Show fa ariosa americanos Ameri Amer kall canas 4 0 4 21 by elmo scott watson epitaph pin PERHAPS the most famous epitaph in american history Is this the body of benjamin franklin printer alk like the cover of an old book its contents content torn out and trept of lt its lettering and gilding lilea lies food for worms yet tet the work itself shall not be lost loit for it will as he believed appear once more la a new and more beautiful edition corrected and amended by the author franklin at the age of twenty three wrote that for his own gravestone but the idea original with him biro he borrowed it from one of two sources in 1681 rev kev joseph capen suggested as an appropriate epitaph for john foster who had set up the first printing press in massachusetts one which likened the printers body to an old almanac for the present anlys out of date and predicted at the resurrection we shall see a fair edition free from errata new in ilonen set et forth but the one which franklin more likely bikely copied was written by benjamin woodbridge a member of 0 the first graduating class of harvard college it was for some unknown friend in which he was compared to a living breathing bible and declared that when in a new edition he comes forth without errata may we think hell be in leaves and covers of this was printed in cotton mathers Mat ber magnella Mag nalla christi americana and franklins early life was greatly influenced by the writings of 0 that famous puritan clergyman As a matter of tact fact neither capens calens nor Wood bridges idea was original both probably borrowed from a still earlier epitaph which was engraved on the tomb of jacob bonsen a london bookseller and which contained references to the original text test in his life and a new edition in the future |