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10. "And Abraham answered and said, Lord, he would not worship thee, neither would he call upon thy name; therefore have I driven him out from before my face into the wilderness.'

11. "And God said, 'have I borne with him three hundred ninety and eight years, and nourished him and clothed him, notwithstanding his rebellion against me; and couldst thou not bear with him one night?"

12. "And Abraham said, 'Let not the anger of the Lord wax hot against his servant. Lo! I have sinned, forgive me, I pray thee.'

13. "And Abraham arose, and went forth into the wilderness and sought diligently for the man, and found him, and returned with him to the tent; and when he had entreated him kindly he sent him away on the morrow with gifts.

14. "And God spake again unto Abraham, saying, 'For this thy sin shall thy seed be afflicted, four hundred years in a strange land.

15. "But for thy repentance will I deliver them; and they shall come forth with power, and with gladness of heart, and with much substance.' ""

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An account of the notoriety which this parable has gained, especially as some writers have, without a knowledge of the facts, charged Franklin with plagiarism for allowing it to be published as his own-merits a particular notice. It is true, that Lord Kames does not say it was written by the Doctor; still, such an inference is fairly deducible from his language, and in this light it was understood by the public. At length some one lit upon a similar story in Jeremy Taylor's "Liberty of Prophesying," where Taylor says, that it was taken from the "Jews' Books." So vague a reference afforded no clue to its origin; but a Latin version of it was found in the dedication of a work by George Gentius, who, ascribes it to Saadi the Persian poet; so that its source still remains a matter for curious research. There can, however, be little doubt of its eastern origin.

The parable was imperfectly printed from Lord Kames's copy. The last four verses were omitted, and these are essential to its completeness and beauty as it came from the hands of Franklin. Nor are there any

grounds for the charge of plagiarism, since it was published without his knowledge, and without any pretence of authorship on his part. In a letter to Mr. Vaughan, written a short time before his death, he says; "The truth is, that I never published the parable, and never claimed more credit from it than what related to the style, and the addition of the concluding threatening and promise. The publishing of it by Lord Kames, without my consent, deprived me of a good deal of amusement, which I used to take in reading it by heart, out of any bible, and obtaining the remarks of the scriptarians upon it which were sometimes very diverting; not but that it is in itself, on account of the moral, well worth being made known to all mankind."

A principal charm of this apologue is the felicity with which the scripture style is imitated, both as to the thoughts and the manner of expression. For this charm, as well as for the closing verses, which lend additional force to the moral, it is wholly indebted to Franklin; and it should moreover be observed, that the popular favour it has received, and the curiosity it has excited, are to be ascribed to the dress in which he clothed it. Till it appeared in this dress, it never attracted notice, although made public long before, in so remarkable a work as the one into which it was incorporated by Jeremy Taylor.

Franklin composed a piece which he called an Apologue that we also cite. It was written at the period of, and in allusion, to the claims of the American royalists on the British government.

APOLOGUE: A COUNCIL OF THE BEASTS.

"Lion, king of a certain forest, had among his subjects a body of faithful dogs, in principle and affection strongly attached to his person and government, and through whose assistance, he had extended his dominions. and had become the terror of his enemies.

"Lion, however influenced by evil counsellors, took an aversion to the dogs, condemned them unheard, and ordered his tigers, leopards, and panthers to attack and destroy them.

"The dogs petitioned humbly, but their petitions were rejected haughtily; and they were forced to defend themselves, which they did with bravery.

66 A few among them of a mongrel race, derived from a mixture with wolves and foxes, corrupted by royal promises of great rewards, deserted the honest dogs and joined their enemies.

"The dogs were finally victorious; a treaty of peace was made, in which Lion acknowledged them to be free, and disclaimed all future authority over them.

"The mongrels, not being permitted to return among them, claimed of the royalists the reward they had been promised.

"A council of the beasts was held to consider their demand. "The wolves and the foxes agreed unanimously that the demand was just, that royal promises ought to be kept, and that every loyal subject should contribute freely to enable his Majesty to fulfil them.

"The horse alone, with a boldness and freedom that became the nobleness of his nature, delivered a contrary opinion.

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"The king,' said he, has been misled by bad ministers, to war unjustly upon his faithful subjects. Royal promises, when made to encourage us to act for the public good should indeed be honourably acquitted; but if to encourage us to betray and destroy each other, they are wicked and void from the beginning. The advisers of such promises, and those who murdered in consequence of them, instead of being recompensed should be severely punished. Consider how greatly our common strength is already diminished by our loss of the dogs. If you enable the king to reward these fratricides, you will establish a precedent that may justify a future tyrant in making like promises, and every example of such an unnatural trust rewarded, will give them additional weight. Horses and bulls, as well as dogs, may thus be divided

against their own kind, and civil wars produced at pleasure. till we are so weakened that neither liberty nor safety is any longer to be found in the forest, and nothing remains but abject submission to the will of a despot, who may devour us as he pleases.'

The council had sense enough to resolve,that the demand be rejected "

ADVICE TO A YOUNG TRADESMAN.

Dr. Franklin spent a long life in doing good, not only as a public man, and in the uninterrupted pursuit of useful improvements, but by lending sound practical advice to society at large, as well as to all who sincerely desired his private counsel, circulating as widely as he could the results of his own instructive personal experience. We shall here further pause in order to introduce a specimen of his serviceableness in the way last mentioned; the stage of the biography to which the narrative has come affording a fitting opportunity for such an interlude. The paper particularly alluded to is headed " Advice to a Young Tradesman."

"As you have desired it of me, I write the following hints, which have been of service to me, and may, if observed, be so to you :

"Remember that time is money. He that can earn ten shillings a-day by his labour, and goes abroad, or sits idle one-half of that day, though he spends but sixpence during his diversion or idleness, ought not to reckon that the only expence he has really spent, or rather thrown away, five shillings besides.

"Remember that credit is money. If a man lets his money lie in my hands after it is due, he gives me the interest, or so much as I can make of it during that time. This amounts to a considerable sum where a man has good and sure credit, and makes good use of it.

"Remember that money is of a prolific generating nature. Money can beget money, and its offspring can beget more, and so on. Five shillings turned is six ; turned again it is seven and three pence; and so on till it becomes a hundred pounds. The more there is of it, the more it produces every turning, so that the profits rise quicker and quicker. He that kills a breeding sow, destroys all her offspring to the thousand generation. He that murders a crown, destroys all that it might have produced, even scores of pounds.

Remember that six pounds a-year is but a groat a-day. For this little sum (which may be easily wasted in time or expense unperceived), a man of credit may, on his own security, have the constant possession and use of a hundred pounds. So much in stock briskly turned by an industrious man, produces great advantage,

"Remember this saying-The good paymaster is lord of another man's purse.' He that is known to pay punctually and exactly to the time he promises, may at any time, and on any occcasion, raise all the money his friends can spare. This is sometimes of great use. After industry and frugality, nothing contributes more to the raising a young man in the world than punctuality and justice in all his dealings: there fore never keep borrowed money an hour beyond the time you promised it, lest a disappointment shut up your friend's purse for ever.

"The most trifling actions that affect a man's credit are to be regarded. The sound of your hammer at five in the morning or nine at night, heard by a creditor, makes him easy six months longer; but if he sees you at a billiard-table, or hears your voice at a tavern, when you should be at work, he sends for his money next day, demands it before he can receive it in a lump.

"It shows besides that you are not unmindful of what you owe; it makes you appear a careful as well as an honest man, and that still increases your credit.

"Beware of thinking all your own that you possess, and of living accordingly. It is a mistake that many people who have credit fall into To prevent this, keep an exact account for some time, both of your expenses and income. If you take the pains at first to mention particulars, it will have this good effect; you will discover how wonderfully small trifling expenses mount up to large sums, and will discern what might have been, and may for the future be saved, without occasioning any great inconvenience.

"In short, the way to wealth if you desire it, is as plain as the way to market. It depends chiefly on two words industry, and frugality: that is neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. Without industry and frugality nothing will do, and with them anything. He that gets all he can honestly, and saves all he gets (necessary expenses excepted), will certainly become rich-if that Being who governs the world, to whom all should look for a blessing on their honest endeavours, doth not in his wise providence otherwise determine.-An old Tradesman."

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