Benjamin Franklin: Student of life

J o u r n a lof

The Pranklin InstituteDevoted to Science and the M e c h a n i c Arts

Vol. 233 APRIL, 1942 No. 4

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: STUDENT OF LIFE.*

BY

R O B E R T E. SPILLER, P h . D . ,

Swarthmore College.

I .

So m a n y a s p e c t s of F r a n k l i n ' s life, t h o u g h t , and w o r k h a v ea l r e a d y been d i s c u s s e d b y the p r e c e d i n g s p e a k e r s in thiss e r i e s t h a t t h e r e s h o u l d be l i t t l e left t o say. But p e r h a p s Ih a v e one a d v a n t a g e over the o t h e r s . T h e y h a v e all b e e nl i m i t e d t o specific s u b j e c t s , w h e r e a s I a m a s k e d t o talk a b o u tl i f e - - o r a t l e a s t , F r a n k l i n ' s r e a d i n g of life, w h i c h m i g h t leadm e i n t o a l m o s t a n y t h i n g . B u t I s h a l l t ry t o l i m i t m y s e l ft o a n a t t e m p t t o d e f i n e the p o i n t of v i e w w h i c h s e e m s t o m et o have b e e n a t the root of all his m a n y a n d v a r i e d a c t i o n s ,a n d t h e r e b y p r o v i d e one more c o m m e n t on t h a t s e n s e ofw h o l e n e s s a n d u n i t y of c h a r a c t e r w h i c h we all feel in hisp r e s e n c e b u t w h i c h we all find so d i f f i c u l t t o define. H o w e v e rm a n y a v e n u e s of his t h o u g h t a n d e x p e r i e n c e one f o l l o w s ou tt o t h e i r m a n i f o l d e x p r e s s i o n s , the r e t u r n tr ip b r i n g s onea l w a y s t o the s a m e s o u r c e . F r a n k l i n a s k e d only o n e q u e s t i o nof life a n d of the t h i n g s in i t : " D o e s it w o r k ? " T h e m e t h o d

* Delivered in the Hall of The Frankl in Inst i tute , M a r c h I, I94O. This wasone of the papers in the " M e e t Dr. Frankl in" Conference.

(Note-The Frankl in Institute i s not responsible for the statements and opinions advancedby contributors i n the JOOItNAL.)

VOL. 233, NO. I396---:3309

3 I O ROBERT 15". SPILLER. [J. F. I.

of his t h i n k i n g s e e m s t o m e a l w a y s t o be p r a g m a t i c . H er e l i e s in e v e r y p r o b l e m u p o n experience in the i m m e d i a t es e n s e as his f i n a l a u t h o r i t y .

If this s e e m s too s i m p l e a s t a t e m e n t of the q u e s t i o n a n dtoo e a s y a n a n s w e r , m y e x c u s e is t h a t I a m n o t a philosopher,t h a t I do n o t b e l i e v e F r a n k l i n t o h a v e been one, a n d t h a t Ido not look t o p h i l o s o p h y in the s t r i c t s e n s e of the term t op r o v i d e m u c h more than some of the l a n g u a g e of the d i scus -sion t h a t I have u n d e r t a k e n . I t is the h a b i t of l i t e r a r yc r i t i c s a n d h i s t o r i a n s t o d e s c r i b e p e o p l e in t e r m s of them a i n - s p r i n g s of t h e i r a c t i o n s a n d t h o u g h t . Such a s t a t e m e n ta s I have made a b o u t F r a n k l i n is p e r h a p s as m u c h a c o m m e n tu p o n m y s e l f a n d m y t r i b e a s u p o n him. W e find o u r s e l v e sc o n s t a n t l y u s i n g s u c h p h r a s e s a s " p h i l o s o p h y of l i f e , " " r e a d -ing of l i f e , " a n d " r o m a n t i c a n d c l a s s i c , " t o the a l a r m a n dd i s g u s t of m o r e d i s c i p l i n e d t h i n k e r s . B e c a u s e l i t e r a t u r e in-v o l v e s the e m o t i o n s as well as the m i n d , the t e r m s w h i c ha r e u s u a l l y a p p l i e d t o the definitions of t h i n k e r s are i n a d e -q u a t e . T h e y m u s t e i t h e r be a b a n d o n e d or h a v e t h e i r m e a n -ings s t r e t c h e d t o i n c l u d e e m o t i o n a l a t t i t u d e s as well a s r a t i o n a ls y s t e m s . W h e n I call F r a n k l i n " p r a g m a t i c , " therefore, I a ma t t e m p t i n g t o d e s c r i b e his w h o l e p e r s o n a l i t y a n d the m e a n i n gof his a t t i t u d e t o w a r d life. In this s e n s e I a m t r e a t i n g F r a n k -lin as a l i t e r a r y f i g u r e , w h i c h u n d o u b t e d l y he is, r a t h e r t h a np r i m a r i l y a s a philosopher, scientist , s t a t e s m a n , or s o c i a lcrit ic, even t h o u g h I m a y give m u c h a t t e n t i o n t o t h e s e a s p e c t sof his t h o u g h t a n d p a y l i t t l e or none t o the form a n d s t y l e ofhis w r i t i n g s .

T h e p l g e o n - h o l i n g of a g r e a t m a n in so s u m m a r y a f a s h i o nm u s t a l w a y s i m p l y the p h r a s e " i t s e e m s t o m e . " If y o u ' w i l lc o n s e n t t o m y c a l l i n g his a t t i t u d e " p r a g m a t i c , " I s h a l l t ryt o d e f i n e a n d t o i l l u s t r a t e w h a t the w o r d m a y m e a n w i t h i nthe l i m i t s of this d i s c u s s i o n . If we are satisfied t h a t thee l u s i v e s e n s e of u n i t y w h i c h is so o b v i o u s t o m o s t s t u d e n t sof F r a n k l i n h a s b e e n t h e r e b y d e f i n e d , we m a y r a i s e the f u r t h e rq u e s t i o n s of w h e t h e r this a t t i t u d e is characteristically, even

• t h o u g h not exclusively, A m e r i c a n , a n d w h e t h e r it is a s a t i s -f a c t o r y p h i l o s o p h y of llfe in i t s e l f - - i n s h o r t we m a y a s kw h e t h e r p r a g m a t i s m w o r k s .

April, I,)42.1 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: STUDENT OF LIFE. 3 I I

2 .

T o s a y t h a t F r a n k l i n was a p r a g m a t i s t is n o t t o i m p l y t h a the w o u l d even u n d e r s t a n d the a c c u s a t i o n w e r e he a l i v e t o d a y .A s far a s I k n o w , the term h a s been in use in this s e n s e fors c a r c e l y more t h a n half a c e n t u r y . I n 19o7, W i l l i a m J a m e sc a l l e d it " a n e w n a m e for some old w a y s of t h i n k i n g , " i a n dp r o c e e d e d t o pu t it i n t o the p h i l o s o p h e r ' s e v e r y - d a y v o c a b u -lary a s one m o r e mystification for the l a y m a n . I t is the s a m es y s t e m of t h o u g h t t h a t has m o r e r e c e n t l y been c a l l e d i n s t r u -m e n t a l i s m b e c a u s e , in the w o r d s of J a m e s h i m s e l f , in it" t h e o r i e s t h u s b e c o m e instruments, not a n s w e r s t o e n i g m a s . "I t is l i t t l e m o r e t h a n a p o i n t of v i e w , " t h e a t t i t u d e of l o o k i n ga w a y from f i r s t t h i n g s , principles, ' c a t e g o r i e s , ' s u p p o s e dnecessities, and of l o o k i n g t o w a r d l a s t t h i n g s , f r u i t s , c o n s e -q u e n c e s , f a c t s . " T h e r e s u l t is t h a t " i d e a s ( w h i c h t h e m s e l v e sare b u t p a r t s of o u r experience) b e c o m e t r u e j u s t in so far a st h e y help us t o g e t i n t o s a t i s f a c t o r y r e l a t i o n with o t h e r p a r t sof o u r e x p e r i e n c e . " 2 I d e a s , t h e n , h a v e no i n t r i n s i c v a l u ea p a r t from e x p e r i e n c e ; they are v a l i d only in so far a s theyc a n be p r o v e d use fu l in p r a c t i c e . T h e y t h e r e f o r e c a n n o t forma p h i l o s o p h y in the u s u a l s e n s e .

if P r a g m a t i s m is n o t in the full s e n s e a p h i l o s o p h y t o d a y ,i t was even less so in F r a n k l i n ' s t i m e ; a n d F r a n k l i n , w h o d i dnot e v e n h a v e this t e r m by w h i c h t o d e s c r i b e his p o i n t of v i e w ,was n o t a philosopher. I t was c u s t o m a r y for his c o n t e m -p o r a r i e s t o call him one, a n d he h i m s e l f f o u n d e d a s o c i e t yw h i c h he c a l l e d philosophical. R e c e n t b i o g r a p h e r s h a v e con-t i n u e d t o use the term in d e s c r i b i n g him, b u t it m u s t ber e m e m b e r e d t h a t the w o r d " p h i l o s o p h e r " in the e i g h t e e n t hc e n t u r y o f t e n m e a n t " n a t u r a l p h i l o s o p h e r , " or w h a t wes h o u l d m e a n by the term " n a t u r a l p h i l o s o p h e r . " This wasF r a n k l i n ' s own use of i t w h e n he n a m e d a s r e s i d e n t m e m b e r s

1 William James delivered a series of lectures on Pragmatism at the LowellInstitute in 19o6 and at Columbia University in 19o7. These lectures werepublished in 19o7 under the title: Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Waysof Thinking. Although The New English Dictionary gives seven earlier uses ofthe term, its use in philosophy was invented by C. S. Pierce in discussions withJames, and its special meaning was expounded by him in an article "How toMake our Ideas Clear," Popular Science Monthly, January, 1878.

2 W. James, op. cit., Lecture II, "Wha t Pragmatism Means," pp. 53, 54-55.

3 1 2 ROBERT E. SPILLER. [J. F. I.

of the American Philosophical Society a physician, a botanist,a mathematician, a chemist, a mechanician, a geographer, anda general natural philosopher? This last Franklin himselfunquestionably was, and his membership in foreign scientificsocieties was fit tribute to his attainments in this field. Butmetaphysician or logician he was not.

The danger of attempting to explain Franklin's mind interms of systematic philosophy is illustrated by a recentanalysis of his thought by Chester Jorgenson who strives toattach him to what he calls "scientific deism," a metaphysicalsystem based upon Newtonian physics and the rationalismof Locke. Mr. Jorgenson develops his thesis at some lengthand concludes: "To see the reflection of Newton and hisprogeny in Franklin's activities, be they economic, political,literary, or philosophical, lends a compelling u n i t y to the

several sides of his genius, heretofore seen as unrelated."His modus operandi is best explained "in reference to thethought pattern of scientific deism." 4 This theory is un-deniably suggestive if it be used merely as an explanation ofthe formative period of Franklin's thought, but Mr. Jorgensonhas neglected to give full weight to Franklin's emphaticrejection of the naive system-building of his youth. Hisshort period of philosophical inquiry, I725-29, ended withhis Modest Inquiry into the Nature and Necessity of [notLiberty, or God, but] a Paper Currency.~

Related in so formal a sense I do not believe that the sidesof his genius were. To be sure, Franklin absorbed the spiritof inquiry and experiment from the intellectual atmosphereof his day and he may jus t ly be thought of as a product of theeighteenth century enlightenment, but to assume from thisthat he formulated in his own mind and held to a philosophicalbasis for his actions is to push a half-truth too far. It wouldbe difficult to document the statement that "Frank l in was adisinterested scientist in the sense that he interrogated nature

3 "A Proposal for Promoting Useful Knowledge among the British Planta-tions in America." Phila.: May I4, I743. Writings, ed. by A. H. Smyth, NewYork: 19o5-o7, II, 228-232.

4 Benjamin Franklin, Representative Selections, with an Introduction, Bibli-ography, and Notes, by Frank Luther Mott and Chester E. Jorgenson. NewYork: I936. Introduction, p. cxli.

5 Writings, II, 133-154.

April, I942.] BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: STUDENT OF LIFE. 313

with a n eye t o d i s c o v e r i n g i t s i m m u t a b l e l a w s . " 6 A s far a sI k n o w , F r a n k l i n only once a t t e m p t e d a n i n t e l l e c t u a l a n ds y s t e m a t i c s t a t e m e n t of his p h i l o s o p h y . T h i s was in hise a r l y p a m p h l e t , A D i s s e r t a t i o n on L i b e r t y and N e c c e s s i t y ,P l e a s u r e and P a i n ( I 7 2 5 ) , p u b l i s h e d w h e n he was onlyn i n e t e e n . By f o l l o w i n g the l o g i c of his own proposit ionst h r o u g h , he r e a c h e d c o n c l u s i o n s w h i c h s e e m e d t o h i m n o t t ow o r k . A m o n g his s u r p r i s i n g r e s u l t s are the s t a t e m e n t st h a t , " I f t h e r e is no s u c h T h i n g a s F r e e - W i l l in C r e a t u r e s ,t h e r e can be n e i t h e r M e r i t nor D e m e r i t in C r e a t u r e s , " a n dt h a t , " P l e a s u r e is e q u a l t o P a i n . " " I p r i n t e d a s m a l lN u m b e r , " the old m a n w r o t e in l o o k i n g b a c k over the folliesof his y o u t h . " I t o c c a s i o n ' d m y b e i n g m o r e c o n s i d e r ' d byM r . P a l m e r , a s a y o u n g M a n of some I n g e n u i t y , tho ' h es e r i o u s l y E x p o s t u l a t e d with m e u p o n the P r i n c i p l e s of m yP a m p h l e t w h i c h t o h i m a p p e a r ' d a b o m i n a b l e . M y p r i n t i n gof this p a m p h l e t , " he c o n c l u d e s , " w a s a n o t h e r E r r a t u m . ' '7T h a t was the b e g i n n i n g a n d the end of the p h i l o s o p h e rF r a n k l i n .

B u t a n o t h e r kind of sage was born a t t h a t m o m e n t , onew h o l i v e d r a t h e r t h a n f o r m u l a t e d his t h o u g h t . F i f t y y e a r sl a t e r he e x p l a i n e d t o B e n j a m i n V a u g h a n t h a t " t h e g r e a tu n c e r t a i n t y I f o u n d in m e t a p h y s i c a l r e a s o n i n g s d i s g u s t e d me,a n d I q u i t t e d t h a t kind of r e a d i n g and s t u d y for o t h e r s m o r es a t i s f a c t o r y . " s If we w i s h , therefore, t o d i s c o v e r a " c o m -p e l l i n g o r g a n i c u n i t y " in his t h o u g h t , we m u s t seek it r a t h e rin his a t t i t u d e a n d a c t i o n s than in his e x p r e s s i o n of t h e o r i e s .T h e s e n s e of w h o l e n e s s with w h i c h he i m p r e s s e s us is p e r h a p sm o r e a c c u r a t e l y a t t r i b u t e d by M r . V a n D o r e n t o the f a c tt h a t " h i s p o w e r s w e r e from f i r s t t o l a s t in a flexible e q u i -l i b r i u m . " 9 W h e r e s h o u l d we look for the s e c r e t of t h a t p o i s e ?

.

T h e f i r s t a n d m o s t o b v i o u s field for o u r i n q u i r y is of c o u r s et h a t of scientific e x p e r i m e n t , w h i c h he i n s i s t e d in c a r r y i n g

Ibid., p. cxi.7 "Autobiography," Writings, I, 277-78.s Passy, November 9, 1779. Writings, VII, 4x2.9 C. Van Doren, Benjamin Franklin. New York: I928, p. 782.

314 ROBERT E. SPILLER. [J. F. I.

ou t in s p i t e of the p r o t e s t s of the G o o d M o u s e A m o s , w h ol i v e d , a c c o r d i n g t o R o b e r t L a w s o n , in B e n ' s f u r cap.

" I s h a l l tear the l i g h t e n i n g from t h e s k i e s , " A m o s q u o t e sh i m as s a y i n g , " a n d h a r n e s s it t o do the b i d d i n g of m a n . "

" P e r s o n a l l y , " said the m o u s e , " I t h i n k the s k y ' s a n ex-c e l l e n t p l a c e for i t . " 10

T h e f a m i l i a r s t o r i e s of the P e n n s y l v a n i a fireplace, or thee l e c t r i c k i t e , or a n y of the o t h e r e x a m p l e s of F r a n k l i n ' si n v e s t i g a t i v e m i n d w o u l d a n y of t h e m r e v e a l the p r o c e s s oft h i n k i n g in w h i c h I a m here i n t e r e s t e d . A p p a r e n t l y he readthe r e p o r t s of i n v e s t i g a t i o n s b e i n g c o n d u c t e d e l s e w h e r e a n dk e p t up a c o r r e s p o n d e n c e with o t h e r e x p e r i m e n t a l s c i e n t i s t s ,b u t of theoretical r e a d i n g t h e r e is l i t t l e r e c o r d e x c e p t inhis y o u t h . H i s c o r r e s p o n d e n c e with Collinson, K a m e s ,H a r t l e y , a n d o t h e r E u r o p e a n t h i n k e r s is full of d i s c u s s i o n s ofscientific e x p e r i m e n t s a n d political a n d e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p -m e n t s , with s o m e p r a c t i c a l m o r a l i t y , a n d no m e t a p h y s i c s .P h e n o m e n a t h e m s e l v e s f i r s t a t t r a c t e d h i m - - s m o k y c h i m n e y s ,the c o m m o n c o l d , oil on w a t e r , l i g h t n i n g s t r i k i n g b a r n s a n ds t e e p l e s . T h e n f o l l o w e d a few s i m p l e e x p e r i m e n t s t o de-t e r m i n e the c o n d i t i o n s u n d e r w h i c h each o p e r a t e d . W h e nh e had satisfied his c u r i o s i t y on this p o i n t , he did n o t , a sw o u l d m o s t e x p e r i m e n t a l scientists, f o r m u l a t e a l a w orh y p o t h e s i s a n d p u s h the p r o b l e m f u r t h e r i n t o theoreticalr e g i o n s . R a t h e r , h e t u r n e d a b o u t a n d s o u g h t t o h a r n e s s thel i g h t n i n g with rods a n d w i r e s , m a k e a l a d d e r for his b o o k -s h e l v e s , or w o r k ou t a s y s t e m of d i e t a n d e x e r c i s e t h a t w o u l dc h e c k the c o m m o n c o l d . Such a b s t r a c t i o n s as a t o m s , c a l o r i e s ,a n d v i t a m i n s w o u l d have h a d no i n t e r e s t for him. But hewas tireless in the o b s e r v a t i o n of p h e n o m e n a . I n a l e t t e r t oLord K a m e s , J u n e 2, 1765, he o b s e r v e s t h a t a f t e r w e a r i n gg r e e n s p e c t a c l e s the p a g e he is r e a d i n g a p p e a r s r e d d i s h , b u td r a w s no c o n c l u s i o n s e x c e p t t h a t here is a r e l a t i o n s h i p be-t w e e n g r e e n a n d red " n o t y e t e x p l a i n e d . " n In a n o t h e r l e t t e r ,t o the Abbe S o u l e v i e , he e x p r e s s e s his p r e f e r e n c e for t h a t" m e t h o d of philosophizing, w h i c h p r o c e e d s u p o n a c t u a lo b s e r v a t i o n s , m a k e s a collection of f a c t s , a n d c o n c l u d e s nof u r t h e r t h a n t h o s e f a c t s will w a r r a n t . " 12 H e d i s c i p l i n e d his

10 R. Lawson, Ben and Me. Boston: ~939, P. 4I.n Writings, IV, 380.12Ibid., VIII , 6oi.

April, 1942.] BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: STUDENT OF LIFE. 315

imagination to discover only observable facts and then askedto what use his findings might be put to improve the lot ofman, and more particularly of Philadelphians.

It would seem that Franklin's mind ran a similar coursewith reference to social thinking. His fire company, hispostal service, his library, and his newspapers and magazinesat home and in o t h e r colonies were developed to answer thepublic need ra the r than for personal profit alone. Experi-ence in each case pointed out a situation which needed theexercise of his ingenuity, and his solution to the problem wasso obvious, once it had been put into practice, that it im-mediately became publ ic habit. Often it was a scientificdiscovery which was turned into a social channel and the twocurrents of his mind flowed together. He had no consistentview of the nature of society o t h e r than that dictated by hisunderstanding of the needs of his own country. Rousseau'sSophie, the Comtesse d'Houdetot, made him the hero of afore champOtre at her house at Samois, but the social reformerFranklin seems to have shown more interest in the lady thanin the theories of the social idealist Rousseau. Adam Smith 'sWealth of Nations, which appeared in I776, does not seemto have had much direct influence, although he had met itsauthor in 1759 at the house of Dr. Robertson in Edinburgh.When he reached the conclusiofl that American independencewas inevitable, he joined Jefferson in approving an agricul-tural economy. " T h e r e seem to be but three ways for anation to acquire wealth," he wrote. "The first is by war,as the Romans did, in plundering the i r conquered neighbours.This is robbery. The second is by commerce, which isgenerally cheating. The th i rd is by agriculture, the onlyhonest way, wherein man receives a real increase of the seedthrown into the ground, in a kind of continual miracle." 13Such a simplification of Physiocratic doctrines could only bemade by a man who had his eye fixed upon the practicalpr6blems of a young and unexploited country.

In the education of youth, he revealed the same lack ofconcern for abstract theory, the same practical and far-sighted wisdom with reference to fact. In his several tractson educational matters, he stresses the need for the estab-

18 Writings, V, 202.

316 R O B E R T E . S P I L L E R . [J. I;. I.

lishment of academies in the colony and outlines a pragmaticcurriculum in which facility in speaking and writing, and thereading of contemporary and recent English literature, sharewith history and natural science the places habitually assignedto logic, theoretical mathematics, and the classics. He evenurges that, with this study, excursions might be made "tothe neighbouring Plantations of the best Farmers, the i rMethods observ'd and reason'd upon for the Improvement ofYouth." 14 The modern " a c t i v i t y " school which has de-veloped from John Dewey's pragmatic theories of education,with its emphasis upon the study of the immediate environ-ment, is largely a rediscovery of practices which Franklinadvocated in 1749. Higher education, with its diversifiedvocational schools, has followed a similar pattern. To Frank-lin, it was enough that America needed young men to carryforward the material welfare of the colonies and their people.

A similarly pragmatic attitude is to be discovered in hispolitical thought. Such men as Tom Paine and Jeffersonwere left to absorb the theories of the French political radicalsand to draft the Declaration of Independence while Franklinsat back behind his square spectacles and merely helped it todo its work by writing perhaps his most stinging and famoussatire, "Rules by Which a Great Empire may be Reduced."Conciliator that he had been up to this time, he was ready toadd a barb to the shaft. Apparent inconsistencies in hisposition during the years when the revolutionary movementin the colonies was taking shape are explained when referenceis made to his fact-finding approach to the problem ratherthan to any systematic political philosophy. ProfessorVerner Crane has analyzed this problem so carefully andconvincingly in the last of his Colver Lectures, 15 and doubtlessagain in his lecture in this series, that I shall merely agreehere with his main point: that Franklin's first ideal was one offederated imperialism, but that colonial loyalty led him toa l t e r his actions in terms of developing circumstances whichwere beyond his control. The really significant conclusion

14Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania. Phi la . :I 8 4 9 . Ibid. , II, 3 8 6 - 3 9 6 .

1~ V. W. Crane, Benjamin Franklin, Englishman and American. Providence ,R. I.: 1936.

April, 1942.] BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: STUDENT OF LIFE. 317

is not whe the r he held to this or that political philosophy,but that in the crisis he used his far-sighted understandingof men and events to lead ra the r than to follow colonialthinking into channels which brought the most satisfactoryresults, within the l imits of possibility. He changed his planfor action with changing circumstances.

.

When we turn from consideration of scientific, social, andpolitical questions to the more subjective realms of ethics andhuman relationships, the problems become more difficultand more subject to misunderstanding. This is the realtest of the theo ry I have proposed.

I once asked a loyal scholar of Franklin why he was somuch interested in him, why he was willing to devote so muchtime to a study of him and of his ideas. The answer wasimmediate and spoken with firm conviction, "Because heknew how to deal with women." If I repeated my questionhere, I should probably receive a variety of answers, but Isuspect that many of them would be variations on the theme,"Because he knew how to deal with life." We are attractedto many great figures of the past because of the i r ideas or the i rworks; Franklin, I think, draws us because he so obviouslyworked out a rule of life which brought an unusual degree ofsatisfaction to him and to most people with whom he cameinto contact.

The re are two kinds of sources which might be used inreformulating Franklin's attitude on personal experience andmoral conduct: the record of his relationships with o t h e rpeople, and his own formulation of his ethical code. On asuperficial view, the conclusions derived from one of thesekinds o f sources do not agree with those based on the other.There appears to many people an inconsistency between theexperimenter with life and people, who emerges from a reviewof the biographical facts, and the dogmatic moralists of theAutobiography, Poor Richard, and some of the letters. Sog r e a t has this inconsistency appeared to some people thatpoor old Ben emerges from their studies as l i t t le more than asmug hypocrite. "Although I still believe that honesty is

318 ROBERT E. SPILLER. [J, F, I.

the b e s t p o l i c y , " w r i t e s the E n g l i s h m a n D. H. L a w r e n c e ," I d i s l i k e p o l i c y a l t o g e t h e r ; t h o u g h it is j u s t as well n o t t oc o u n t y o u r c h i c k e n s b e f o r e t h e y are h a t c h e d , it 's s t i l l m o r eh a t e f u l t o c o u n t them with g l o a t i n g a f t e r they are h a t c h e d .I t has t a k e n m e m a n y y e a r s a n d c o u n t l e s s s m a r t s t o g e t ou tof t h a t b a r b e d w i r e m o r a l e n c l o s u r e t h a t Poor R i c h a r d r i g g e dup. H e r e a m I now in t a t t e r s a n d s c r a t c h e d t o r i b b o n s ,s i t t i n g in the m i d d l e of B e n j a m i n ' s A m e r i c a l o o k i n g a t theb a r b e d w i r e , a n d the f a t s h e e p c r a w l i n g u n d e r the f e n c e t og e t fat o u t s i d e a n d the w a t c h d o g s y e l l i n g a t the gate lest byc h a n c e a n y o n e s h o u l d g e t ou t by the p r o p e r ex i t . OhA m e r i c a ! Oh B e n j a m i n ! A n d I j u s t u t t e r a long l o u d c u r s ea g a i n s t B e n j a m i n a n d the A m e r i c a n c o r r a l .

" M o r a l A m e r i c a ! M o s t m o r a l B e n j a m i n . S o u n d , s a t i s -fied B e n ! " 16

T h e r e h a s n e v e r b e e n a more w r o n g - h e a d e d c o m m e n tmade on F r a n k l i n , y e t it is e a s y t o see w h y this r o m a n t i c ,m y s t i c a l E n g l i s h m a n , w h o d o u b t l e s s k n e w no o t h e r F r a n k l i nt h a n t h a t he e x t r a c t e d from the Autobiography a n d theAlmanacks, s h o u l d r e b e l a g a i n s t w h a t s e e m e d t o h i m t o bea self-appointed C h i e f J u s t i c e of H u m a n N a t u r e :

" E a t not t o f u l n e s s ; d r i n k n o t t o e l e v a t i o n ." L o s e no t i m e , be a l w a y s e m p l o y e d in s o m e t h i n g u s e f u l ;

cut off all u n n e c e s s a r y a c t i o n ." A v o i d e x t r e m e s , f o r e b e a r r e s e n t i n g i n j u r i e s a s m u c h a s

you t h i n k they d e s e r v e . "Do w h a t you w a n t t o do, but d o n ' t do too m u c h of i t - -

a " D o " a n d a " D o n ' t " in e v e r y s e n t e n c e ! No w o n d e r t h a tL a w r e n c e f o u n d s m u g n e s s h e r e , a n d t r i e d t o free h i m s e l ffrom the inhibitions he had l e a r n e d from Poor R i c h a r d !

But he c o m p l e t e l y m i s s e d the fact t h a t t h e s e m o r a l d o g m a sw e r e n o t s e t down for him. In t h e i r f i r s t f o r m , t h e y w e r em e r e l y w o r k i n g gu ides for the y o u n g m a n F r a n k l i n , n o t a f i n a ls t a t e m e n t of his i d e a l of perfection. T h e y f u r n i s h e d a m e a n sof p i n c h i n g h i m s e l f in the a r m w h e n he f o u n d h i m s e l f d o i n gs o m e t h i n g of w h i c h he, in the long run, c o u l d n o t a p p r o v e .A n d , from his own t e s t i m o n y , s u c h o c c a s i o n s w e r e n o t r a r e .M a n y a good N e w Y e a r ' s r e s o l u t i o n w o u l d m a k e a b a d l a w of

16 D. H. Lawrence, Studies in Classic American Literature. New York:I923, p. 21.

A p r i l , ~942.] B E N J A M I N F R A N K L I N : S T U D E N T OF L I F E . 319

the l a n d . T h e m o s t t h a t the old m a n F r a n k l i n h o p e d wast h a t s o m e of t h e s e l i t t l e i n s t r u m e n t s of c o n d u c t m i g h t beuse fu l t o s o m e of his d e s c e n d a n t s a s w e l l . . T h e y h a d b e e ns h a r p e n e d by his own e x p e r i e n c e a n d w e r e of v a l u e t o himc h i e f l y a s a w a y of p a r i n g down his own excesses. H er e c o r d e d the w h o l e e x p e r i m e n t with the d e t a c h m e n t of ascientific o b s e r v e r , h i m s e l f the s t u d e n t a n d h i m s e l f the o b j e c tof s t u d y . H i s p r o p o s e d b o o k , The Art of Virtue, w h i c h hen e v e r w r o t e , was i n t e n d e d , he e x p l a i n s , t o help t h o s e w h oh a d lost the b e t t e r s u p p o r t of C h r i s t i a n fai th, t o r e t a i n a tl e a s t a w o r k i n g m o r a l i t y Y

The f r a n k n e s s of the Autobiography has c h a r m e d a n dt r o u b l e d the c r i t i c s from the s t a r t ; c h a r m e d b e c a u s e , ins i m p l e A d d i s o n i a n E n g l i s h , F r a n k l i n s e t t o w o r k like anh o n e s t t r a d e s m a n t o take a n i n v e n t o r y of his life, i t s s u c c e s s e sa n d f a i l u r e s ; t r o u b l e d b e c a u s e the t r a d e s m a n i n c l u d e d in hisc o u n t the q u a l i t i e s of s p i r i t w h i c h for s o m e have a n u n t o u c h -a b l e s a n c i t y . W h i c h is the p r u d e : the m a n w h o can e v a l u a t ehis i m p u l s e s a n d m e a s u r e t h e i r c o n s e q u e n c e s or the m a n w h ol o o k s u p o n his own ego a s the m y s t e r i o u s , u n t o u c h a b l em y s t e r y of the e t e r n a l ? T h e e l e m e n t s w h i c h m a k e up con-d u c t are no more e x e m p t from F r a n k l i n ' s a n a l y s i s than aret h o s e w h i c h c o n t r o l the p h e n o m e n a of n a t u r e . T h e s a m es c a l e s m u s t be u s e d for w e i g h i n g o n e ' s self t h a t h a v e p r o v e dt h e i r w o r t h in the w e i g h i n g of o b j e c t i v e n a t u r e . F a t h e rA b r a h a m ' s s p e e c h (Poor Richard's Aimanack for I758 )p r e a c h e s f r u g a l i t y a n d i n d u s t r y a s p r a c t i c a l a n s w e r s t o theq u e s t i o n of h i g h t a x e s .TM

T h e difficulty of a p p r a i s i n g F r a n k l i n ' s m o r a l a t t i t u d e l i e s ,therefore, in this a p p a r e n t i n c o n s i s t e n c y b e t w e e n his o b v i o u s l ye x p e r i m e n t a l w a y of l i v i n g a n d the codified s y s t e m of c o n t r o l sw h i c h he a t t e m p t s in the e a r l y p a g e s of the Autobiographya n d w h i c h f i n d s e x p r e s s i o n in the s a y i n g s of Poor R i c h a r da n d e l s e w h e r e . In his w r i t i n g s , F r a n k l i n a p p a r e n t l y s t a t e sa t h e o r y of c o n d u c t f i r s t a n d u r g e s o t h e r s t o a c c e p t a n d a p p l yit t o t h e m s e l v e s ; in his own a c t i o n s he s e e m s t o r e v e r s e thep r o c e s s , t o w o r k e x p e r i m e n t a l l y t o w a r d a n i n n e r e q u i l i b r i u mof d e s i r e a n d c o n t r o l w i t h o u t d e l i b e r a t e f o r m u l a t i o n of

1T Let ter t o Lord Kames. Wr#ings, IV, I2-I 3.ls Writings, III, 408.

320 ROBERT E. SPILLER. [J. F. 1.

p r i n c i p l e s u n t i l a f t e r the fac t . T h e i n c o n s i s t e n c y is a realone if his s t a t e m e n t s on m o r a l q u e s t i o n s be a c c e p t e d pri-m a r i l y a s a n e f f o r t t o g u i d e o t h e r s . U n q u e s t i o n a b l y he ish i m s e l f t o b l a m e . H e p l a y e d the p a r t of the m o r a l t e a c h e r ,he gave the a p p e a r a n c e of w i s h i n g t o pass on t o o t h e r s hisown r u l e s of c o n d u c t . But, a t the s a m e t i m e , this i m p r e s s i o nof F r a n k l i n as a d o g m a t i c m o r a l i s t is m i s l e a d i n g . B e f o r ehe was t w e n t y - t h r e e he h a d w e i g h e d p l e a s u r e a g a i n s t r e a s o nin the c h a r a c t e r s of P h i l o c l e s a n d H o r a t i o . T h e r e s u l t i n grule of m o d e r a t i o n was s t i l l his f i f ty y e a r s l a t e r w h e n he w r o t e" T h e W h i s t l e . " I t was a rule of l i v i n g w h i c h w o u l d a l w a y sa l l o w a p r a g m a t i c t e s t , a l w a y s be flexible. 19 I t is, therefore,i m p o r t a n t t o j u d g e h i m n o t so m u c h by w h a t he s e e m e d t obe or by w h a t he t h o u g h t h i m s e l f t o be, a s by w h a t he was ,a n d I t h i n k i t safe t o say, even in the face of all the m o r a la p h o r i s m s t h a t d o t his p a g e s , t h a t in his own life he t e s t e dc o n d u c t a s he d i d n a t u r e by the e x p e r i m e n t a l m e t h o d , bal-a n c i n g r e a s o n a n d p l e a s u r e a n e w in each n e w c i r c u m s t a n c e .In this v i e w , his p r o v e r b s , e p i g r a m s , a n d r u l e s b e c o m e m e r e l ythe l a b o r a t o r y n o t e - b o o k of a p r a g m a t i c m o r a l i s t ; n o t t e x t sfrom a s e c u l a r p u l p i t .

" H e t h a t f a l l s in love with h i m s e l f will h a v e no r i v a l s . "F r a n k l i n k n e w t h a t he was v e r y m u c h in love w i t h h i m s e l f .

" T h e m o s t e x q u i s i t e f o l l y is made of w i s d o m s p u n toofine." H e had t r i e d it h i m s e l f a n d g i v e n it up.

" W e c a n give a d v i c e b u t we c a n n o t give c o n d u c t . " H eh a d seen his own a d m o n i t i o n s d i s r e g a r d e d , a s w e r e F a t h e rA b r a h a m ' s .

Such a p h o r i s m s a s t h e s e have the a p p e a r a n c e of c h e m i c a lf o r m u l a e d e r i v e d from the test t u b e . E v e n the m o r a l i s t i cp a s s a g e s from the Autobiography m a y be so i n t e r p r e t e d be-c a u s e F r a n k l i n is a s c o n s c i e n t i o u s in r e p o r t i n g his f a i l u r e sa s he is his s u c c e s s e s in l i v i n g up t o his own i d e a l s and r u l e sof c o n d u c t . B u t this interpretat ion of his m o r a l a t t i t u d e c a ns c a r c e l y be a v o i d e d w h e n the f a c t s of his c o n d u c t are r e v i e w e d

a p a r t from the e v i d e n c e of the Autobiography. I t is his lackof d o g m a t i s m w h i c h c h a r m e d in all his p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n -s h i p s , his r e c e p t i v i t y t o the i d e a s of o t h e r s , his a d j u s t a b i l i t yt o t h e i r m o o d s . H i s c o m m e n t on his two old J u n t o f r i e n d s ,

19 Writings, II, I57-17o.

A p r i l , I942.] B E N J A M I N F R A N K L I N : S T U D E N T OF L I F E . 3 2 1

P o t t s and P a r s o n s , w o u l d s u g g e s t t h a t he r e c o g n i z e d t h i n g s inh u m a n n a t u r e w h i c h w i s d o m c o u l d not a l t e r : " P a r s o n s was awise m a n t h a t o f t e n a c t e d foolishly; P o t t s a wi t t h a t s e l d o ma c t e d w i s e l y . If enough w e r e the m e a n s t o m a k e a m a nh a p p y , one had a l w a y s the m e a n s of h a p p i n e s s w i t h o u t evere n j o y i n g the t h i n g ; the o t h e r h a d a l w a y s the t h i n g w i t h o u tever p o s s e s s i n g the m e a n s . P a r s o n s even in his p r o s p e r i t ya l w a y s f r e t t i n g ; P o t t s in the m i d s t of his p o v e r t y a l w a y sl a u g h i n g . I t s e e m s , t h e n , t h a t h a p p i n e s s in this life r a t h e rd e p e n d s on i n t e r n a l s t h a n e x t e r n a l s ; and t h a t , b e s i d e s then a t u r a l effects of w i s d o m and v i r t u e , vice a n d folly, t h e r e iss u c h a t h i n g a s a h a p p y or a n u n h a p p y c o n s t i t u t i o n . " ,~0This is i n d e e d an a d m i s s i o n for one w h o s u p p o s e d l y b e l i e v e dso f u l l y in the correctabil i ty of h u m a n n a t u r e .

N o t u n l i k e the m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g of L a w r e n c e is t h a t oft h o s e r e c e n t c r i t i c s w h o have l a b e l e d F r a n k l i n " t h e f i r s tcivilized A m e r i c a n , " a n d " t h e a p o s t l e of M o d e r n T i m e s , " b u tthe e r r o r is of a c o n t r a r y sort31 P h i l l i p s R u s s e l l a n d B e r n a r dF~iy r e v o l t e d , a s d i d L a w r e n c e , a g a i n s t the s a n c t i m o n i o u sl a y - p r e a c h e r of the m i s - r e a d Autobiography. B u t i n s t e a dof m e r e l y c o n d e m n i n g him, they a t t e m p t a p o l o g i e s by p l a y i n gup in a d e p l o r a b l y s e n s a t i o n a l f a s h i o n his w o r d l i n e s s , hisc o s m o p o l i t a n v i c e s , his d o u b t s , a n d his w e a k n e s s e s . T h er e s u l t i n g p i c t u r e s are a s d i s t o r t e d a s t h a t w h i c h they set ou tt o correct . The c h i e f v a l u e of t h e s e b o o k s , in s p i t e of thesuperficiality of the one a n d the s u p p o s e d l y d o c u m e n t e dt h o r o u g h n e s s of the o t h e r , is t h a t they free F r a n k l i n from thec l u t c h e s of M r s . G r u n d y a n d r e s t o r e him t o the m o r e con-g e n i a l society of M a d a m e B r i l l o n . Ford 32 h a d a l l o w e d thel a t t e r l a d y ' sc o n f e s s i o n t h a t s h e s a t on the s a g e ' s lap, but o t h e re v i d e n c e even more d a m a g i n g was a s y e t u n r e v e a l e d . A f t e rthe b a d t a s t e and the m i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the R u s s e l l book h a do p e n e d the w a y , it was p o s s i b l e for Mr. V a n D o r e n a n d o t h e r st o d i scus s , w i t h o u t a p o l o g y , the p r e s e n c e of i l l e g i t i m a c y in theF r a n k l i n f a m i l y t o the f o u r t h g e n e r a t i o n , cut s h o r t t h e r e byu n t i m e l y d e a t h . A n d a f t e r the F~iy b o o k , it was e a s i e r t o

2o Writings, III, 457.21 p . Russe l l , Benjamin Franklin, the First Civilized American. New York :

1926. B. F i i y , Franklin, the Apostle of Modern Times. Bos ton : 1929.22 p . L. Ford , The Many-Sided Franklin. New York : 1899.

322 R O B E R T E . S P I L L E R . [J. F. I.

a p p r e c i a t e F r a n k l i n ' s life a s a s t r u g g l e with h i m s e l f a n d withc i r c u m s t a n c e s . T h e s t a r c h was w a s h e d ou t of the b o u r g e o i ss a i n t .

Such r e v e l a t i o n s a n d interpretat ions are in t h e m s e l v e s ofno m o m e n t e x c e p t t o p r o v e once a n d - f o r all t h a t F r a n k l i n ' sm o r a l a p h o r i s m s w e r e e x p r e s s e d with c o n v i c t i o n b e c a u s em o d e r a t i o n was for him an a c q u i r e d a r t r a t h e r t h a n a r e s u l tof p r u d i s h i n h i b i t i o n s . T h e y r e a s s u r e us t h a t he was ah u m a n b e i n g w h o d e v e l o p e d c h a r a c t e r a n d k i n d l i n e s s byf a c i n g life s q u a r e l y and e v a l u a t i n g it in i t s v a r i o u s a n d con-t r a d i c t o r y m o o d s as it p r e s e n t e d i t s e l f t o him. T h e m o r a l i z -ing of the old m a n was the s u m m a r y of a life w h i c h h a d b e e nr i c h l y , if n o t a l w a y s w i s e l y or e v e n a d m i r a b l y l i v e d . PoorRichard was the n o t e - b o o k of a l a b o r a t o r y moralist .

I t is h a r d l y n e c e s s a r y t o r e v i e w for this a u d i e n c e the m a n ye v i d e n c e s of F r a n k l i n ' s k i n d l y i n t e r e s t in o t h e r s , p a r t i c u l a r l y

i n y o u n g people, t h r o u g h o u t his long life. M r . S t i f l e r ' s 23 col-l e c t i o n of his c o r r e s p o n d e n c e with P o l l y S t e v e n s o n a n d theS h i p l e y g i r l s , c o v e r i n g m o r e than t h i r t y y e a r s , is a l m o s tt e s t i m o n y e n o u g h . B u t t o this m a y be a d d e d a list of allt h o s e y o u n g m e n w h o m he s t i m u l a t e d a n d a i d e d t o s u c c e s s f u ll i v e s t h r o u g h the J u n t o , by m e a n s of l e t t e r s of i n t r o d u c t i o na s in the case of T o m P a i n e , a n d by s e t t i n g t h e m up in b u s i -ness for t h e m s e l v e s a f t e r a n a p p r e n t i c e s h i p with him. A n dif e v i d e n c e s of his t o l e r a n c e be s o u g h t , his t r e a t m e n t ofA r t h u r Lee and S i l a s D e a n e , bo th of w h o m he r e f u s e d o p e n l yt o c o n d e m n even w h e n the t i d e of p o p u l a r f e e l i n g was s t r o n ga g a i n s t t h e m , m i g h t be sufficient. I t m a y be a r g u e d t h a tgood b u s i n e s s s e n s e a n d self-interest led F r a n k l i n t o set hisp a r t n e r s up in the p r i n t i n g a n d p u b l i s h i n g b u s i n e s s in n e i g h -b o r i n g colonies, b u t no s u c h e x p l a n a t i o n can be g i v e n forhis w i l l i n g n e s s t o a c c e p t the risk of p u b l i c s t i g m a r a t h e r t h a nt o d e n o u n c e the w e a k n e s s e s of his d i p l o m a t i c a s s o c i a t e s ,

T h e s e i n s t a n c e s are t a k e n from w i d e l y s p r e a d e p o c h s inhis life, and the l a t e r ones r e v e a l even m o r e p a t i e n c e a n dk i n d l i n e s s than do the e a r l i e r o n e s . F r a n k l i n v e r i f i e d by,e x p e r i e n c e his e a r l y b e l i e f t h a t more flies are c a u g h t by mo-l a s s e s t h a n by v i n e g a r , t h a t a w o r l d in w h i c h p e o p l e g e t on

J. M. Stifler, My Dear Girl; the Correspondence of Benjamin Franklin withPolly Stevenson, Georgiana and Catherine Shipley. New York : I 9 2 7 .


with each o t h e r is happ ie r and more comfortable than one inwhich they do not. Perhaps this point of view is sufficientexplanation of the change in his political philosophy from abelief in British federation to one in American independence.His moral philosophy was as pragmatic and adjustable aswas his political.

5.

In no sphere of experience, however, is this trial-and-errormethod of Franklin more dramatically revealed than in thatof religion. Those who would accept his guidance for thewhole of life must follow him through to this, and it is herethat many of his warmest admirers are forced to stop. Be-cause he was so near ly successful in depriving God himselfof his mystery, he shocks many a potential disciple whoadmires his experimental approach to problems of science,society, and politics, and even those who are willing to applywith him the same methods to the problems of human conduct.

A careful analysis of Franklin's religious beliefs and prac-tices would demand a review of I8th century Deism, but oncemore I shall be content with a discussion of his attitude alone.Again he is more interested in a workable practice of religionthan in the formulated dogmatisms and skepticisms of his age.Brought up in a society which accepted a dogmatic Calvinism,the same revol t which took him to Philadelphia carriedhim over spiritually to the company of the religious doubterswho owed the i r Deistic beliefs to Newton and Locke in thefirst instance. His first experiments in formulating a fa i thof his own show the traces of both influences, but they provedunsatisfying. He soon gave up the a t t empt to define then a t u r e and scope of the power of God when his reasoningbrought him to the conclusion that freedom of the will was alogical impossibility but a practical necessity. A system ofliving founded upon such premises would not work and wastherefore not for him. Y e t h e felt the need of a God to whomhe could pray. The resulting Dei ty was l i t t le more than afellow-traveler, one who stood r e a d y With his higher authorityto sanction the actions which experience t a u g h t him were best.Franklin, I believe, never defined his Dei ty in these words,but in all his contacts with religious sects and religious people,


h e a s k e d only t h a t w h a t e v e r G o d they m i g h t p r o f e s s w o u l dp r o v e his g o o d n e s s by d i r e c t i n g them i n t o the wise a n dv i r t u o u s w a y s of l i v i n g . H e t e l l s us t h a t , r e l i g i o u s l y edu-c a t e d a P r e s b y t e r i a n , he a t t e n d e d no s e r v i c e s for p u b l i cw o r s h i p w i t h a n y r e g u l a r i t y b e c a u s e he b e c a m e i m p a t i e n twith theological d i s c u s s i o n . N e v e r t h e l e s s he r e c o g n i z e d thep r a c t i c a l v i r t u e s of the c h u r c h e s a s a g e n c i e s for the p u b l i cw e l f a r e , a n d was w i l l i n g t o c o n t r i b u t e t o a n y s e c t t h a t w o u l ds e r v e the c i v i l i n t e r e s t s as well a s t h e i r own. F o r the s a m er e a s o n he w e l c o m e d a n d s u p p o r t e d G e o r g e W h i t e f i e l d w h e nhe c a m e t o P h i l a d e l p h i a in 1739, a n d his justification forj o i n i n g the M a s o n s was t h a t G o d j u d g e s m e n more for w h a tt h e y do than for w h a t t h e y t h i n k .24 H i s Articles of Beliefand Acts of Religion (1728), 2a w r i t t e n a t the age of 22, p o s i t sa D i e s t i c C h r i s t i a n G o d w h o h a s inf ini te p o w e r but is a b o v eu s i n g it a r b i t r a r i l y , a n d a c u r i o u s h i e r a r c h y of b e i n g s s u p e r i o rt o m a n t h a t is s u g g e s t i v e of p a g a n p / m t h e i s m . T h e m o s ti m p o r t a n t c l a u s e in this c r e e d , h o w e v e r , is the s t a t e m e n t t h a tG o d is good a n d w i s e , a n d t h e r e f o r e B e n j a m i n F r a n k l i n ofP h i l a d e l p h i a sees e v e r y r e a s o n for m a k i n g H i m his f r i e n d .In this s p i r i t of i n d e p e n d e n c e , h e p r o c e e d s t o his d e v o t i o n sa s he w o u l d t o a c o n v e r s a t i o n with a s u p e r i o r m o r a l a d v i s e rfor w h o m he f e e l s d e e p reverence. All of his l a t e r r e l i g i o u sefforts, i n c l u d i n g his p r o p o s e d a b r i d g e m e n t of the Book ofCommon Prayer, w e r e d e s i g n e d t o m a k e more e a s y a n d im-m e d i a t e the e v e r y - d a y i n t e r c o u r s e b e t w e e n m a n , the s u p e -rior of the a n i m a l s , and God, the s u p r e m e in w i s d o m a n dj u d g m e n t of all b e i n g s . B u t in his m o s t r e l i g i o u s m o o d s , thisi n t e r c o u r s e was s t i l l in the n a t u r e of a c o n v e r s a t i o n b e t w e e none b e i n g a n d a n o t h e r . S u r e l y no one h a s ever d e v i s e d a moreh e l p f u l God, b u t the e x p e r i e n c e of r e l i g i o u s e x u l t a t i o n isl a c k i n g in the relationship. I t was for i m m e d i a t e and p r a c -t i c a l aid t h a t he u r g e d the C o n s t i t u t i o n a l C o n v e n t i o n of 1786t o t u r n t o God, a n d the p s y c h o l o g i c a l e f f e c t of his s u g g e s t i o nwas g o o d ?6 F r a n k l i n ' s p r a g m a t i c a t t i t u d e s e e m s t o s t a n dthis f i n a l t e s t ; he c r e a t e d a n d c l u n g t o a G o d w h o h e l p e d h i m

24 Letter to Josiah Franklin, April 13, 1838. Writings, II, 214-16.Writings, II, 91-1oo.

~6M. Farrand, The Records o f the Federal Convention o f x787 . Rev. ed. 4 v.New Haven: 1937, I, 450-52.


d i s c o v e r how t o l i v e , a n d a l l o w e d h i m t o m a k e the d i s c o v e r yfor h i m s e l f . W i t h o t h e r p r o b l e m s of the n a t u r e a n d f u n c t i o nof the D e i t y he e a r l y lost interes t . A n d w h e n E z r a S t i l e sa s k e d him a m o n t h b e f o r e his d e a t h , t o s t a t e his o p i n i o n onthe D i v i n i t y of C h r i s t , he r e p l i e d : "I t is a q u e s t i o n I do n o td o g m a t i z e u p o n , h a v i n g n e v e r s t u d i e d i t , a n d t h i n k it n e e d l e s st o busy m y s e l f with it now, w h e n I e x p e c t soon a n O p p o r t u n i t yof k n o w i n g the T r u t h with less Trouble;."

.

F r a n k l i n ' s w a y of t h i n k i n g a n d l i v i n g m a y be d i s t i n g u i s h e dfrom t h o s e of his E u r o p e a n c o n t e m p o r a r i e s like V o l t a i r e a n dJ o h n s o n in t h a t it was so characteristically A m e r i c a n . T h ep a r t i c u l a r form w h i c h his p r a g m a t i s m took was a r e s u l t of hisp a r t i c i p a t i o n a s a p r i n c i p a l a c t o r in the g r e a t e s t m a s s m o v e -m e n t of civilization t h a t h i s t o r y r e c o r d s . L e w i s M u m f o r ds u m m a r i z e s it in a s e n t e n c e : " T h e s e t t l e m e n t of A m e r i c a hadi t s o r i g i n s in the u n s e t t l e m e n t of E u r o p e . " ~7 N e v e r b e f o r ehad m a n made so d e l i b e r a t e a n d so a m b i t i o u s an e f f o r t t ot r a n s f e r a m a t u r e d civilization t o a p r i m i t i v e l a n d . T h em o v e m e n t s of G r e e k c u l t u r e t o R o m e and of L a t i n c u l t u r e t oE n g l a n d are trif l ing w h e n c o m p a r e d t o the g i g a n t i c t a s k oft r a n s f e r r i n g the c u l t u r e of W e s t e r n E u r o p e t o A m e r i c a n s h o r e s .N o r was the c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n the sophistication of the c u l t u r ea n d the b a r b a r i s m of the l a n d ever so s t r i k i n g . H i s t o r i a n sh a v e l a b e l e d the effort "the f r o n t i e r m o v e m e n t " and havem o r e a n d m o r e , s i n c e F r e d e r i c k J a c k s o n T u r n e r d e f i n e d it inI893, come t o r e a l i z e t h a t m u c h in A m e r i c a n c u l t u r a l h i s t o r yc a n be b e t t e r e x p l a i n e d w h e n r e f e r r e d t o this b a s i c f a c t o r .F r a n k l i n l i v e d a t a time w h e n the f r o n t i e r c u l t u r e of thee a s t e r n s e a b o a r d colonies was r e a c h i n g m a t u r i t y t h r o u g h ap a i n f u l a d o l e s c e n c e . A s a result , his p r a g m a t i s m h a s ap e c u l i a r l y A m e r i c a n flavor, a v i t a l i t y a n d a g g r e s s i v e n e s s w h i c hthe t i r e d s k e p t i c i s m of c o n t e m p o r a r y E u r o p e a n t h i n k e r sl a c k e d . W h a t e v e r his p r e d i l e c t i o n s m a y be t o w a r d a lifeof c o n t e m p l a t i o n a n d d o g m a t i c belief, the A m e r i c a n philoso-p h e r from the e a r l i e s t d a y s h a s been f o r c e d ou t of his a s s u m p -t i o n s a n d i n t o a m o l d of v i g o r o u s p r a g m a t i s m by the very

27 L. Mumford, The Golden Day. New York: 1926, p. II.

326 ROBERT E . SPILLER. [J. t;. I.

c i r c u m s t a n c e s of his life. H o w e v e r s o u n d his p h i l o s o p h yw h e n k e p t in the r e a l m of t h e o r y , a n d h o w e v e r a d m i r a b l ehis love of s e c u r i t y a n d r e t i r e m e n t for c o n t e m p l a t i o n , thei m m e d i a t e need for a c t i o n h a s a l w a y s been too g r e a t t o a l l o wa n y s y s t e m of t h i n k i n g w h i c h c a n n o t j u s t i f y i t s e l f by pro-v i d i n g s w i f t l y the n e e d s and the m i n i m a l c o m f o r t s of life." A m e r i c a was p r o m i s e s , " s i n g s o u r l a t e s t L a u r e a t e A r c h i b a l dM a c L e i s h ; but the A m e r i c a n is p r a g m a t i s t . H e m u s t m a k es o m e of the p r o m i s e s w o r k .

I s h o u l d like t o a s k y o u r i n d u l g e n c e for p e r h a p s too long ad i g r e s s i o n a t this p o i n t b e c a u s e I feel t h a t we can only a p p r e -c i a t e F r a n k l i n ' s p r a g m a t i s m by d i s c o v e r i n g the . s a m e t r a i tin o t h e r A m e r i c a n s and s e e i n g it a s a d o m i n a n t s t r a i n t h r o u g h -ou t the long h i s t o r y of o u r intellectual d e v e l o p m e n t .

I t t a k e s l i t t le a r g u m e n t t o p r o v e t h a t the o r i g i n a l s e t t l e r sin this c o u n t r y w e r e p r i m a r i l y c o n c e r n e d with p r a c t i c a lp r o b l e m s . T h o s e w h o w e r e n o t , did n o t live t o p r o d u c e b o o k so r d e s c e n d a n t s . E v e n w h e n they w e r e m o t i v a t e d by r e l i g i o u si d e a l s a s w e r e the P l y m o u t h colonists a n d the P e n n s y l v a n i aQ u a k e r s , t h e i r f i r s t ac ts w e r e s u c h c o m m o n s e n s e t r a n s l a t i o n sof t h e i r t h e o r i e s i n t o w o r k a b l e p r a c t i c e s a s the PlymouthCompact a n d the c l a s s i c t r e a t y with the I n d i a n s . A n d evenw h e n the colonies w e r e f a i r l y s e t t l e d , t h e r e was more d e b a t eon p r o b l e m s of e c o n o m i c s a n d g o v e r n m e n t than u p o n t h ea b s t r a c t i o n s of p h i l o s o p h y a n d the a m e n i t i e s of l i t e r a t u r e .In the f a m o u s Bloudy Tenent c o n t r o v e r y itself, R o g e r W i l l i a m swas p r o t e s t i n g p e r s e c u t i o n for c a u s e of c o n s c i e n c e a s a w o r k -ing p r i n c i p l e of t h r o t t l i n g free s p e e c h in a d e m o c r a c y r a t h e rt h a n a s a s c h o l a s t i c d o g m a . I t was more t h a n a c e n t u r yb e f o r e the c o l o n i e s p r o d u c e d in J o n a t h a n E d w a r d s a philoso-pher w h o is w o r t h y t o take r a n k a m o n g o r i g i n a l a n d sys-t e m a t i c t h i n k e r s , a n d a l m o s t t w o h u n d r e d y e a r s b e f o r e t h a tt y p e % f l i t e r a t u r e w h i c h is c o n c e r n e d with the p l e a s u r e s a n da m e n i t i e s of life took s h a p e in C o o p e r , I r v i n g , a n d B r y a n t .T h e g r e a t t h e o r i s t of the R e v o l u t i o n , T o m P a i n e , h a d fewo r i g i n a l i d e a s a n d d e v o t e d his e n e r g i e s t o a p p l y i n g thep r i n c i p l e s w h i c h he had l e a r n e d in his r e a d i n g t o the P r o b l e m sw h i c h his a d o p t e d c o u n t r y f a c e d in the fac t .

This u n u s u a ' l p h e n o m e n o n of a w h o l e n a t i o n w o r k i n g ina c c o r d with a p h i l o s o p h y w h i c h it h a d n o t , in a l m o s t two

A p r i l , I942. ] BEN.JAMIN FRANKLIN: STUDENT OF LIFE. 327

c e n t u r i e s , h a d t i m e t o f o r m u l a t e is c o m m e n t e d on s o m e y e a r sl a t e r by the a s t u t e F r e n c h m a n , de T o q u e v i l l e : " I t h i n k t h a tin no c o u n t r y in the civilized w o r l d is less a t t e n t i o n paid t op h i l o s o p h y t h a n in the U n i t e d S t a t e s , " he w r i t e s . " T h eA m e r i c a n s h a v e no philosophical s c h o o l of t h e i r own ; and theycare b u t l i t t l e for all the s c h o o l s i n t o w h i c h E u r o p e is d i v i d e d ,the v e r y n a m e s of w h i c h are s c a r c e l y k n o w n t o t h e m . Y e t itis e a s y t o p e r c e i v e t h a t a l m o s t all the i n h a b i t a n t s of theU n i t e d S t a t e s c o n d u c t t h e i r u n d e r s t a n d i n g in the s a m e m a n -ner, a n d g o v e r n i t by the s a m e r u l e s . . . . E a c h A m e r i c a na p p e a l s t o the i n d i v i d u a l e x e r c i s e of his own u n d e r s t a n d i n ga l o n e . . . . A s it is on t h e i r own t e s t i m o n y t h a t they area c c u s t o m e d t o r e l y , they like t o d i s c e r n the o b j e c t w h i c he n g a g e s t h e i r a t t e n t i o n w i t h e x t r e m e c l e a r n e s s ; they t h e r e -fore s t r i p off a s m u c h as p o s s i b l e all t h a t c o v e r s it, t h e y ridt h e m s e l v e s of w h a t e v e r s e p a r a t e s t h e m from it, they r e m o v ew h a t e v e r c o n c e a l s it from s i g h t , in o r d e r t o v i e w it m o r ec l o s e l y a n d in the b r o a d l i g h t of d a y . " 28

Wi th this s h r e w d e x p l a n a t i o n of the A m e r i c a n h a b i t ofp r a g m a t i c i n d e p e n d e n c e of m i n d , even s u c h i d e a l i s t s a sE m e r s o n a n d T h o r e a u c o n s e n t t o fall i n t o the p a t t e r n . Ken-n e t h M u r d o c k h a s p o i n t e d ou t t h a t the P u r i t a n s t h e m s e l v e sw e r e m e n of a f f a i r s a n d t i e d t h e i r i d e a l i s m c l o s e l y i n t o t h e i rd a i l y l i v e s 3 " By I84O, P u r i t a n i s m h a d s t r i p p e d i t s e l f ofall the i n h i b i t i o n s a n d r e g i m e n t a t i o n s of theological d o g m a ,a n d life c o u l d be d e f i n e d and l i v e d as a new t e s t i n g of e x p e r i -ence each d a y by each i n d i v i d u a l . E m e r s o n c a m e veryn e a r t o f o r m u l a t i n g an e t h i c a l philosophy, even t h o u g h hef a i l e d t o s y s t e m a t i z e his m e t a p h y s i c s a n d aesthetics. In TheAmerican Scholar, in 1837, he p r e a c h e d an i d e a l i z a t i o n ofthe m o r a l c o d e of w h i c h F r a n k l i n was , in m a n y r e s p e c t s , a ne x a m p l e . I m p a t i e n c e with b o o k s a s b o o k s is c o u n t e r e d by aplea for c l o s e r c o m m u n i o n with n a t u r e and for a c t i o n . F r a n k -l i n ' s n a t u r e was of the h u m a n v a r i e t y , but we can e a s i l yi m a g i n e him, g r a n t e d E m e r s o n ' s gift of t o n g u e s , s p e a k i n g thef o l l o w i n g l i n e s : " I f it w e r e only for a v o c a b u l a r y , the s c h o l a r

28A. de Toqueville, Democracy in America, trans, by H. Reeve. New York:1898, II, 1-7.

,9 K. Murdock, "The Puritan Tradition," The Reinterpretation of AmericanLiterature, edited by Norman Foerster, New York: 1928, p. lO5.


w o u l d be c o v e t o u s of a c t i o n . Life is o u r d i c t i o n a r y . Y e a r sa r e well s p e n t in c o u n t r y l a b o r s ; in t o w n s ; in the i n s i g h t i n t ot r a d e s a n d m a n u f a c t u r e s ; in f r a n k i n t e r c o u r s e with m a n ym e n a n d w o m e n ; in s c i e n c e ; in a r t ; t o the one end of m a s t e r i n gin all t h e i r f a c t s a l a n g u a g e by w h i c h t o i l l u s t r a t e a n d e m b o d yo u r p e r c e p t i o n s . . . . Life lies b e h i n d us a s the q u a r r y fromw h i c h we g e t t i l e s a n d c o p e s t o n e s for the m a s o n r y of t o - d a y . ''3°

I a m f u l l y a w a r e t h a t in c a l l i n g E m e r s o n a p r a g m a t i s t ,a t l e a s t in some p h a s e s of his t h o u g h t , I a m f l y i n g in the faceof m u c h of the t r a d i t i o n a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of his a t t i t u d e ,a l t h o u g h I a m not a l o n e a m o n g his r e c e n t c r i t i c s in c o m m i t -t ing this c r i m e . F r e d e r i c k Ives C a r p e n t e r w r i t e s : " E m e r s o n ' sp h i l o s o p h y m a y p e r h a p s be d e s c r i b e d as a P r a g m a t i c M y s -t i c i s m . I t is i d e a l i s t i c in t h a t it puts the m y s t i c a l e x p e r i e n c ef i rs t . I t is d u a l i s t i c in t h a t it l o o k s both w a y s from i t sp o s i t i o n on the b r i d g e b e t w e e n soul a n d n a t u r e . I t is m o n i s t i cin t h a t i t m a i n t a i n s t h a t this b r i d g e is the only r e a l i t y . Buti t is p r a g m a t i c in t h a t it t e s t s all t r u t h s ( i n c l u d i n g the m y s t i c a lb e l i e f in the v a l u e of life) by experience.

" I t r e m a i n s t o s u g g e s t , " c o n t i n u e s M r . C a r p e n t e r , " t h a tthis p r a g m a t i c m y s t i c i s m is e s s e n t i a l l y the A m e r i c a n p h i l o s o -p h y . " 31 W i t h this c o n c l u s i o n I a m i n c l i n e d h e a r t i l y t o a g r e ea l t h o u g h it has b e e n p o i n t e d ou t c o n v i n c i n g l y t h a t E m e r s o n ,in his m o r e m y s t i c a l m o o d s , r e j e c t s the e x p e r i m e n t a l a t t i t u d et o w a r d p h y s i c a l f a c t s w h i c h is characteristic of the p r a g -m a t i s m of F r a n k l i n a n d of o t h e r more p r a c t i c a l p e o p l e fromW i l l i a m Penn t o W i l l i a m J a m e s . B u t the d i s c o v e r y ofp r a g m a t i s m in a n y s e n s e in E m e r s o n is akin t o the s e n s a t i o n a l .In him, a n d p e r h a p s also in T h o r e a u , W h i t m a n , a n d the o t h e rl e a d e r s of the m i d - n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y r e n a i s s a n c e of i d e a l i s min l i t e r a t u r e a n d life, the m y s t i c a l is more i m p o r t a n t than thec i r c u m s t a n t i a l experience. B u t if we c o m p a r e t h e s e i d e a l i s t sw i t h E u r o p e a n l i t e r a r y m e n a n d philosophers of the s a m eg e n e r a l s t a m p , like C o l e r i d g e , G o e t h e , and K a n t , the h o r n sof the Y a n k e e t r a d e s m a n a p p e a r a b o v e the all-seeing eye.

T h r o u g h o u t the A m e r i c a n experience, therefore, o u r c h i e fp r o b l e m h a s been the a d j u s t m e n t of an e x t r e m e form of

30 R. W. Emerson, Works (Cent. Ed.) , I, 97-98.31 F. I. Carpenter, Ralph WaldoEmerson, Representative Selections, New York:

1934. Introduction, p. xxxvii.


pragmatic individualism, demanded by the circumstances ofour civilization, to the fundamental hunger of human n a t u r efor something higher and better than it can obtain in thisworld. The pure r forms of idealism have seldom taken rootin our soil because of the urgency of the pragmat ic challenge,especially in the ear ly days. Franklin, more successfullythan any o t h e r Colonial, faced this issue and was tempera-mental ly able to make the adjustment which the circum-stances of his time and country demanded. He reducedreligion to practical ethics and he tested conduct by experi-ence. Emerson, a myst ic by temperament, founded hisethics, as his Pur i t an forefathers had done before him, on thesame pragmatic base. It was left for William James tore tu rn to the foundations which Franklin had laid by thepattern of his life and to formulate a theory which Franklinhad lived without formulation. There is much reason tobelieve that this modern pragmatism is the characteristicAmerican philosophy, the one which our experience hasdictated from the start. We may not each of us accept itwithout qualifications for ourselves, but as a people we havelearned it and applied it throughout our history. We may,like Emerson and many another American, feel the need foraccepting the mystical experience and explaining the universein terms of a polarity r a the r than of a single p o i n t of reference.But in Franklin's singleness lay his strength and his unity.It might prove a sanitive to these troubled times and to themany troubled minds living in them to re tu rn more frequentlyto the study of a man whose philosophy was himself, and whodiscovered how to make himself whole by rejecting no partof the life about him, and sane by keeping it in control. Onsuch a foundation we may bui ld according to our varioustemperaments and needs.

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Benjamin Franklin: Student of life