Franklin suggested that the letter’s recipient, who was also the manuscript’s author, “burn this piece before it is seen by any other Person.”44 He explained that he thought religion necessary to ensure that the “weak and ignorant” act ethically. You yourself may find it easy to live a virtuous life without the assistance afforded by religion; you having a clear perception of the advantages of virtue, and the disadvantages of vice, and possessing a strength of resolution sufficient to enable you to resist common temptations. But think how great a portion of mankind consists of weak and
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