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The life and works. Of Dr. Benjamin Franklin / [Benjamin Franklin].

  • Benjamin Franklin
Date:
[1815?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The life and works. Of Dr. Benjamin Franklin / [Benjamin Franklin]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    philosophy tends to elucidate and improve the most cont mon subjects. ft would be superfluous to pronounce any eulogium ‘on the character of this great man ;—or to attempt giving further proof of the extent of his genius and the beneve- Ience of his heart than can’ be found in the excellent his- tory of his life; with two’ excellent letters, one from Mr. ‘Thomas Jeffersow to the late Dr. William Smith of Phi- - Jadelphia, the other from the late Dr. R. Price, and with two or three well authenticated anecdotes we shall -beg léave to introduce the volume to our readers. “1 feel both the wish and the daty to communicate, in complianee with your request, whatever, within my know- ~ ledge, might render justice to the memory of our great ‘countryman, Dr. Franklin, in whom Philosophy has to de- plore one of its principal luminaries extinguished. But my opportunities of knowing the interesting facts of his life, have not been equal to my desire of making them * known. | **¥ can only, therefore, testify in general, that there ap- peared to_me more respect and veneration attached to’ the: character of Dr. Franklin in Franee, than: to that of any other person in the same country, foreign or native. I had - epportunities of knowing particularly, how far these sen-. timents were felt bythe foreign ambassadors and ministers: — ’ gt the court of Versailles: The fable of his capture by the Algerines, propagated by the English newspapers, excited no uneasiness, as it was seen at once to be a dish cooked up to please certain readers; but nothing could exceed the anxiety of his diplomatic brethren on a subse- qaent report of bis death, wiich, although premature, _. bere some marks ef authenticity: -
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