| I recently read Benjamin Franklin’s wonderful autobiography. I was struck by how, despite being taken out of school at the age of 10 to work for his father’s business (“tallow chandler and sope-boiler”), the young Franklin was extremely fond of reading, and spent what little money he had on books. |  |
Franklin also devoted much of his spare time to writing exercises, in order to teach himself “Method in the Arrangement of Thoughts”. He observed: “Prose Writing has been of great Use to me in the Course of my Life, and was a principal Means of my Advancement.”
As I read these words, I found myself wondering whether people today recognise the benefits of “learning a little to scribble”, as Franklin put it. For that matter, do those benefits still hold in today’s world of mobile communication, tablets and social media? Personally I think the answer is a resounding “yes”. And certainly when I reflect back on my own life, I can see how being able to write reasonably well helped me acquire academic degrees, secure good jobs, earn the respect of colleagues, and finally earn my living through the written word… not to forget the satisfaction of the craft itself and the deep learning that it has generated for me.
As well as practising his writing, Franklin made a point of studying the art of conversation. For instance, as a young man he read about the Socratic Method. This persuaded him to drop the habit of “abrupt Contradiction” and adopt instead the attitude of “humble Enquirer and Doubter”, and eventually he developed a lasting habit of expressing himself in terms of “modest Diffidence”. This meant, when making a proposal that might be disputed, he would refrain from using words such as “certainly” and “undoubtedly”. I loved his explanation: “…a positive dogmatical Manner in advancing your Sentiments, may provoke Contradiction & prevent a candid Attention.”
Looking back on his life, Franklin felt his diffident habit had been of great advantage to him, enabling him to succeed in promoting a wide range of causes. And these included many things that we now take for granted, like a police force, a fire service and a public library*. That was all in the colony of Pennsylvania, but ultimately of course he became one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.
Further reading
Benjamin Franklin’s “Autobiography and Other Writings” -- highly recommended for anybody who wants a real flavour of 18th century life and food for thought on what the phrase "a good life" could mean.
The same volume includes Franklin’s delightful “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America”, which reveals the author's appreciation of “Indian” customs. He tells a marvellous story of how, in 1744, Indians in the colony of Virginia politely declined the offer of sending some of their sons to a college. They even made a counter-offer, saying: “…if the Gentlemen of Virginia will send us a dozen of their Sons, we will take great Care of their Education, instruct them in all we know, and make Men of them.”
* I borrowed Franklin’s Autobiography from my local library, which sadly can no longer be taken for granted.
As I read these words, I found myself wondering whether people today recognise the benefits of “learning a little to scribble”, as Franklin put it. For that matter, do those benefits still hold in today’s world of mobile communication, tablets and social media? Personally I think the answer is a resounding “yes”. And certainly when I reflect back on my own life, I can see how being able to write reasonably well helped me acquire academic degrees, secure good jobs, earn the respect of colleagues, and finally earn my living through the written word… not to forget the satisfaction of the craft itself and the deep learning that it has generated for me.
As well as practising his writing, Franklin made a point of studying the art of conversation. For instance, as a young man he read about the Socratic Method. This persuaded him to drop the habit of “abrupt Contradiction” and adopt instead the attitude of “humble Enquirer and Doubter”, and eventually he developed a lasting habit of expressing himself in terms of “modest Diffidence”. This meant, when making a proposal that might be disputed, he would refrain from using words such as “certainly” and “undoubtedly”. I loved his explanation: “…a positive dogmatical Manner in advancing your Sentiments, may provoke Contradiction & prevent a candid Attention.”
Looking back on his life, Franklin felt his diffident habit had been of great advantage to him, enabling him to succeed in promoting a wide range of causes. And these included many things that we now take for granted, like a police force, a fire service and a public library*. That was all in the colony of Pennsylvania, but ultimately of course he became one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.
Further reading
Benjamin Franklin’s “Autobiography and Other Writings” -- highly recommended for anybody who wants a real flavour of 18th century life and food for thought on what the phrase "a good life" could mean.
The same volume includes Franklin’s delightful “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America”, which reveals the author's appreciation of “Indian” customs. He tells a marvellous story of how, in 1744, Indians in the colony of Virginia politely declined the offer of sending some of their sons to a college. They even made a counter-offer, saying: “…if the Gentlemen of Virginia will send us a dozen of their Sons, we will take great Care of their Education, instruct them in all we know, and make Men of them.”
* I borrowed Franklin’s Autobiography from my local library, which sadly can no longer be taken for granted.
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