-wise, and All-merciful God" (p. 413),The Independent Whig, like Franklin'sArticles, suggests that "it is absurd to suppose, that we can direct the All-wise Being in the Dispensation of his Providence; or can flatter or persuade him out of his eternal Decrees" (p. 436). InCato's Letters(3rd ed., 4 vols., London, 1733), which were tremendously popular in the American colonies, Franklin could have read that "The People have no Biass to be Knaves" (I, 178), that man "cannot enter into the Rationale of God's punishing all Mankind for the Sin of their first Parents, which they could not help" (IV, 38), "That we cannot provoke him, when we intend to adore him; that the best Way to serve him, is to be serviceable to one another" (IV, 103). Jesus instituted a natural religion, a worship of One Immutable God, free from priests, sacrifices, and ceremonies, in which one shows through "doing Good to men" his adoration for God (IV, 265-6). Here are observations which could easily have reinforced Franklin's deistic rationale. For interesting evidence of further deistic and rationalistic works available to Franklin, see L. C. Wroth'sAn American Bookshelf, 1755.
[i-417]One of the editors has examined the photostatedNew England Courantin the W. S. Mason Collection. For readable accounts of this newspaper see: W. G. Bleyer,Main Currents in the History of American Journalism, chaps. I-II; C. A. Duniway,The Development of Freedom of the Press in Massachusetts, 97-103; W. C. Ford, "Franklin's New England Courant,"Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, LVII, 336-53 (April, 1924); H. F. Kane, "James Franklin Senior, Printer of Boston and Newport,"American Collector, III, 17-26 (Oct., 1926).
[i-417]One of the editors has examined the photostatedNew England Courantin the W. S. Mason Collection. For readable accounts of this newspaper see: W. G. Bleyer,Main Currents in the History of American Journalism, chaps. I-II; C. A. Duniway,The Development of Freedom of the Press in Massachusetts, 97-103; W. C. Ford, "Franklin's New England Courant,"Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, LVII, 336-53 (April, 1924); H. F. Kane, "James Franklin Senior, Printer of Boston and Newport,"American Collector, III, 17-26 (Oct., 1926).
[i-418]SeeWritings, II, 52-3.
[i-418]SeeWritings, II, 52-3.
[i-419]One of the editors has used the Huth copy now possessed by W. S. Mason. Not included in the Sparks, Bigelow, or Smyth editions of his works, it was printed by Parton as an Appendix to hisLife; by I. W. Riley,op. cit., and recently edited by L. C. Wroth for The Facsimile Text Society.
[i-419]One of the editors has used the Huth copy now possessed by W. S. Mason. Not included in the Sparks, Bigelow, or Smyth editions of his works, it was printed by Parton as an Appendix to hisLife; by I. W. Riley,op. cit., and recently edited by L. C. Wroth for The Facsimile Text Society.
[i-420]Franklin must have been mistaken in his belief that he set up the second edition. The work was privately printed in 1722, reprinted in 1724 and a second time in 1725. Hence Franklin really set up thethirdedition. For an extensive analysis of this work, see C. G. Thompson's dissertation,The Ethics of William Wollaston(Boston, 1922).
[i-420]Franklin must have been mistaken in his belief that he set up the second edition. The work was privately printed in 1722, reprinted in 1724 and a second time in 1725. Hence Franklin really set up thethirdedition. For an extensive analysis of this work, see C. G. Thompson's dissertation,The Ethics of William Wollaston(Boston, 1922).
[i-421]Wollaston,op. cit., 15.
[i-421]Wollaston,op. cit., 15.
[i-422]Ibid., 23.
[i-422]Ibid., 23.
[i-423]Ibid., 78-9.
[i-423]Ibid., 78-9.
[i-424]Ibid., 80.
[i-424]Ibid., 80.
[i-425]Ibid.
[i-425]Ibid.
[i-426]Ibid., 83.
[i-426]Ibid., 83.
[i-427]It would be interesting to know whether Franklin's much discussed prudential virtues (listed inAutobiography) were not in part motivated by Wollaston's pages 173-80.
[i-427]It would be interesting to know whether Franklin's much discussed prudential virtues (listed inAutobiography) were not in part motivated by Wollaston's pages 173-80.
[i-428]Ibid., 7.
[i-428]Ibid., 7.
[i-429]Ibid., 26.
[i-429]Ibid., 26.
[i-430]Ibid., 63 ff.
[i-430]Ibid., 63 ff.
[i-431]Writings, VII, 412.
[i-431]Writings, VII, 412.
[i-432]A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity,Pleasure and Pain(London, 1725), 4.
[i-432]A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity,Pleasure and Pain(London, 1725), 4.
[i-433]Ibid., 5.
[i-433]Ibid., 5.
[i-434]For an incisive exposition of the earlier and contemporary controversy regarding freedom of the will, see C. H. Faust and T. H. Johnson's Introduction toJonathan Edwards(American Writers Series, New York, 1935), xliii-lxiv.
[i-434]For an incisive exposition of the earlier and contemporary controversy regarding freedom of the will, see C. H. Faust and T. H. Johnson's Introduction toJonathan Edwards(American Writers Series, New York, 1935), xliii-lxiv.
[i-435]A Dissertation ..., 10-1.
[i-435]A Dissertation ..., 10-1.
[i-436]In Franklin's liturgy of the '30's (in theAutobiography) he quotes from Thomson'sWinter(lines 217 ff.). While the references to Thomson are few in the complete works, his later influence on Franklin need not be underestimated. See Franklin's letter to W. Strahan (Writings, II, 242-3) in which he confesses that "That charming Poet has brought more Tears of Pleasure into my Eyes than all I ever read before." It is not inconceivable that in Thomson Franklin found additional sanction for his humanitarian bias. One remembers the wide differences between the humanitarianism of Thomson and Franklin. Franklin's practical and masculine-humanitarianism keyed to the saving of time and energy was unlike the sentimental warmheartedness often displayed by Thomson. Franklin was never moved to tears at beholding the worm's "convulsive twist in agonizing folds."
[i-436]In Franklin's liturgy of the '30's (in theAutobiography) he quotes from Thomson'sWinter(lines 217 ff.). While the references to Thomson are few in the complete works, his later influence on Franklin need not be underestimated. See Franklin's letter to W. Strahan (Writings, II, 242-3) in which he confesses that "That charming Poet has brought more Tears of Pleasure into my Eyes than all I ever read before." It is not inconceivable that in Thomson Franklin found additional sanction for his humanitarian bias. One remembers the wide differences between the humanitarianism of Thomson and Franklin. Franklin's practical and masculine-humanitarianism keyed to the saving of time and energy was unlike the sentimental warmheartedness often displayed by Thomson. Franklin was never moved to tears at beholding the worm's "convulsive twist in agonizing folds."
[i-437]Phillips Russell has suggestedSpectator, No. 183, as Franklin's probable source in Part II of theDissertation. There, pleasure and pain are "such constant yoke-fellows." This intuitive assertion can hardly be conceived as the elaborate metaphysical rationale upon which this idea rests in Franklin's work.
[i-437]Phillips Russell has suggestedSpectator, No. 183, as Franklin's probable source in Part II of theDissertation. There, pleasure and pain are "such constant yoke-fellows." This intuitive assertion can hardly be conceived as the elaborate metaphysical rationale upon which this idea rests in Franklin's work.
[i-438]Robertson,op. cit., 239-40.
[i-438]Robertson,op. cit., 239-40.
[i-439]London (4th ed.), 1724. A despiser of authoritarianism in religion, intrigued by the physico-deistic thought of his day, Lyons (with a vituperative force akin to Thomas Paine's) damns those who damn men for revolting against divine and absolute revelation (p. 25). "Men haveReasonsufficient to find out proper and regular ways for improving and perfecting their laws." Faith he calls "an unintelligible Chymæra of the Phantasie" (p. 92). The doctrine of the Trinity "is one of the most nice Inventions that ever the subtlest Virtuoso constru'd to puzzle the Wit of Man with" (p. 112). Through faith people make of God "only a confus'd unintelligible Description of aHeterogeneous Monsterof their own Making" (p. 117). Deistically he opines that "we shall soon see that the Object ofTrue Religion, and all Rational Mens Speculations, is an Eternal, Unchangeable, Omnipotent Being, infinitely Good, Just and Wise" (p. 123). Like Toland he urges, "To pretend to Believe a Thing or the Working of a Miracle, is a stupid and gaping Astonishment" (p. 195). Although he enjoyed Franklin's dissertation, he does not in his work hold to Franklin's necessitarianism: "Nothing interrupts Men, but only as they interrupt one another" (p. 238). Religion to Lyons is remote from books, but is found in the "unalterable laws of Nature, which no Authority can destroy, or Interpolator corrupt" (p. 252).
[i-439]London (4th ed.), 1724. A despiser of authoritarianism in religion, intrigued by the physico-deistic thought of his day, Lyons (with a vituperative force akin to Thomas Paine's) damns those who damn men for revolting against divine and absolute revelation (p. 25). "Men haveReasonsufficient to find out proper and regular ways for improving and perfecting their laws." Faith he calls "an unintelligible Chymæra of the Phantasie" (p. 92). The doctrine of the Trinity "is one of the most nice Inventions that ever the subtlest Virtuoso constru'd to puzzle the Wit of Man with" (p. 112). Through faith people make of God "only a confus'd unintelligible Description of aHeterogeneous Monsterof their own Making" (p. 117). Deistically he opines that "we shall soon see that the Object ofTrue Religion, and all Rational Mens Speculations, is an Eternal, Unchangeable, Omnipotent Being, infinitely Good, Just and Wise" (p. 123). Like Toland he urges, "To pretend to Believe a Thing or the Working of a Miracle, is a stupid and gaping Astonishment" (p. 195). Although he enjoyed Franklin's dissertation, he does not in his work hold to Franklin's necessitarianism: "Nothing interrupts Men, but only as they interrupt one another" (p. 238). Religion to Lyons is remote from books, but is found in the "unalterable laws of Nature, which no Authority can destroy, or Interpolator corrupt" (p. 252).
[i-440]Although Franklin indicates in hisAutobiographythat he delighted to listen to Mandeville hold forth at the Horns, there seems to be traceable in his writings no direct influence of Mandeville's thought. (One may wonder whether Franklin's use of the name "Horatio" in his 1730 dialogues between Philocles and Horatio could be traced to Mandeville's use of the name in his dialogues between Cleomenes and Horatio.) Mandeville's empirical view of man's essential egoism would have found sympathetic response from Franklin. On the other hand, Mandeville's ethical rigorism (see Kaye's Introd. to TheFable of the Bees) differs from the utilitarian cast Franklin sheds over his strenuous ethicism. One may suspect that like a Bunyan, a Swift, a Rabelais, Mandeville would have fortified Franklin against accepting too blithely Shaftesbury's faith in man's innate altruism, even if he did not short-circuit Franklin's growing humanitarianism.
[i-440]Although Franklin indicates in hisAutobiographythat he delighted to listen to Mandeville hold forth at the Horns, there seems to be traceable in his writings no direct influence of Mandeville's thought. (One may wonder whether Franklin's use of the name "Horatio" in his 1730 dialogues between Philocles and Horatio could be traced to Mandeville's use of the name in his dialogues between Cleomenes and Horatio.) Mandeville's empirical view of man's essential egoism would have found sympathetic response from Franklin. On the other hand, Mandeville's ethical rigorism (see Kaye's Introd. to TheFable of the Bees) differs from the utilitarian cast Franklin sheds over his strenuous ethicism. One may suspect that like a Bunyan, a Swift, a Rabelais, Mandeville would have fortified Franklin against accepting too blithely Shaftesbury's faith in man's innate altruism, even if he did not short-circuit Franklin's growing humanitarianism.
[i-441]Writings, I, 278.
[i-441]Writings, I, 278.
[i-442]David Brewster,Life of Sir Isaac Newton(New York, 1831), 258. For fuller treatment see hisMemoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton(Edinburgh, 1855), II, 378 ff., andpassim.
[i-442]David Brewster,Life of Sir Isaac Newton(New York, 1831), 258. For fuller treatment see hisMemoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton(Edinburgh, 1855), II, 378 ff., andpassim.
[i-443]Quoted in C. S. Duncan,op. cit., 16. See Desaguliers'sA System of Experimental Philosophy, Prov'd by Mechanicks ...(London, 1719), and hisThe Newtonian System of the World, The Best Model of Government: An Allegorical Poem(Westminster, 1728). The popularizers of Newton were legion: see especially Watts, Derham, Ray, Huygens, Blackmore, Locke, Thomson, Shaftesbury, S. Clarke, Whiston, Keill, Maclaurin.
[i-443]Quoted in C. S. Duncan,op. cit., 16. See Desaguliers'sA System of Experimental Philosophy, Prov'd by Mechanicks ...(London, 1719), and hisThe Newtonian System of the World, The Best Model of Government: An Allegorical Poem(Westminster, 1728). The popularizers of Newton were legion: see especially Watts, Derham, Ray, Huygens, Blackmore, Locke, Thomson, Shaftesbury, S. Clarke, Whiston, Keill, Maclaurin.
[i-444]A View of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy(London, 1728), 2-3.
[i-444]A View of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy(London, 1728), 2-3.
[i-445]Ibid., 405. Cf. also 13, 18, 181, 406.
[i-445]Ibid., 405. Cf. also 13, 18, 181, 406.
[i-446]Not to be neglected in a summary of the factors influencing Franklin during his youth is Quakerism. Taught in Boston to suspect the Quakers, in Philadelphia in the midst of their stronghold he came soon, one may imagine, to have a sympathetic regard for them. Quakerism, in its antagonism towards sacraments and ceremonies, in its emphasis on the priesthood of every man and the right of private judgment, in its strenuous effort to promote fellow-service, was congenial to the young printer, reacting against Presbyterianism. Like the radical thought of the age, Quakerism refused first place to scriptural revelation, which became secondary to the light within, the dictates of one's heart. Often, we may suspect, the light within was blended with the concept in deism, that regardless of the promptings of scripture, each man has within him a natural sense which enables him to apprehend the truths of nature. The effort of deism to simplify religion was historically shared by Quakerism. During the years we have under consideration Franklin was endeavoring to make a simple worship out of the subtle theology which had been offered him during his early years. Presbyterianism had frowned upon a covenant of works; Quakerism attempted to express its covenant with God in terms of human kindliness, fellowship, and service.
[i-446]Not to be neglected in a summary of the factors influencing Franklin during his youth is Quakerism. Taught in Boston to suspect the Quakers, in Philadelphia in the midst of their stronghold he came soon, one may imagine, to have a sympathetic regard for them. Quakerism, in its antagonism towards sacraments and ceremonies, in its emphasis on the priesthood of every man and the right of private judgment, in its strenuous effort to promote fellow-service, was congenial to the young printer, reacting against Presbyterianism. Like the radical thought of the age, Quakerism refused first place to scriptural revelation, which became secondary to the light within, the dictates of one's heart. Often, we may suspect, the light within was blended with the concept in deism, that regardless of the promptings of scripture, each man has within him a natural sense which enables him to apprehend the truths of nature. The effort of deism to simplify religion was historically shared by Quakerism. During the years we have under consideration Franklin was endeavoring to make a simple worship out of the subtle theology which had been offered him during his early years. Presbyterianism had frowned upon a covenant of works; Quakerism attempted to express its covenant with God in terms of human kindliness, fellowship, and service.
[i-447]It would be interesting to know if M. Faÿ is able to document his statement that the Junto "had Masonic leanings" ("Learned Societies in Europe and America in the Eighteenth Century,"American Historical Review, XXXVII, 258 [1932]). R. F. Gould (The History of Freemasonry, London, 1887, III, 424) conjectures whether where was a lodge in Boston as early as 1720 but can offer no evidence of a real history of Masonry in the colonies until 1730, when colonial Masonry "may be said to have its commencement." Chroniclers of Franklin's Masonic career have found no documentary evidence of his affiliation with Masonry until February, 1731, when he entered St. John's Lodge. See J. F. Sachse,Benjamin Franklin as a Free Mason; J. H. Tatsch,Freemasonry in the Thirteen Colonies(New York, 1924);Early Newspaper Accounts of Free Masonry in Pennsylvania, England, Ireland, and Scotland. From 1730 to 1750 by Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Reprinted from Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette(Philadelphia, 1886);Masonic Letters of Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia to H. Price of Boston, ed. by C. P. MacCalla (Philadelphia, 1888); M. M. Johnson,The Beginnings of Freemasonry in America(New York, 1924). See "Prefatory Note" in W. B. Loewy's reprint of Anderson'sConstitutions(a reprint of Franklin's imprint of 1734) inPublications of the Masonic Historical Society of New York, No. 3 (New York, 1905). Arriving in London only seven years after the inauguration of the Grand Lodge, Franklin could hardly have been unaware of the broader speculations of Masonry. In London only a year after Anderson'sConstitutionswere printed (in 1723), he may conceivably have read the volume.Stressing toleration, the universality of natural religion, morality rather than theology, reason rather than faith, Masonry could easily have augmented these ideas as they were latent or already developed in Franklin's mind. Scholars have yet to work out the extent to which Freemasonry, yokefellow of deism, reinforced free thought and was one of the subversive forces breaking down colonial orthodoxy. B. Faÿ'sRevolution and Freemasonry, 1680-1800neglects non-political influences of Freemasonry.Although there is no evidence that Franklin as early as 1728 read such works (popular in the colonies) as De Ramsay'sThe Travels of Cyrusand Rowe's translation ofThe Golden Sayings of Pythagoras, the manner in which oriental lore augmented science and Masonry in fostering deism is an intriguing problem in eighteenth-century colonial letters.
[i-447]It would be interesting to know if M. Faÿ is able to document his statement that the Junto "had Masonic leanings" ("Learned Societies in Europe and America in the Eighteenth Century,"American Historical Review, XXXVII, 258 [1932]). R. F. Gould (The History of Freemasonry, London, 1887, III, 424) conjectures whether where was a lodge in Boston as early as 1720 but can offer no evidence of a real history of Masonry in the colonies until 1730, when colonial Masonry "may be said to have its commencement." Chroniclers of Franklin's Masonic career have found no documentary evidence of his affiliation with Masonry until February, 1731, when he entered St. John's Lodge. See J. F. Sachse,Benjamin Franklin as a Free Mason; J. H. Tatsch,Freemasonry in the Thirteen Colonies(New York, 1924);Early Newspaper Accounts of Free Masonry in Pennsylvania, England, Ireland, and Scotland. From 1730 to 1750 by Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Reprinted from Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette(Philadelphia, 1886);Masonic Letters of Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia to H. Price of Boston, ed. by C. P. MacCalla (Philadelphia, 1888); M. M. Johnson,The Beginnings of Freemasonry in America(New York, 1924). See "Prefatory Note" in W. B. Loewy's reprint of Anderson'sConstitutions(a reprint of Franklin's imprint of 1734) inPublications of the Masonic Historical Society of New York, No. 3 (New York, 1905). Arriving in London only seven years after the inauguration of the Grand Lodge, Franklin could hardly have been unaware of the broader speculations of Masonry. In London only a year after Anderson'sConstitutionswere printed (in 1723), he may conceivably have read the volume.
Stressing toleration, the universality of natural religion, morality rather than theology, reason rather than faith, Masonry could easily have augmented these ideas as they were latent or already developed in Franklin's mind. Scholars have yet to work out the extent to which Freemasonry, yokefellow of deism, reinforced free thought and was one of the subversive forces breaking down colonial orthodoxy. B. Faÿ'sRevolution and Freemasonry, 1680-1800neglects non-political influences of Freemasonry.
Although there is no evidence that Franklin as early as 1728 read such works (popular in the colonies) as De Ramsay'sThe Travels of Cyrusand Rowe's translation ofThe Golden Sayings of Pythagoras, the manner in which oriental lore augmented science and Masonry in fostering deism is an intriguing problem in eighteenth-century colonial letters.
[i-448]See I. W. Riley,op. cit., 249. Also see C. M. Walsh, "Franklin and Plato,"Open Court, XX, 129 ff.
[i-448]See I. W. Riley,op. cit., 249. Also see C. M. Walsh, "Franklin and Plato,"Open Court, XX, 129 ff.