| Show 1 4 I 1 y e Apos J of ry r a o rn w r w a s rd f tr 1 11 1 t tu u t rr 4 81 1 Franklin at the ago age a ge or of teven even v n Painted In seventy P Paris aria In Joseph D DIn P I Iaria This 1783 by trait portrait Is la poi por now owne owned by the New York Public Library th the e 9 gift I lit t or of John Brae Bige low 2 Vice Commander D Daniel n I el F Gibbs Gib Benjamin Frankl Frankln Franklin Franklin n post of the American Legion la lan lays ys a wreath at the th e statue of Franklin Frankl n near thee the Troea 1 dero Trocadero In Paris I In In n celebration of the of anniversary V of boor Richards Richard's birthday on J Joor January 17 19 1929 9 Mem Mcm Members bets begs of the Legion P post o t attended the ceremony 3 The Tha famous Fur C Cap ap portrait of Franklin mad made e in France a f few ew months after his arrival th there ere I Ia in n 1777 1771 t DrawIng by D Dere print b by Le It ra eau FrankIn FrankIan gives an Id idea a of thera the Frank Ian who was so much ad admired M I red by the ladles in Nantes s Paris P Co s and Patsy Passy as s a patriarch t tCo pa as a pc peasant ant J andas andas and as s the shrewdest of all em I ts Fro From m F Franklin ran k kem lan The Apo tle Apo-tle tle of M Modern Mod 0 d dern ern rn Times by Bernard F- F Fay 1 courtesy Little e Brown and Company 4 Franklin Bache Huntington of N New ew York a great great great grandon grand aon on of Benjamin Franklin places a wreath sent President by Coolidge on the grave of his anc ancestor stor In l I on the anniversary of Frank tins tin's birthday January 17 1929 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON t 1 1 Tim time Frank t II lip n ms was IS Ih thing living I ug in he c once s silil lit ild that his hist t- t w face was as familiar familiarS S y there re IS s the tc moon And s tha that t was as not 0 t tt 3 lag Ine the ca case e lorin ln In t thur enthusiasm for thIs American the I rench could not find out too much about him The carried column upon col about him hl historians and blog ciphers raphers vied tied led with each other oilier In writ writH writing writIng rit j Ing a about bout his career and 1 he MIS plc pic turc turgid In Innumerable engravings Ings H The flood lood of I 1 literature 1 that started then his has continued ever er I since especially v in his native land landI I ew Americans have hate been more writ written written written ten about thin than Benjamin I 1 until It would seem that Amel Iran historians and biographers had hm ex exhausted the possibility of telling any anythIng anything thIng new about him But It has re re- remained remained remained for tor a Il brilliant French scholar to a n new which stud les the whole hole field of his life and anI nc ac activities In the light of Innumerable documents among them more than hundred letters hitherto fished and which presents what Is of the mot most complete view l Benjamin Franklin that has yet been written The author Is Bernard ray ay and the hook Is rr r wi ins 1 he Apos tie of Modern Times published d by Little BI Brown Blown 0 nand and Company of Bos Boston Boston Boston ton Out of this new work ork based upon to together tact facts w which have hl been gathered gether for the first time emerges a aDew anew anew new Dew Franklin The I which known has hitherto Americans have hate which challenges es Va al always s been a figure fiure our admiration because heas he was as such suh sucha hu human human human But ut a v versatile many mans sided man maD this century man as was as character he has not always been understandable un und understandable d to Twentieth century Arn Through the of Professor or ray Fay he becomes more understandable and more easily title of the hook book understood tood But the why why- why gates h es the clew to the reason modern of Franklin a was the apostle Gut Gue G tImes throes Another historian hl Philip Frani tin as 1 once characterized the first nm and ht In thought phrases phra es the same game ame thou eer was IS the apo apotheosis these words Ills Ills career tho ls of the hood fellow I have ha facts that The The Innumerable bring the first time gathered here for him and wd show zis closer to Franklin In con contrast contrast more to be more picturesque background of his epoch tn t to the In writes the LI Eighteenth century he his preface This Is neither local nor national hut but i Is the story of orone In time the tl of men IDen one Ine of the great leaden leaders one Cin century Thus Tims Influence In Immense judge nad anil estimate his Immense he fluence whIch was as al also o as and 1 domInated tile the of But philosophic world of his time out outstanding all glory the most moct his hIe titles to Ort standing one Is IJ that th he was w the bourgeois of or the world orld w h In thIs Eighteenth century with aristo c attempted to do do away ay lent Ih Itself lf to the dom racy and to 01 of the mIddle C ct greet g ample a pas as the fir leat cat precursor the me n- n of nt 1 e ethe s ample He lie df defined md the principles and made mude the hou bourgeois In his works lie e em e c em emi emm hIs life a pattern to follow and thIs tills pulled i It 1 b h m 3 Poor KIchard submit unit unhorse c cice e w hv by e a aa qs a the under stand d to his Influence To of thIs th tJ the amplitude and Importance to be lie comet id had bad Franklin International Bled eld from an g and his hie activity In science stud tully fully had hJ to be and philosophy ophy led fed Considered from that r 3 ii iiI I I x L roP tF r w f- f I n a ev W A Q CS r CJ t SS fib GA GAn rib Y r t t n aw rw a y h nF l lw w F ov ASS ASSa a r 4 I Franklin stands retie ree re e lied not as a pro provincial Yankee who common commonsense Sens enst as so many of his bis biographers hate ha portrayed him nor simply Imply as Il a great American but one of the great men of his ble y and a man lived It In perfect harmony with Ith his times even eten e en though In his wisdom and tits foresight he be was as far In ance ad of his times Professor Fays Fay's use uce of the new Franklin material which be he ered enabled him to clear up many matters In regard to Franklins Franklin's reU rehi glon gion morals and social sties IlIs which have ha heretofore been heen but little understood As to his religious be he- beliefs beliefs It can now he be seen that he he helIe lIe ed In a Supreme lie He re regarded regarded regarded Jesus as a gre it moral teach tench teacher er and In regard to time tile of the soul he subscribed to the t I doctrine of survival ll In a new body bOOy with new senses and ne new nett Idele That belief Is reflected In the time epitaph which he wrote for himself ear early early ly Iy In life lite and which reads The PodY rod ot of BENJAMIN TN IN Printer Like the co cover cotter er of ot nn an old book Its contents torn out And of ot Its lettering and gliding gilding Lies here food tood hill for tor worms 1 Yet et the work Itself shill 11 not be lost It will as h ho o believed lN appear car once more m 11 a new And more ore beautiful edition Corrected and amended flyThe ny fly The Author A deist In his early life lite he helmeted ed that man could do no DO C evil II In a world all events were foreordaIned where here by bv the Pelt Pelts Delta and ind that man therefore I take his pleasure where here he lie found it It 1 hat belief was ls strength strengthened ened bv bt his hll experiences experience In the Immoral unmoral I london of the time early Eighteenth century but w hen lie he lI be- be became be became disillusioned through the heir p 1 came he had trusted lie he de friends nl al il by to shape hape hIs life for and and for bat bt bit purpose lie hf set do down don n four rules rul's of guidance econom Cf III and md loy goodwill good w perse severance el T 1 miter he lengthened len this thle Ut Ilat by silence order rc o teen temperance frU frugality industry sincerity sincerity moderation cleanliness tran justice and humIlity In n the ti r qu LY tc of these thee he sus lie successful practice lIer and chastity In all but t t 01 0 n revelations Is le I let lemore new o of f I 1 ii s i one one Isone t than those dealing interesting more which Ills his membership it time tile P PIn part with Ith L In hIs career M icons In the stub society had been t mk Masonic The Phil idelphia In 17 1727 7 at the rim fed In I was only n s corn com when hen n time inflows youn young printer It t unknown coupled composed cOMPo ed largely of rich mer was who did lid not look with Ith ta or hints c m Franklin ln But nut he forced forEd his w is ty JY yinto fl the society by sho showing Ing hoef how ho of ef Into he could use his ne ely fe members kept him Its agaInst It If It 10 out out and hl his Masonic helped w win In for him film the po position of general of the colonies cad later It smoothed his path when hen hl went hf-went went to England on his Ills first t mission there I It was ns even eten more tale when hen he was IS sent to France to enlist rench aid for the colon colonies lee during the He 0 lution Through the Masons lie he had access to the newspapers ne which were officially controlled by the government o ern ment but hut which were ere really written I Ib b bt the Masons and till the philosophers I suc such h ns n- Suard De la Ii DIt Dis merle ho w ho were all rr Fr inklin s fm I Fay Iy I Practical all fill of the I i fl ne newspapers published heri outside I of Prance France were ere In the hands of the Masons Macons also had his hll writ writIngs writIngs I In Ings q accepted bv hv all aJl of these and he heIn heing heIng In ing the master propagandist that he was as he lie made the mo most t of hIs Ills opportunity heI I to present America Americas s cause to Europe toI I TIle The c of Benjamin I IS Ie one of ot the str ingest Best paradoxes In history One of nr if them Is that tills tads son InI I of a poor Boston and apprentice to a poor printer should andI I Ili e Ih the e to record the lie he tact fact that Tho idid I I Idid Idid did not think th that it I T should ever lit I Ier erdly er stand b before forc 1 I inga 1 I hire hl e stood before e fire and en e had i ithe the honor of sitting down n with olleI one olle I the the ling King Kin of Denmark to dinner An Another f oilier Is the fact th It a u roan man w who ho was almost entirely self educated 11 should h e universities of two I In ing with mach each other In con conferring upon him honorary degrees I But flat most interesting of nil all Is ts the fact flet that this man who lino ho was as so t 11 cilly American that ho lie became a ter er I symbol ol of America even eten In his was wis ne never neter cr understood or 10 ed h l i hIs Ills 0 own II cople eople I II He Ile e was dis I Iiii lit iii pd ed Intensely bv bt the best hest of Penn Pennsylvania h mind was as distrusted by byman mn mina others In the colonies n as a charI char I ratan and a 1 i trimmer elm e distrust In Pennsylvania Ienn Is 1 easily understood lie He HeI Heas I was as the organizer of the small mall farm farm era mechanics and smell small tradesmen the democratic forces In that colony I and 1 is such hIs Ills name would naturally j he an to the aristocratic sup supporters supporters porters porter of or the proprietors the Penns I he should have re re- I in the same nine way by aristo I cr critic ele eie s lilt int France ranee Instead that country took tills this simple democrat to Its heart in his hIe lifetime and all nil but cd him after 1 I Is 1 death Ileth Ills His moral mOMI antireligious anti and religious theories the and environ meat he 11 cJ In III writes rites 11 FI lIe was accused d alternately lv of or atheism I und and for fur thu though h hh hk God re re- resembled It Its parent the lie DI 01 It Ii bid hilI iii distinct differences It lI hen n It at length th Franklin hind bad many ills It was pas 8 bE because culI e of n It double misunderstanding In America he was follo cd because he lie was Wll believed lIdle to h be tobe toh a n Christian In fa i I r ranee because he be beas was as classed with the athel ts 0 0 |
