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He helped invent America’s unique style of homespun humor and philosophical pragmatism.
the motto for the library he founded, “To pour forth benefits for the common good is divine.”
Franklin could still recall its titles: Plutarch’s Lives (“which I read abundantly”), Daniel Defoe’s An Essay upon Projects, Cotton Mather’s Bonifacius: Essays to Do Good, and an assortment of “books in polemic divinity.”
Read these!
honorable men who believe that their personal strivings are intertwined with the progress of humanity.
Honorable people. Where are they today? Why aren't they running for president?
By asking what seemed to be innocent questions, Franklin would draw people into making concessions that would gradually prove whatever point he was trying to assert.
I wish I had this gift. I wish I could have met him!
One reason the Silence Dogood essays are so historically notable is that they were among the first examples of what would become a quintessential American genre of humor: the wry, homespun mix of folksy tales and pointed observations that was perfected by such Franklin descendants as Mark Twain and Will Rogers.
character: “I am . . . a mortal enemy to arbitrary government and unlimited power. I am naturally very jealous for the rights and liberties of my country; and the least appearance of an encroachment on those invaluable privileges is apt to make my blood boil exceedingly. I have likewise a natural inclination to observe and reprove the faults of others, at which I have an excellent faculty.” It was as good a description of the real Benjamin Franklin—and, indeed, of a typical American—as is likely to be found anywhere.37
I would conclude this with "...of the time." Few exist today.
