When I saw one too ambitious of court favour, sacrificing his time in attendance on levees, his repose, his liberty, his virtue, and perhaps his friends, to attain it, I have said to myself, This man gives too much for his whistle.

When I saw another fond of popularity, constantly employing himself in political bustles, neglecting his own affairs, and ruining them by that neglect, He pays, indeed, said I, too much for his whistle.

If I knew a miser, who gave up every kind of comfortable living, all the pleasure of doing good to others, all the esteem of his fellow-citizens, and the joys of benevolent friendship for the sake of accumulating wealth, Poor man, said I, you pay too much for your whistle.

When I met with a man of pleasure, sacrificing every laudable improvement of the mind, or of his fortune, to mere corporeal sensations, and ruining his health in their pursuit, Mistaken man, said I, you are providing pain for yourself, instead of pleasure; you give too much for your whistle.

If I see one fond of appearance, or fine clothes, fine houses, fine furniture, fine equipages, all above his fortune, for which he contracts debts, and ends his career in a prison, Alas! say I, he has paid dear, very dear, for his whistle.

When I see a beautiful, sweet-tempered girl married to an ill-natured brute of a husband, What a pity, say I, that she should pay so much for a whistle!

In short, I conceive that great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by the false estimates they have made of the value of things, and by their giving too much for their whistles.

Yet I ought to have charity for these unhappy people, when I consider, that, with all this wisdom of which I am boasting, there are certain things in the world so tempting, for example, the apples of King John, which happily are not to be bought; for if they were put to sale by auction, I might very easily be led to ruin myself in the purchase, and find that I had once more given too much for the whistle.

Adieu, my dear friend, and believe me ever yours very sincerely and with unalterable affection,

B. FRANKLIN.

[1779.]

THE LORD'S PRAYER

OLD VERSION

1. Our Father which art in Heaven,

2. Hallowed be thy Name.

3. Thy Kingdom come.

4. Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. 5. Give us this Day our daily Bread.

6. Forgive us our Debts as we forgive our Debtors. And lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil.

NEW VERSION BY B. F.

1.

Heavenly Father,

2. May all revere thee,

3. And become thy dutiful Children and faithful Sub

jects.

4. May thy Laws be obeyed on Earth as perfectly as they are in Heaven.

5. Provide for us this Day as thou hast hitherto daily done.

6. Forgive us our Trespasses and enable us likewise to forgive those that offend us.

7. Keep us out of Temptation, and deliver us from Evil.

Reasons for the Change of Expression

Old Version. Our Father which art in Heaven.

New V.-Heavenly Father, is more concise, equally expressive, and better modern English.

Old V.-Hallowed be thy Name. This seems to relate to an Observance among the Jews not to pronounce the proper or peculiar Name of God, they deeming it a Profanation so to do. We have in our Language no proper Name for God; the Word God being a common or general Name, expressing all chief Objects of Worship, true or false. The Word hallowed is almost obsolete. People now have but an imperfect Conception of the Meaning of the Petition. It is therefore proposed to change the expression into

New V.-May all revere thee.

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a Notion, that God sometimes tempted, or directed permitted the Tempting of People. Thus it was said tempted Pharuoh; directed Satan to tempt Job; and False Prophct to tempt Ahab, &c. Under this Pers rbin it was natural for them to pray that he would no put them to such severe Trials. We now suppose Temptation, so far as it is supernatural, comes from Devil anby, and this Petition continued conveys a Susp yhow which in our present Conception seems unworthy Chod, thotsford might be altered to

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w V.-Keep us out of Temptation. Happiness was not ncreas'd by the Change, and they had reason to wish nd pray for a Return of the Theocracy, or Government of God. Christians in these Times have other Ideas when they speak of the Kingdom of God, such as are erhaps more adequately express'd by

w V-And become thy dutiful Children & faithful Subjects.

1 V.-Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. w V-May thy Laws be obeyed on Earth as perfectly as They are in Heaven.

d V.-Give us this Day our daily Bread. Give us what is ours, seems to put us in a Claim of Right, and to contain too little of the grateful Acknowledgment and Sense of Dependance that becomes Creatures who live on the daily Bounty of their Creator. Therefore it is changed to

w V.-Provide for us this Day, as thou hast hitherto daily done.

d V.-Forgive us our Debts as we forgive our Debtors. Matthew.

Forgive us our Sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. Luke.

THE LEVÉE

[1779?]

In the first chapter of Job we have an account of a ansaction said to have arisen in the court, or at the levée, the best of all possible princes, or of governments by a ngle person, viz. that of God himself.

At this levée, in which the sons of God were assembled, atan also appeared.

It is probable the writer of that ancient book took his ea of this levée from those of the eastern monarchs of e age he lived in.

It is to this day usual at the levées of princes, to have rsons assembled who are enemies to each other, who seek obtain favor by whispering calumny and detraction, d thereby ruining those that distinguish themselves by eir virtue and merit. And kings frequently ask a failiar question or two, of every one in the circle, merely show their benignity. These circumstances are particarly exemplified in this relation.

Old V.-Thy Kingdom come. This Petition seems suited to the then Condition of the Jewish Nation. Originally their State was a Theocracy. God was their King. Dissatisfied with that kind of Government, they desired a visible earthly King in the manner of the Nations round them. They had such Kings accordingly; but their Offerings were due to God on many Occasions by the Jewish Law, which when People could not pay, or had forgotten as Debtors are apt to do, it was proper to pray that those Debts might be forgiven. Our Liturgy uses neither the Debtors of Matthew, nor the indebted of Luke, but instead of them speaks of those that trespass against us. Perhaps the Considering it as a Christian Duty to forgive Debtors, was by the Compilers thought an inconvenient Idea in a trading Nation.There seems however something presumptuous in this Mode of Expression, which has the Air of proposing ourselves as an Example of Goodness fit for God to imitate. We hope you will at least be as good as we are; you see we forgive one another, and therefore we pray that you would forgive us. Some have considered it in another sense, Forgive us as we forgive others; i.e. If we do not forgive others we pray that thou wouldst not forgive us. But this being a kind of conditional Imprecation against ourselves, seems improper in such a Prayer; and therefore it may be better to say humbly & modestly New V-Forgive us our Trespasses, and enable us likewise to forgive those that offend us. This instead of assuming that we have already in & of ourselves the Grace of Forgiveness, acknowledges our Dependance on God, the Fountain of Mercy for any Share we may have in it, praying that he would communicate of it to us.— Old V. And lead us not into Temptation. The Jews had a Notion, that God sometimes tempted, or directed or permitted the Tempting of People. Thus it was said he tempted Pharaoh; directed Satan to tempt Job; and a false Prophet to tempt Ahab, &c. Under this Persuasion it was natural for them to pray that he would not put them to such severe Trials. We now suppose that Temptation, so far as it is supernatural, comes from the Devil only, and this Petition continued conveys a Suspicion which in our present Conception seems unworthy of God, therefore might be altered to