第一章
（1771年，写于都怀伏特镇，圣阿萨夫主教家）
亲爱的孩子：
1我一直对收集祖上的各种奇闻轶事相当感兴趣，乐此不彼。我就曾经为了这个目的而四处旅行，你可能还记得，当我们在英国的时候，我就经常向我们家族中的老人们询问、调查有关这个方面的情况。我觉得，同样，你们中的一些人可能也很想知道我的生活情况（就好比我渴望知道我的先人的生活一样），因为这其中的很多事情你们是并不清楚的。正好，我现在有一个星期的休假时间，预计在这一个星期的乡村假期里是没有什么东西会来打扰我的。因而，我可以坐下来把我的生活情况原原本本的告诉你。其实，写这些东西，我还有另外一个目的。我出身贫贱，后来才在这个世界上获得了财富和荣誉，为世人所称道。上帝保佑，我至今一帆风顺，万事如意。我的处世之道如此成功，我的后世子孙也许想知道它们，并且找到些和他们的境况相适应的立身之术，然后模仿它们。
2当我回望、审视这种幸福的时候，我有时候禁不住会想，如果上帝再给我一次机会的话，我会毫不犹豫地重新度过我的此生，一切从头开始。我只要求像作家那样，在修订版本的时候可以改正初版的某些错误，把某些不幸的事情变得稍微顺利些。但是，要是我的这些要求都不被接受的话，我仍然愿意接受上帝的恩赐，按照我原来的样子重新活过一次。事实上既然这种重来是不可能的，那么最接近这种重演的好像只有回忆了。为了让这种回忆尽可能地保持久远，就只好把它用笔记下来了。
3在这里我将顺着老年人常有的偏好，来谈谈他们自己，谈谈他们过去的所作所为。我这样做，将不会使那些尊敬老人的人感到厌烦，他们往往处于尊敬老人的考虑而被迫听我们唠叨。而将之写下来，他们可以看也可以不看。最后，我还是自己承认吧，就算我死不承认也没有人会相信，那就是，写这个自传可以极大地满足我的虚荣心。实际上，我经常听到或在书上看到，在人们说完“我可以毫不夸张地说”之类的开场白之后，紧接着的就是一堆自吹自擂的话，而丝毫不觉得脸红。绝大多数人厌恶别人的虚荣，但却不管自己有多么虚荣。但是，无论我在什么地方碰到虚荣，我都会给它一个正确的位子。因为我觉得，这样做，对虚荣的人来说是有好处的，对其周围受其影响的人来说也不无益处。因此，在很多情况下，一个人在感谢生活给他带来的种种便利和舒适之外，然后感谢上帝恩赐于他的虚荣心也是很正常的。
4现在，我真的要说感谢上帝，我由衷地感激它在以往的日子里给予的幸福，正是它指引我前进，并取得了成功。虽然这些并不一定在我的预测范围之内，但是深信它们会使我实现渴望，同样的苍天之善仍旧指引着我，使我持续拥有这样的幸福，或者是能够使我容忍他人都会经历的那些致命的困苦。我未来要面临的幸福、甚至是痛苦，全能的上帝全都知晓，并且都在它的掌握之中。
5我一位伯父的手记曾经落在我的手上，他也有收集家族奇闻轶事的癖好。这部手记使我了解到我们祖上的一些详细情况。从这部手记可以看出，我们家族在洛斯安普敦教区的埃克敦村至少住了不下于300年之久。究竟在这之前有多少年，我这个伯父自己也不知道了。（也许可以从他们采用“富兰克林”这个词作为他们的姓开始。“富兰克林”在这之前，是一个平民阶层的名称。当时英国各地都在使用姓氏。）那个时候，他们拥有30亩的自由地，附带着以打铁为副业。一直到我伯父这一代为止，打铁的副业都没有断过。家里的老大总是被培养来接替这个打铁的生意。作为一个惯例，伯父和我父亲在他们长子的职业安排上也服从这样一个规矩。当我在埃克敦查阅相关记录时，我发现了我们祖先从1555年开始的出生、婚姻、丧葬情况。在这之前，就没有任何记录了，因为那个时候教区还没有开始建立记录制度。通过那份记录我得知我是前五代人中最年幼儿子的儿子。
6我的祖父托马斯，他生于1598年，他一直住在埃克敦村，直到他老的不能再做生意为止。然后他就和他儿子约翰——一个染工一起住在牛津郡班伯里。那个时候，我父亲就在给约翰当学徒。我祖父一直生活在那里直到死亡并安葬在那里。1758那一年，我们见到了他的墓碑。他的长子托马斯仍然住在埃克敦，他死后将房屋和土地都留给了他惟一的女儿。他的女儿和女婿（威灵堡一个叫费希尔的人）又把它们卖给了现在的主人伊斯特德先生。我祖父有4个儿子，他们是托马斯，约翰，本杰明，约塞亚。我手边没有资料，我将把我记得的尽量给你写下来。如果资料在我离开期间没有丢失的话，你就会在其中发现更多的细节。
7托马斯在他父亲的培养下学打铁，但是由于他天性聪慧，当地教区的大绅士帕尔默先生就不断鼓励他去学习。后来他成为了一名合格的书记员。成为地方上相当有影响的人物。他是他自己村庄，也是洛斯安普敦镇以及该郡所有公益事业的推动者。他得到了人们的注意也得到了哈利法克斯勋爵的奖赏。托马斯于阴历1702年1月6号去世，四年后的那天是我出生的日子。我曾记得爱克顿的老人们向我们讲述他的生平和他的性格的时候，你被强烈地震动了。因为你觉得那些东西很像你知道的我。你说，“如果他死在你出生的那一天，人们可能会认为你是他转世投胎呢！”
8约翰被培养成了一名洗染工，我觉得是染羊毛的。本杰明被培养成为了染丝绸的，他是在伦敦学的手艺。他是一个很机灵的人。我记得很清楚，当我童年的时候，他来到波士顿我父亲住的地方和我们一起住了些个年头。我一直活到很大的年纪。他的孙子塞缪尔·富兰克林现在住在波士顿。他死后留下了两卷4开大的书本，里面是他自己写的一些诗，包括他写给他朋友和亲戚的一些即兴短诗。下面是他给我的一首诗就是一个样本。
致和我同名的人（基于一份好战的报告）1710年7月7号
本，相信我，战争是一个危险的交易，
剑锻造好以后也就意味着毁坏。
它让许多人失败而不是成功；
它让许多人贫穷，少数人富裕，更少数人变的富有智慧；
它让村镇衰败，田野血迹斑斑；
它鼓励懒惰，保护傲慢。
美丽的城市，现在河水泛滥，
明天就会被战争的稀缺和悲伤填充，
还有破败的国家，罪恶，残肢，伤疤，
这些都是战争造成的荒凉。
9他还创造了自己的速记法，并且把它教给了我。不过，由于我从来没有练习过，所以我就忘记了。我的名字是跟着他起的，因为我父亲和他有种特别的感情。他非常虔诚，只要有好的布道者来布道他都会去，并且用他自己的速记法把内容记下来，最终，他记了好几卷笔记。他还经常参加政治活动，当然，就其身份来说，他过分地关心政治了，他参加的政治活动太多了。我在伦敦的时候，他有份收藏品落在了我的手里，里面全是从1641年到1771年所有和公共事务有关的重要的小册子。从编号来看，很多小册子遗失了，但还是有8册对开本的和20册4开本的、8开本的。一位认识我的旧书商人碰到这些书就买了下来送给我。好像大概在50年前，我叔叔来美国的时候把它们忘在了那里。在书边上还有很多他记的笔记。
10我们这个卑微的家族很早就参加了宗教改革运动（开始信奉新教）。在整个玛丽女王统治时期，我们家族成员都是新教徒，也正因为他们狂热地反对天主教会而处于巨大的麻烦之中。他们有一本英文的圣经。为了保护它，他们把它藏了起来。他们把书打开，下面缠上带子，绑在折凳的后面。当我曾祖父给家人念圣经的时候，他就把折凳打开放在自己的膝头上，在带子下面一页一页地翻读。每当这个时候，祖父都会叫一个小孩在门口望风，要是他看到宗教裁判所的使者来的话就可以知会大家，好让曾祖父有足够的时间把折凳反过来放好，那本圣经就又像原来那样藏好了。这件奇闻轶事是我从本杰明叔叔那里听来的。我们全家族都是英国国教教徒，一直到查里二世王朝覆灭的时候。那时候，一些不信奉国教的而被驱逐的人在洛斯安普敦秘密集会，本杰明叔叔和乔赛亚都终生追随着他们，家里的其他人则继续留在国教里面。
11我的父亲乔赛亚很早就结婚了。大概在1682年的时候，他带着他的妻子和3个孩子来到了新英格兰。那个时候，非国教徒的集会是法律所禁止的，并常常受到骚扰。这就促使我父亲认识的一些有思想的人想到新大陆去。父亲也被劝说和他们一道去那里。他们希望在那里能够有宗教自由。在那里，他的妻子又给他生了4个孩子，他的第二个妻子又给他生了10个孩子，共17个子女。我还记得有一次，我们13个人围坐在一张桌子旁边的情形。现在，我们都长大成人结婚了。我是其中最小的一个儿子，出生在波士顿；我在所有的孩子中排行倒数第二。
12我的母亲是我父亲的第二个妻子，她的名字叫阿拜雅·福尔杰，她是彼得·福尔杰的女儿。彼得·福尔杰是最早到新英格兰定居的移民之一，如果我没有记错的话，科顿·马瑟在他的那部有关宗教史的《美洲基督大事记》曾称赞他是位善良且博学的英国人。我还听说外祖父写过多种即兴短诗，但其中只有一首付印，我在很多年前读过这首诗。那首诗写于1675年，采用了当时民间流行的诗体，是写给当地政府有关人士的。
13他代表浸礼会、教友派及其他受迫害的的教派，他颂扬良心自由。他认为我们所遭受的印第安人战争和其它灾害是迫害教徒的结果，是上帝对这种重罪的严判和重惩，以规劝政府取消那些严酷的法令。在我看来，整个诗篇都充满了正直坦诚和豪迈的气概。尽管我忘记了前二节，但我记得最后六节。文章的主要意思是说他的责难都是出于善意，所以他不想隐晦自己的名字。
他说，
因为我从心底憎恶，
做一个匿名诽谤的人。
我住在修彭城，
我绝无恶意，
我把名字留存在这里。
您真诚的朋友：彼得·福尔杰。
14我的兄长们都在不同的行业学习。我8岁的时候被送到文法学校学习，这是因为父亲想要我致力于教会事业，当做是父亲这么多儿子的什一税。我很早就开始学习（应该是非常早，在我印象中我没有不识字的时期），父亲所有的朋友都说我将来一定能成为大学者，这些让父亲更坚信了他的意图。本杰明叔叔也赞同我读书，并提议把他全部的布道速记材料给我。如果我能学他的速记的话，我想这些都可以作为我未来的资本。我在文法学校学习还不到一年，但在这一段时期内我已经从班级里的中等生一跃成为优等生。然后父亲要我升到二年级，这样我年底就可以升入三年级。但是，同时，父亲考虑到我以后上大学的费用，这样大的一个家庭，父亲没有办法供养我上大学，并且许多受过高等教育的人活得并不富裕，这是父亲当着我的面对他的朋友说的。所以，父亲改变了他的看法，让我从文法学校退学，而把我送到一所读写和算术的学校去读书。这所学校是当时一个著名的叫做乔治·布郎纳的先生开办的。总的说来，他办学还是不错的，他用的是最温和的最鼓舞人心的教学方法。在他的教导下，我不久就能写一手漂亮的字，但算术却不及格，并且一直没有进步。10岁那年我被父亲带回了家，做父亲生意上的帮手，制作蜡烛和肥皂，父亲在这个方面并没有受过训练，但是当父亲到达新英格兰的时候他发现漂染的活根本没有生意，无法维持全家人的生计，所以我就帮着做些剪烛芯、灌烛模、照看店面、跑腿送货诸如此类的事。
15我不喜欢这个行当，我对航海有着强烈的向往。不过父亲说他反对我的想法。但由于生活在海边，我对海很熟悉，我很早就学会了游泳和划船。我经常是个领导者，尤其当我们遇到什么麻烦的时候。我有的时候也会让孩子们陷入窘镜。在这里我就举个事例吧，尽管我当时那样做是不对的，但也显示出了我早期突出的公共精神。
16那个地方是个盐碱滩，就在磨房旁边。我们经常在涨潮的时候站在滩边钓鱼。由于经常被踩踏，盐碱滩变成了烂泥潭。所以我提议在烂泥潭那里建一个小码头以便我们立足。我领着大家在附近不远的地方，看到了一大堆别人用来建新房子的石头，这就是我们想要的。因此，当晚上工人们都走了的时候，我组织了一帮玩伴像一群蚂蚁那样工作起来，因为有的时候一块石头要两三个人才能搬动。我们把这些石头搬来做成了我们自己的码头。第二天早上，工人们看到石头不见了很吃惊，后来他们发现我们用他们的石头来修码头了。我们的码头被拆除了并受到他们的指责。我们中的一些人还受到了他们父亲的处罚。尽管我不断强调这项工作的好处，但它也使我确信靠不诚实得到的东西是不会有任何用处的。
17我想可能你也想知道有关我父亲的事情吧。他身体相当好，中等身材，体格很强壮。他天资聪慧，善于绘画，音乐很好，嗓音洪亮动听。他经常在工作结束或者一天结束的时候坐下来，拉着小提琴，自个儿唱歌，非常好听。我父亲在使用机械上也很在行，他很擅长摆弄其他工匠的工具。但他最大的长处在于他深刻的理解能力和对重大事情的判断力，无论是公事还是私人小事。不过，他从没有吃过公家饭，因为他有一大家人要抚养，这些都离不开他的生意。但我清楚地记得，经常有些头面人物来拜访父亲，询问父亲对镇上事情或者教区事情的意见。他的意见得到了人们极大的尊重，他还经常被邀请做争执双方的裁决人。
18他经常喜欢邀请思维敏锐的朋友或者邻居来家里围着桌子谈话，并且总是谈些充满智慧和有用的话题。因为这有益于孩子们的思维发展。通过这种方式，我们知道了生活里什么是好的，什么是善良的，什么是公正的，什么是谨慎。我们基本上不会注意饭桌上吃的东西，比如花样多少，流行与否，面粉的好坏，是否合胃口等。我就是在这样不注意小节的环境下成长的，因此，我对饭桌前吃的什么是非常冷漠的。直到今天为止，如果在吃饭以后的几小时有人问我吃了什么，我基本上是回答不上来的。这些习惯对我的旅行是十分便利的，但我的朋友们却因长期讲究饮食，在旅行的时候因饮食得不到满足而非常不高兴。
19我母亲的身体也很好，她养大了所有的10个孩子。在我印象中，除了他们死前得病，我从来不知道我父亲和母亲有得过病的记录。我父亲89岁去世，母亲85岁去世。他们死后合葬于波士顿。多年以后我在他们的墓前立了一块碑，碑文如下：
约塞亚·富兰克林
和他的妻子阿拜亚
共躺于此
他们在婚姻期间恩爱地生活
共55年
没有财产，没有收入丰厚的职位
靠上帝的恩赐和辛勤的劳作
他们维持着有一个大家庭
和睦舒适
他们养育了13个子女和7个孙子女
名声在外
读者从此例中，能受到鼓励，勤奋工作
千万不要不信上帝
他是一个虔诚和谨慎的人
她是一个贤慧具有美德的人
他们最小的儿子
为了纪念他们
特立此碑
约塞亚·富兰克林生于1655，卒于1744，享年89
阿拜亚生于1667，卒于1752，享年85
20我走的太远了，东拉西扯太多，我意识到自己老了。我过去写东西是很有条理的。但在私人的聚会中，人们的穿着总不和在公共场合的舞会上一样吧。这可能只是不拘小节吧。
21回到正题上来：我继续在父亲那里做了两年，一直到我12岁那年。我的兄弟约翰，那个被专门培养起来做这一行的约翰，他这个时候已经离开了父亲，在罗地岛建立了自己的事业。似乎，种种迹象表明我注定要填补他走后的位子——做一个蜡烛匠人，但是我仍然厌恶这一行当。父亲很苦恼，他怕我像约塞亚一样离家出走，私自航海去，如果他不给我找到有个我喜欢的工作的话。因此，他有时候就会带我一起出去，看看那些木匠、瓦匠、旋工、铜匠等等，以便看我的喜好。父亲努力想在陆地上找到我喜欢的工作。对我来说，观察一位工人娴熟地使用工具一直是我的乐趣。这种观察对我很有用处，通过这种方式我学到了很多东西。当找不到工人的时候，家里的一些修理活我就可以自己来做。当那种做实验的兴致很浓的时候，我总是试着做我自己的小机器。最后，父亲决定让我学切割。当时，本杰明叔父的儿子塞缪尔已经在伦敦学会了这门技术。所以，我就被送到他那里学了一段时间。但他想收我的学费，这让父亲大为不满，他就又把我领回了家。
22从童年时代开始我就喜欢读书。我所有的零花钱都用在了买书上。因为喜欢《天路历程》这本书，我一开始就收藏了约翰·班扬的文集的单行本。后来，因为买伯顿的《历史文集》，我又把它们卖了。这些书都是小贩们卖的，很便宜，这个文集总共有40到50册。我父亲的图书馆里收藏的主要是有关神学的书，其中大部分我都读过。那个时候我也不再要被培养作牧师了，而我又在求知欲很强的时候，没有合适的书来读实在是很遗憾的事。只有本普鲁塔克的《英雄传》，我读了许多遍，现在回想起来，那本书仍然是一本值得一读的书，我从中得到不少益处。还有一本迪佛的《论计划》和马瑟的《论上帝》，它们使我的思想发生了很大转变，影响了我未来生活中的很多事情。
23我嗜书的倾向最终使父亲决定让我从事印刷这个行当，尽管他已经有一个儿子（詹姆斯）学了这一行。1717年，我兄长詹姆斯带着印刷机和一些铅字从英国回到波士顿，自己创业。和父亲的行业比起来，我更喜欢哥哥的印刷行当。但是，我仍然对航海很向往，为了制止这种渴望可能产生的可怕后果，父亲急于把我栓到哥哥的印刷机器上。我反对了一段时间，但最终我被说服了并且签定了学徒合同。那个时候，我12岁。我在21岁之前都是学徒，直到最后那一年我才能领到全额的工资。我很快就熟悉了印刷的技术，成为哥哥的得力助手。我现在有机会阅读更好的书。我认识了一些书商的学徒，我常常能借到一本小书。我总是很小心，保持书的整洁，及时归还它们。有时候晚上借的书早上就要归还，要不然别人就会发现数量不够或者有人要买这本书，所以我经常坐在自己的房间里阅读到深夜。
24过了一段时间以后，有一个叫马修·亚当斯的精明的商人，他有很多藏书。他经常到我们的印刷铺来，我引起了他的注意。他邀请我到我到他家的藏书室去，并很仁慈地借给我一些我想看的书籍。那个时候，我对诗歌很着迷，并且写了几首。我哥哥觉得写诗可以卖钱，因此他鼓励我去写，并叫我写了两首应景民谣。一首叫《灯塔的悲剧》，讲的是落水船长华莎雷和他两个女儿落水而亡的事情。另一首叫《水手之歌》，讲了水手捉拿海盗提奇（或者叫黑胡子）的故事。这些都是市井小调没有什么价值。印好以后哥哥叫我拿去卖，第一首因为写的是近期发生的事情，所以卖的很好，引起了很大反响。大大满足了我的虚荣心。但父亲却嘲笑我的成就，他说写诗的基本都是乞丐，穷得很。因此，我避免成为一个诗人——很大程度可能是一个低劣的诗人。但是，散文写作在我一生中起了很大的作用，它也是我成功的主要手段。现在，我将告诉你，我是怎样在那方面获得一点我现有本领的。
25在镇上还有另外一个喜欢读书的年轻人，他就是约翰·柯林斯，我和他关系很密切。我们经常喜欢争论，都想把对方驳倒。这种辩论，从另一相反的方面来说，它很容易变成一种坏习惯。为了争论人们必须提出相反的意见，这就使人变得特别的可恶。此外，它除了败坏谈话，还会使你的朋友产生厌恶之情，使本来能够成为朋友的人变成敌人。我这种喜欢辩论的习惯是随着阅读父亲的那些宗教书籍而形成的。我曾经观察过，除了律师、大学里的人以及在爱丁堡受过训练的人，具有良好判断力的人是很少会这样的。
26有一次，有一个问题不知道是怎样开始的。我和柯林斯辩论起关于女性是否应该受教育和她们从事研究工作的能力的事情。我认为女性天生没有那方面的能力，这种观点是不正确的。可能有点是为了和他争辩的原因，我持相反的观点。他天生是个雄辩家，又读过许多书，因此，有的时候，他常常是以自己流利的口才来辩倒我而不是通过充分的理由。我们分手的时候谁也没有辩倒谁，而且这一别我们会有一段时间见不到面，因此我就坐下了来把我的理由写下来寄给他。然后他就回复，我再答辩。当我父亲偶然发现我的信的时候，我们已经交换了三四封信了。父亲并没有谈我们的观点的是与非，他只是借机会谈了我的写作方式。他发现我的书写和标点正确（这要归功于我在印刷厂的工作），这是我的长处。但我在写作的清晰明了和措辞优雅上不够，父亲并且举出了我信中的几个例子给我看，以便让我信服。从此，我更加注意文章的写作方式，并且下决心改进它。
27恰好这个时候，我碰到了一本残缺了的《旁观者》，是第三卷。我以前从来没有见过这本书。我把它们买了下来，读了一遍又一遍。我很开心能够得到这本书。我觉得这本书写得很好，有可能的话，我想模仿它。有了这个想法以后，我从这本书中选了几篇文章，替每一句做了个摘要。然后把它们放个几天，在不看原文的情况下，试着把原文复述出来。试着用自己知道的词汇和那个摘要重新构造整篇文章，尽量使它和原文一样。然后我再把和它和原文对照，发现错误并订正它们。但我发现我的词汇量太少了，我想我得先掌握这些词汇并使用它们。如果我原来继续写诗的话，我想这些词汇我就应该已经掌握了。因为写诗要寻找词义相同但长短不一样的词汇去适应诗的韵律，这就会让我不断地搜寻各种形式的同义词，记住这些变化多样的词并能随心所欲地使用它们。这种机会是经常性的。因此，我把其中的一些的故事改写成诗。一段时间以后，当我差不多都要忘了它们的时候，我又把它们重新返原。有时候，我也把我写的摘要打乱，过了几星期以后，我又试着把它们用最好的顺序组织起来，组成一篇完整的文章。我这样做是为了学会怎样构思，然后，通过和原文比较，我发现了错误并加以改正。但有的时候我很高兴地感到，在一些不太重要的地方，我的语言和条理比原文更好，这就鼓励了我，它使我觉得，在未来，我可以成为一个不算糟糕的英国诗人。在这之前，我对这是野心勃勃的。我进行这些阅读和写作训练通常是在做完工作的晚上或者开始一天工作前的早上，或者在星期天。我想法子使自己一个人躲在印刷厂里，尽可能逃避公共教堂的祷告仪式。要是我在父亲眼皮底下的话，他总会强迫我去的。尽管我不想去做祷告，但我确实把它当做一种义务。
28大概在我16岁的时候，我偶然碰到一本倡议吃素食的书，它是特里昂写的。自此，我决定吃素食。那个时候哥哥还没有结婚，没有自己的房子，他就和徒弟们在别人家里包饭。我不吃荤，这就造成了不便，我的怪异也因此常常遭到大家的责备。我先学会了特里昂的一些做饭的方法，比如煮土豆、蒸饭、做速成布丁以及其它的东西。然后，我向哥哥建议，如果他能把我每星期膳食费的一半给我，我就可以自己单独吃了。哥哥马上同意了我的建议。不久，我发现，这样我还能节省他给的一半膳食费，那是额外的买书钱。除此之外，我还从中得到了另外的好处，我哥哥和其余的人离开印刷所去吃饭的时候，就只有我一个人在印刷所里，我很快吃掉自己的方便食物，通常不会超过一块饼干、一小片面包、一把葡萄干或者是从面包铺里买来的一块果馅饼和一杯水。在他们回印刷所之前我可以利用这段时间来学习。通过那样的节制饮食，我经常可以头脑清楚、思维敏捷，我的进步更大了。
29以前由于我在算术上的无知，使自己经常受到羞辱，在学校的时候我还两次算术考试不及格。所以现在我找来寇克的书，自己从头到尾顺利地学习了一遍。我还读了舍勒和瑟米有关航海的书，并从中获得些可怜的几何学的知识，但我从来没有在那方面有更深的研究。大概在那个时候，我还读了洛克的《人类理解论》和波特若亚的《思维的艺术》。
30正当我专心想提高自己的语言的时候，我偶然发现了一本英语语法书（我想那是格林伍德的书），在书的后面有两份逻辑和修辞技术的概要。在逻辑艺术的概要中以苏格拉底辩论法的范例作为结束。这之后不久，我得到了色诺芬的《苏格拉底谈话录》，书中有辩论的例子。我对这些方法十分着迷，就采用了它，丢掉了自己生硬的反驳和专断的立论方式而采用了一种谦虚和怀疑的方法。记得也是那个时候，当我读了莎浮茨伯里和柯林斯的书以后，我对我们的教义就有很多怀疑了。我发现，使用这种方法对我很安全，但对对手却很尴尬。因此，我很开心地不断使用这种方法，逐渐地使用得很熟练，可以说是那方面的专家。即使那些有学问的人也不得不退避三舍。我诱使他们陷入无法自拔的窘境，从而使自己和自己的观点经常获得意外的胜利。我使用这种方法几年之后，我就渐渐地不用了，而只是在发表我个人的意见的时候保持着谦逊的口吻。我提出任何可能引起争议的论点的时候，我从来不用“肯定”、“毫无疑问”以及其它任何表示肯定的词汇，而是使用“我猜想”、“我觉得某事可以怎样”、“在我看来好像是”、或者“由于什么原因”、“我认为”或者“我猜是这样”、“要是我没有犯错的话，事情应该是怎样”。我觉得，这一习惯对我非常有好处。因为我需要说服别人，让别人信服我不时提倡的各种措施。两个人谈话的目的，无非就是教育人或者被别人教育，是要让人高兴或者使人信服。所以，我规劝那些明智的人，为了不削弱他们行善的能力，千万不要采用独断专横的态度和方法。这样的态度和方法总是引起别人的反感，经常会引起别人的反对，因而，使语言存在的目的受到破坏无遗。因为我们谈话的目的是交流思想和信息。如果你谈话的目的是要教育人，讲话过于自信的武断态度可能会引起反驳，这样一场公正的讨论就不可能。如果你想知会别人或者通过交谈增加知识却又固执己见的话，就会使得谦虚、明智的人由于不喜欢争论可能让你坚持你自己的意见和错误。通过这样一种方式，你不可能达到取悦你的听众或者赢得对方的赞许的希望。波普的话说的很有智慧：
教育人的时候不应该让人感到在受教育
讲述新知识应该像是在提醒他们已经遗忘的旧东西
接着他进一步建议我们
用谦逊的态度表达确信的东西
在这里波普可以用他在其它地方的一行联句与上文结成联句。这一行放在这里我想比放在别的地方更适当一些。
缺少谦逊就是愚蠢
如果你问为什么这一句在原诗里不恰当，我只好引用原诗了
傲慢就会四面受敌
傲慢就是愚蠢
难道愚蠢（缺乏智慧的人真的很不幸）不是傲慢的理由吗？ 这两行诗要是这样写，不是更合适吗？
言辞傲慢，只有这一种解释
那就是：傲慢就是愚蠢
但是，是不是真的是这样呢？请智慧的人们去评断。
311720或者1721年的时候，哥哥开始印刷报纸。这是美洲出现的第二家报纸，报纸取名为《新英格兰报》。在它之前，只有一家叫做《波士顿时事通讯》的报纸。我记得哥哥的一些朋友劝他不要做此事。他们认为，美洲只要有一张报纸就足够了。再办一张是不太可能成功的。现在这个时候（1771年），美洲办报纸的不少于25家。但哥哥坚持自己的计划，报纸排好版印刷后，我拿到街上去卖。
32哥哥的朋友中有些很聪明的人，他们为哥哥的报纸写些小文章作为消遣，这大大提高了报纸的声誉，报纸因而卖的很好，常常有绅士来拜访。我听到他们的谈话，听到他们讲报纸是如何受欢迎的时候，我便跃跃欲试，但是，那时自己还是个孩子。我怀疑如果哥哥知道稿子是我写的话，绝不会发表它的。所以我就设法隐藏自己的笔迹，写了篇匿名的稿子。晚上的时候，我把稿子塞到印刷所的门下。第二早上的时候，稿子被人们发现了。当哥哥的朋友向往常一样来拜访的时候，稿子就在他们中间传看。他们阅读我的稿子，大大地表扬了一翻，这些都进了我的耳朵。我非常高兴我的稿子能够得到他们的认可。他们猜测谁是文章的作者，他们猜的人都是镇上的一些博学和聪明之人。我现在想，我采用匿名的方法真是很明智，也许他们并不像我尊重他们的那样了不起。
33受此鼓励，我又通过同样的方式写了几篇稿子。它们同样得到了好评。我一直保守着这个秘密，一直到我浅薄的知识江郎才尽、难以为继的时候我才把这个秘密揭开。这个时候，哥哥的朋友们都认为我很了不起，但哥哥并不高兴。也许，在哥哥看来，那会使我过度的骄傲。也许这就是那个时候引起了我们兄弟不和的原因之一吧。他是我的哥哥，但他认为他是我的师傅，我就像他的其他学徒一样。因此，他希望从我这里得到他的其他学徒一样的服务。但我觉得他对我要求太多了，作为一个兄长，我希望他能给我更多的宠爱。我们的争论经常闹到父亲那里去，父亲一般都偏向于我，这可能是因为我的理由正确或者是因为我是个雄辩家吧。但是哥哥脾气很坏，他经常把我暴打一顿，这让我非常气愤。我想我这讨厌的学徒生涯有没有机会缩短些啊，出乎我的意料，这个机会终于来了。
34我们报纸上登载的一篇有关政治问题的文章，具体讲什么的我忘了。它触怒了州议会，于是哥哥被带到那里讯问，并且被监禁一个月。他之所以遭受这样的待遇，我想大概是因为他不想说出那篇文章的作者。我也被带进参议会审问，但我的表现没有让他们满意。他们把我训了一顿然后就放我走了。也许他们认为我是个学徒，有义务替主人保守秘密吧。
35尽管我和哥哥私下里不和，但哥哥的被监禁还是使我对当局满怀怨恨。在哥哥被监禁的时候，我负责报纸的管理。我在报纸上大胆地嘲弄当局，哥哥对此很喜欢，但另外一些人却对我有了坏印象，他们认为我是喜好讥讽的怪才。哥哥从监狱里面出来了，还带来了一项议会发出的古怪命令：詹姆斯·富兰克林不得继续出版《新英格兰报》。
36哥哥的朋友们聚集在印刷所里商议，在这种情况下哥哥应该怎么做。有人建议，为了规避法令应该把报纸的名字改掉。但是哥哥觉得那样更不好。最终他们商议出了一个更好的方案，将来报纸用本杰明·富兰克林的名义发行。为了避免州议会可能会责难哥哥以学徒的名义继续办报，他们想出了一个高招，那就是，把我和哥哥签的那个合同退还给我，并且在背面注明退还给我的原因是因为我被解雇了，以便一旦需要可以拿出来作为凭证。同时为了保证哥哥的利益，我要为剩下的学徒年限签定一份新的合同，这份合同是秘密的。这套法子很脆弱，但还是立即实施了。因而，这份报纸在我的名义下办了几个月。
37终于，我和哥哥发生了新的矛盾，我处处维护自己的自由，因为我料定他不敢冒险拿出我们原来签的那张合同来。当然，我那样趁火打劫是不对的，因此我把它当做是我这一生中犯下的第一大错。但他的坏脾气常让他对我大打出手，我对此不能不感到愤恨。我也感到自己这样做得不对，因为哥哥在其它情况下并不是个脾气很坏的人。可能是我当时太没有礼貌，太让人生气了。
38当哥哥觉得我要离开他的时候，他便到镇上的每一个老板那里游说，以阻止我在镇上的任何一家印刷厂得到工作。因此，他们都拒绝给我工作。那个时候我就决定到纽约去，那是有印刷所最近的地方。我要离开波士顿还因为我知道我已经引起当局的不少憎恶。从当局处理我哥哥那件事的专横来看，要是我还呆下去，迟早也要遭到同样的待遇。另外，我对宗教的轻率批评已经激起了善男信女的惊恐，他们说我大逆不道，是一个无神论者，成为众人所怨愤的对象。我已经决定出走，父亲已经站在哥哥那边，这一点我很明白，如果我公开出走的话，他们一定想法子阻止我。因此，我的朋友柯林斯决定帮我。他和一艘纽约州的单桅帆船船长讲好，让我坐他的船，他说我是他小时候的一个朋友，由于使一个不正经的女孩怀了孕，她的朋友逼我和她结婚，因此我既不能露面也不能公开出走。我卖了一些书，筹集了路费，悄悄上了船。因为顺风，我们第三天就到了纽约，离家将近300英里。我——一个只有17岁的男孩，身上没有钱，没有人介绍，没有熟人，这就是初到纽约的我。
39那个时候，我航海的梦已经破灭了，否则我现在倒可以如愿以偿了。但是由于我已经学会了一门手艺，又自认是一个很好的工人，所以我就向当地一个叫老威廉·布雷福德的印刷老板毛遂自荐。老威廉·布雷福德是宾西法尼亚州的第一家印刷所老板，在和乔治·基思争吵以后他就把印刷所迁到了纽约。他的印刷所里没有什么事情要做，所以他不能雇佣我，而且他那里人员已经足够了。但他说，“我儿子在宾西法尼亚州，他刚刚失去了他的主要助手，名字叫阿奎那·罗斯。如果你去那里，我想他会雇佣你的。”宾西法尼亚州离这里有100英里，不过我还是登上了一艘开往安博依的船。我留下了我的箱子和其它一些东西，以后它们会随海道被运来。
40在渡海的时候，我们遇到了狂风，风把我们的破船撕成了碎片。我们无法进入海峡，而是漂到了一个长岛上。途中，一位喝醉了的荷兰乘客失足落水。当他下沉的时候，我抓住他的头顶把他拉了上来。落水使他清醒了一些，他从口袋里面拿出了一本书，希望我能给他晾干，然后他就睡觉去了。这本书就是我最喜欢的作家班扬的《天路历程》，是用荷兰文写的。它印刷在一张相当好的纸上，印刷很精美，还有铜版插图，比我见过的原文版本还漂亮。我后来发现，这本书被翻译成了欧洲所有的文字。我想，除了《圣经》之外，《天路历程》应该拥有最广泛的读者。尊敬的约翰·班扬是我所知道的第一个把叙述和对话揉在一块写作的人，这种写作方法使读者读起来很有兴致，读到动人的地方，就像身临其境一样，和书中人们一起商谈。笛福在《鲁宾逊漂流记》、《莫尔·佛兰德斯》、《修士求爱》、《家庭教师》和其它作品中都成功地模仿了这种写作方法。理查逊在他的《帕米拉》等书中也使用了这种手法。
41当我们快接近这个长岛的时候，我们才发现我们无法在那里登陆，因为那里乱石丛生，海浪太大了。我们虽然抛了锚，但船却在向着海岸摇摆。岸上有人来了，他们对着我们大喊，我们也对着他们大叫，但风浪太大了，我们都听不到对方的声音，也不能明白对方的意思。岸上有一只小船，我们做着手势，叫他们用那个小船来接我们，但他们要么没有明白我们的意思，要么觉得那根本不可行，所以他们就走开了。夜晚降临了，我们没有别的办法只能等风小一点。同时，我和船老板决定去睡一会儿，如果我们能够睡着的话。我们就这样跟浑身还是湿透的荷兰人一同挤在小小的船舱里。打在船头的浪花溅落在我们身上，一会儿我们就和这位荷兰老兄一样浑身都湿淋淋的了。我们就这样躺了一晚上，根本谈不上什么休息。但是，第二天，风小了，我们掉转船头，为了争取在天黑前赶到安博依，继续在水上漂了30个钟头，没有食物也没有饮水，只有一瓶浑浊的米酒以及外面的咸海水。
42晚上的时候，我发现自己发高烧了，继而上床睡觉。我曾经在哪里读到过喝凉水可以治高烧，所以我就照做了。晚上出了很多汗，高烧就退了。早上我们摆渡上了岸，我徒步继续我的行程，向50英里外的柏林顿走去。别人告诉我，那里有船可以去费城。
43这天下了一整天的雨，我浑身都湿透了，中午的时候我已经疲惫的要死。因此，我就在简陋的小店里住了一夜。这个时候，我希望自己没有离开家就好了。我的外表显得很穷酸，从别人和我的谈话中，我还发现别人怀疑我是哪家私逃的仆役，并且很可能我会因为这种嫌疑而被抓起来。不过，第二天，我还是继续了我的行程。晚上的时候，我到了约翰·布朗先生的小店里面，那个店离柏林顿8、9英里。当我吃饭的时候，约翰·布朗先生和我攀谈起来。他发现我读过一些书，就变得对我客气友好起来。我们的交往一直持续到他去世为止。我猜想，他曾经是一个周游四方的医生，因为无论英国的哪个城镇，或者欧洲的哪个国家，他都知道的很清楚。他有些学问，人也很聪明，但不相信宗教。几年以后，他像科顿对维尔的作品那样，把《圣经》改成了打油诗。通过这种方式，他把许多事情都搞的很滑稽。他的作品要是能够发表的话，很可能对那些意志不坚定者造成伤害。还好，他的作品从来没有被发表。
44那天夜里，我就在这个房子里睡了一晚上。第二天早上我们到了柏林顿，但是到了那儿以后，我很后悔地发现，班船已经在我到达前不久就开走了。今天是星期六，要等到下个星期二才有班船。所以，我就回到镇上一个老妇人处，请她给我点建议。我曾经在她那里买过姜饼，就着水吃过饭。她邀请我到她家住了下来，等候下一班去费城的船。由于一直走路的原因，我很疲惫，所以就接受了她的邀请。当她知道我是印刷匠以后，她就建议在镇上呆下来开一家印刷厂。不过，她不知道开印刷厂是要资本的。她很好客，为我提供了一顿牛肉餐，却只肯接受要一罐啤酒作为回报。我满以为要等到下个星期二才能走，但是晚上在河边散步的时候，一条船正好从那经过，里面只有几个人，是开往费城的。他们让我上了船，因为没有风，我们只好一路划船而行。大概到了午夜的时候，我们仍然看不到费城。我们当中的一些人认为我们必定已经过了费城，所以就不愿意再往前划了。其他的人不知道我们到底到了什么地方，所以我们就向岸边划去，在一个旧篱笆处登了岸。10月的晚间很冷，我们就用篱笆木生了火，然后在那里呆到天亮。这个时候，我们中的一个人说，这个地方是库伯河，在费城北面一点。我们一出这条河就可以看到费城了。然后，早上8、9点钟的时候我们就到了费城，在市场码头上的岸。
Part 1
（Twyford， at the Bishop of St. Asaph's， 1771）
DEAR SON，
1I have ever had pleasure in obtaining any little anecdotes of my ancestors. You may remember the inquiries I made among the remains of my relations when you were with me in England， and the journey I undertook for that purpose. Imagining it may be equally agreeable to some of you to know the circumstances of my life， many of which you are yet unacquainted with， and expecting the enjoyment of a week's uninterrupted leisure in my present country retirement， I sit down to write them for you. To which I have besides some other inducements. Having emerged from the poverty and obscurity in which I was born and bred， to a state of affluence and some degree of reputation in the world， and having gone so far through life with a considerable share of felicity， the conducing means I made use of， which with the blessing of God so well succeeded， my posterity may like to know， as they may find some of them suitable to their own situations， and therefore fit to be imitated.
2That felicity， when I reflected on it， has induced me sometimes to say， that were it offered to my choice， I should have no objection to a repetition of the same life from its beginning， only asking the advantages authors have in a second edition to correct some faults of the first. So I might， besides correcting the faults， change some sinister accidents and events of it for others more favorable. But though this were denied， I should still accept the offer. Since such a repetition is not to be expected， the next thing most like living one's life over again seems to be a recollection of that life， and to make that recollection as durable as possible by putting it down in writing.
3Hereby， too， I shall indulge the inclination so natural in old men， to be talking of themselves and their own past actions； and I shall indulge it without being tiresome to others， who， through respect to age， might conceive themselves obliged to give me a hearing， since this may be read or not as any one pleases. And， lastly (I may as well confess it， since my denial of it will be believed by nobody)， perhaps I shall a good deal gratify my own vanity. Indeed， I scarce ever heard or saw the introductory words， "Without vanity I may say，" &c.， but some vain thing immediately followed. Most people dislike vanity in others， whatever share they have of it themselves； but I give it fair quarter wherever I meet with it， being persuaded that it is often productive of good to the possessor， and to others that are within his sphere of action； and therefore， in many cases， it would not be altogether absurd if a man were to thank God for his vanity among the other comforts of life.
4And now I speak of thanking God， I desire with all humility to acknowledge that I owe the mentioned happiness of my past life to His kind providence， which lead me to the means I used and gave them success. My belief of this induces me to hope， though I must not presume， that the same goodness will still be exercised toward me， in continuing that happiness， or enabling me to bear a fatal reverse， which I may experience as others have done： the complexion of my future fortune being known to Him only in whose power it is to bless to us even our afflictions.
5The notes one of my uncles (who had the same kind of curiosity in collecting family anecdotes) once put into my hands， furnished me with several particulars relating to our ancestors. From these notes I learned that the family had lived in the same village， Ecton， in Northamptonshire， for three hundred years， and how much longer he knew not (perhaps from the time when the name of Franklin， that before was the name of an order of people， was assumed by them as a surname when others took surnames all over the kingdom)， on a freehold of about thirty acres， aided by the smith's business， which had continued in the family till his time， the eldest son being always bred to that business； a custom which he and my father followed as to their eldest sons. When I searched the registers at Ecton， I found an account of their births， marriages and burials from the year 1555 only， there being no registers kept in that parish at any time preceding. By that register I perceived that I was the youngest son of the youngest son for five generations back.
6My grandfather Thomas， who was born in 1598， lived at Ecton till he grew too old to follow business longer， when he went to live with his son John， a dyer at Banbury， in Oxfordshire， with whom my father served an apprenticeship. There my grandfather died and lies buried. We saw his gravestone in 1758. His eldest son Thomas lived in the house at Ecton， and left it with the land to his only child， a daughter， who， with her husband， one Fisher， of Wellingborough， sold it to Mr. Isted， now lord of the manor there. My grandfather had four sons that grew up， viz.： Thomas， John， Benjamin and Josiah. I will give you what account I can of them， at this distance from my papers， and if these are not lost in my absence， you will among them find many more particulars.
7Thomas was bred a smith under his father； but， being ingenious， and encouraged in learning (as all my brothers were) by an Esquire Palmer， then the principal gentleman in that parish， he qualified himself for the business of scrivener； became a considerable man in the county； was a chief mover of all public-spirited undertakings for the county or town of Northampton， and his own village， of which many instances were related of him； and much taken notice of and patronized by the then Lord Halifax. He died in 1702， January 6， old style， just four years to a day before I was born. The account we received of his life and character from some old people at Ecton， I remember， struck you as something extraordinary， from its similarity to what you knew of mine. "Had he died on the same day，" you said， "one might have supposed a transmigration."
8John was bred a dyer， I believe of woolens. Benjamin was bred a silk dyer， serving an apprenticeship at London. He was an ingenious man. I remember him well， for when I was a boy he came over to my father in Boston， and lived in the house with us some years. He lived to a great age. His grandson， Samuel Franklin， now lives in Boston. He left behind him two quarto volumes， MS.， of his own poetry， consisting of little occasional pieces addressed to his friends and relations， of which the following， sent to me， is a specimen.
To my Namesake upon a Report of his Inclination to Martial Affairs， July 7th， 1710
Believe me， Ben， war is a dangerous trade.
The sword has marred as well as made；
By it do many fall， not many rise—
Makes many poor， few rich， and fewer wise；
Fills towns with ruin， fields with blood， beside
'Tis sloth's maintainer and the shield of Pride.
Fair cities， rich today in plenty flow，
War fills with want tomorrow， and with woe.
Ruined states， vice， broken limbs， and scars
Are the effects of desolating wars.
9He had formed a short-hand of his own， which he taught me， but， never practising it， I have now forgot it. I was named after this uncle， there being a particular affection between him and my father. He was very pious， a great attender of sermons of the best preachers， which he took down in his short-hand， and had with him many volumes of them. He was also much of a politician； too much， perhaps， for his station. There fell lately into my hands， in London， a collection he had made of all the principal pamphlets， relating to public affairs， from 1641 to 1717； many of the volumes are wanting as appears by the numbering， but there still remain eight volumes in folio， and twenty-four in quarto and in octavo. A dealer in old books met with them， and knowing me by my sometimes buying of him， he brought them to me. It seems my uncle must have left them here， when he went to America， which was about fifty years since. There are many of his notes in the margins.
10This obscure family of ours was early in the Reformation， and continued Protestants through the reign of Queen Mary， when they were sometimes in danger of trouble on account of their zeal against popery. They had got an English Bible， and to conceal and secure it， it was fastened open with tapes under and within the cover of a joint-stool. When my great-great-grandfather read it to his family， he turned up the joint-stool upon his knees， turning over the leaves then under the tapes. One of the children stood at the door to give notice if he saw the apparitor coming， who was an officer of the spiritual court. In that case the stool was turned down again upon its feet， when the Bible remained concealed under it as before. This anecdote I had from my uncle Benjamin. The family continued all of the Church of England till about the end of Charles the Second's reign， when some of the ministers that had been outed for nonconformity holding conventicles in Northamptonshire， Benjamin and Josiah adhered to them， and so continued all their lives： the rest of the family remained with the Episcopal Church.
11Josiah， my father， married young， and carried his wife with three children into New England， about 1682. The conventicles having been forbidden by law， and frequently disturbed， induced some considerable men of his acquaintance to remove to that country， and he was prevailed with to accompany them thither， where they expected to enjoy their mode of religion with freedom. By the same wife he had four children more born there， and by a second wife ten more， in all seventeen； of which I remember thirteen sitting at one time at his table， who all grew up to be men and women， and married； I was the youngest son， and the youngest child but two， and was born in Boston， New England.
12My mother， the second wife， was Abiah Folger， daughter of Peter Folger， one of the first settlers of New England， of whom honorable mention is made by Cotton Mather in his church history of that country， entitled Magnalia Christi Americana， as 'a godly， learned Englishman，" if I remember the words rightly. I have heard that he wrote sundry small occasional pieces， but only one of them was printed， which I saw now many years since. It was written in 1675， in the home-spun verse of that time and people， and addressed to those then concerned in the government there.
13It was in favor of liberty of conscience， and in behalf of the Baptists， Quakers， and other sectaries that had been under persecution， ascribing the Indian wars， and other distresses that had befallen the country， to that persecution， as so many judgments of God to punish so heinous an offense， and exhorting a repeal of those uncharitable laws. The whole appeared to me as written with a good deal of decent plainness and manly freedom. The six concluding lines I remember， though I have forgotten the two first of the stanza； but the purport of them was， that his censures proceeded from good-will， and， therefore， he would be known to be the author.
Because to be a libeller (says he)
I hate it with my heart；
From Sherburne town， where now I dwell
My name I do put here；
Without offense your real friend，
It is Peter Folgier.
14My elder brothers were all put apprentices to different trades. I was put to the grammar-school at eight years of age， my father intending to devote me， as the tithe of his sons， to the service of the Church. My early readiness in learning to read (which must have been very early， as I do not remember when I could not read)， and the opinion of all his friends， that I should certainly make a good scholar， encouraged him in this purpose of his. My uncle Benjamin， too， approved of it， and proposed to give me all his short-hand volumes of sermons， I suppose as a stock to set up with， if I would learn his character. I continued， however， at the grammar-school not quite one year， though in that time I had risen gradually from the middle of the class of that year to be the head of it， and farther was removed into the next class above it， in order to go with that into the third at the end of the year. But my father， in the meantime， from a view of the expense of a college education， which having so large a family he could not well afford， and the mean living many so educated were afterwards able to obtain—reasons that be gave to his friends in my hearing—altered his first intention， took me from the grammar-school， and sent me to a school for writing and arithmetic， kept by a then famous man， Mr. George Brownell， very successful in his profession generally， and that by mild， encouraging methods. Under him I acquired fair writing pretty soon， but I failed in the arithmetic， and made no progress in it. At ten years old I was taken home to assist my father in his business， which was that of a tallow-chandler and sope-boiler； a business he was not bred to， but had assumed on his arrival in New England， and on finding his dying trade would not maintain his family， being in little request. Accordingly， I was employed in cutting wick for the candles， filling the dipping mold and the molds for cast candles， attending the shop， going of errands， etc.
15I disliked the trade， and had a strong inclination for the sea， but my father declared against it； however， living near the water， I was much in and about it， learnt early to swim well， and to manage boats； and when in a boat or canoe with other boys， I was commonly allowed to govern， especially in any case of difficulty； and upon other occasions I was generally a leader among the boys， and sometimes led them into scrapes， of which I will mention one instance， as it shows an early projecting public spirit， tho' not then justly conducted.
16There was a salt-marsh that bounded part of the mill-pond， on the edge of which， at high water， we used to stand to fish for minnows. By much trampling， we had made it a mere quagmire. My proposal was to build a wharff there fit for us to stand upon， and I showed my comrades a large heap of stones， which were intended for a new house near the marsh， and which would very well suit our purpose. Accordingly， in the evening， when the workmen were gone， I assembled a number of my play-fellows， and working with them diligently like so many emmets， sometimes two or three to a stone， we brought them all away and built our little wharff. The next morning the workmen were surprised at missing the stones， which were found in our wharff. Inquiry was made after the removers； we were discovered and complained of； several of us were corrected by our fathers； and though I pleaded the usefulness of the work， mine convinced me that nothing was useful which was not honest.
17I think you may like to know something of his person and character. He had an excellent constitution of body， was of middle stature， but well set， and very strong； he was ingenious， could draw prettily， was skilled a little in music， and had a clear pleasing voice， so that when he played psalm tunes on his violin and sung withal， as he sometimes did in an evening after the business of the day was over， it was extremely agreeable to hear. He had a mechanical genius too， and， on occasion， was very handy in the use of other tradesmen's tools； but his great excellence lay in a sound understanding and solid judgment in prudential matters， both in private and publick affairs. In the latter， indeed， he was never employed， the numerous family he had to educate and the straitness of his circumstances keeping him close to his trade； but I remember well his being frequently visited by leading people， who consulted him for his opinion in affairs of the town or of the church he belonged to， and showed a good deal of respect for his judgment and advice： he was also much consulted by private persons about their affairs when any difficulty occurred， and frequently chosen an arbitrator between contending parties.
18At his table he liked to have， as often as he could， some sensible friend or neighbor to converse with， and always took care to start some ingenious or useful topic for discourse， which might tend to improve the minds of his children. By this means he turned our attention to what was good， just， and prudent in the conduct of life； and little or no notice was ever taken of what related to the victuals on the table， whether it was well or ill dressed， in or out of season， of good or bad flavor， preferable or inferior to this or that other thing of the kind， so that I was bro't up in such a perfect inattention to those matters as to be quite indifferent what kind of food was set before me， and so unobservant of it， that to this day if I am asked I can scarce tell a few hours after dinner what I dined upon. This has been a convenience to me in travelling， where my companions have been sometimes very unhappy for want of a suitable gratification of their more delicate， because better instructed， tastes and appetites.
19My mother had likewise an excellent constitution： she suckled all her ten children. I never knew either my father or mother to have any sickness but that of which they dy'd， he at 89， and she at 85 years of age. They lie buried together at Boston， where I some years since placed a marble over their grave， with this inion：
JOSIAH FRANKLIN，
And ABIAH his Wife，
Lie here interred.
They lived lovingly together in wedlock
Fifty-five years.
Without an estate， or any gainful employment，
By constant labour and industry，
With God's blessing，
They maintained a large family
Comfortably；
And brought up thirteen children
And seven grandchildren
Reputably.
From this instance， Reader，
Be encouraged to diligence in thy calling，
And distrust not Providence.
He was a pious and prudent man，
She， a discreet and virtuous woman.
Their youngest son，
In filial regard to their memory，
Places this stone.
J.F. born 1655 - Died 1744 - AEtat. 89.
A.F. born 1667 - Died 1752 - AEtat. 85.
20By my rambling digressions I perceive myself to be grown old. I us'd to write more methodically. But one does not dress for private company as for a publick ball. 'Tis perhaps only negligence.
21To return： I continued thus employed in my father's business for two years， that is， till I was twelve years old； and my brother John， who was bred to that business， having left my father， married， and set up for himself at Rhode Island， there was all appearance that I was destined to supply his place， and become a tallow-chandler. But my dislike to the trade continuing， my father was under apprehensions that if he did not find one for me more agreeable， I should break away and get to sea， as his son Josiah had done， to his great vexation. He therefore sometimes took me to walk with him， and see joiners， bricklayers， turners， braziers， etc.， at their work， that he might observe my inclination， and endeavor to fix it on some trade or other on land. It has ever since been a pleasure to me to see good workmen handle their tools； and it has been useful to me， having learnt so much by it as to be able to do little jobs myself in my house when a workman could not readily be got， and to construct little machines for my experiments， while the intention of making the experiment was fresh and warm in my mind. My father at last fixed upon the cutler's trade， and my uncle Benjamin's son Samuel， who was bred to that business in London， being about that time established in Boston， I was sent to be with him some time on liking. But his expectations of a fee with me displeasing my father， I was taken home again.
22From a child I was fond of reading， and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books. Pleased with the Pilgrim's Progress， my first collection was of John Bunyan's works in separate little volumes. I afterward sold them to enable me to buy R. Burton's Historical Collections； they were small chapmen's books， and cheap， 40 or 50 in all. My father's little library consisted chiefly of books in polemic divinity， most of which I read， and have since often regretted that， at a time when I had such a thirst for knowledge， more proper books had not fallen in my way since it was now resolved I should not be a clergyman. Plutarch's Lives there was in which I read abundantly， and I still think that time spent to great advantage. There was also a book of De Foe's， called an Essay on Projects， and another of Dr. Mather's， called Essays to do Good， which perhaps gave me a turn of thinking that had an influence on some of the principal future events of my life.
23This bookish inclination at length determined my father to make me a printer， though he had already one son (James) of that profession. In 1717 my brother James returned from England with a press and letters to set up his business in Boston. I liked it much better than that of my father， but still had a hankering for the sea. To prevent the apprehended effect of such an inclination， my father was impatient to have me bound to my brother. I stood out some time， but at last was persuaded， and signed the indentures when I was yet but twelve years old. I was to serve as an apprentice till I was twenty-one years of age， only I was to be allowed journeyman's wages during the last year. In a little time I made great proficiency in the business， and became a useful hand to my brother. I now had access to better books. An acquaintance with the apprentices of booksellers enabled me sometimes to borrow a small one， which I was careful to return soon and clean. Often I sat up in my room reading the greatest part of the night， when the book was borrowed in the evening and to be returned early in the morning， lest it should be missed or wanted.
24And after some time an ingenious tradesman， Mr. Matthew Adams， who had a pretty collection of books， and who frequented our printing-house， took notice of me， invited me to his library， and very kindly lent me such books as I chose to read. I now took a fancy to poetry， and made some little pieces； my brother， thinking it might turn to account， encouraged me， and put me on composing occasional ballads. One was called The Lighthouse Tragedy， and contained an account of the drowning of Captain Worthilake， with his two daughters： the other was a sailor's song， on the taking of Teach (or Blackbeard) the pirate. They were wretched stuff， in the rub-street-ballad style； and when they were printed he sent me about the town to sell them. The first sold wonderfully， the event being recent， having made a great noise. This flattered my vanity； but my father discouraged me by ridiculing my performances， and telling me verse-makers were generally beggars. So I escaped being a poet， most probably a very bad one； but as prose writing has been of great use to me in the course of my life， and was a principal means of my advancement， I shall tell you how， in such a situation， I acquired what little ability I have in that way.
25There was another bookish lad in the town， John Collins by name， with whom I was intimately acquainted. We sometimes disputed， and very fond we were of argument， and very desirous of confuting one another， which disputatious turn， by the way， is apt to become a very bad habit， making people often extremely disagreeable in company by the contradiction that is necessary to bring it into practice； and thence， besides souring and spoiling the conversation， is productive of disgusts and， perhaps enmities where you may have occasion for friendship. I had caught it by reading my father's books of dispute about religion. Persons of good sense， I have since observed， seldom fall into it， except lawyers， university men， and men of all sorts that have been bred at Edinborough.
26A question was once， somehow or other， started between Collins and me， of the propriety of educating the female sex in learning， and their abilities for study. He was of opinion that it was improper， and that they were naturally unequal to it. I took the contrary side， perhaps a little for dispute's sake. He was naturally more eloquent， had a ready plenty of words； and sometimes， as I thought， bore me down more by his fluency than by the strength of his reasons. As we parted without settling the point， and were not to see one another again for some time， I sat down to put my arguments in writing， which I copied fair and sent to him. He answered， and I replied. Three or four letters of a side had passed， when my father happened to find my papers and read them. Without entering into the discussion， he took occasion to talk to me about the manner of my writing； observed that， though I had the advantage of my antagonist in correct spelling and pointing (which I ow'd to the printing-house)， I fell far short in elegance of expression， in method and in perspicuity， of which he convinced me by several instances. I saw the justice of his remark， and thence grew more attentive to the manner in writing， and determined to endeavor at improvement.
27About this time I met with an odd volume of the Spectator. It was the third. I had never before seen any of them. I bought it， read it over and over， and was much delighted with it. I thought the writing excellent， and wished， if possible， to imitate it. With this view I took some of the papers， and， making short hints of the sentiment in each sentence， laid them by a few days， and then， without looking at the book， try'd to compleat the papers again， by expressing each hinted sentiment at length， and as fully as it had been expressed before， in any suitable words that should come to hand. Then I compared my Spectator with the original， discovered some of my faults， and corrected them. But I found I wanted a stock of words， or a readiness in recollecting and using them， which I thought I should have acquired before that time if I had gone on making verses； since the continual occasion for words of the same import， but of different length， to suit the measure， or of different sound for the rhyme， would have laid me under a constant necessity of searching for variety， and also have tended to fix that variety in my mind， and make me master of it. Therefore I took some of the tales and turned them into verse； and， after a time， when I had pretty well forgotten the prose， turned them back again. I also sometimes jumbled my collections of hints into confusion， and after some weeks endeavored to reduce them into the best order， before I began to form the full sentences and compleat the paper. This was to teach me method in the arrangement of thoughts. By comparing my work afterwards with the original， I discovered many faults and amended them； but I sometimes had the pleasure of fancying that， in certain particulars of small import， I had been lucky enough to improve the method or the language， and this encouraged me to think I might possibly in time come to be a tolerable English writer， of which I was extremely ambitious. My time for these exercises and for reading was at night， after work or before it began in the morning， or on Sundays， when I contrived to be in the printing-house alone， evading as much as I could the common attendance on public worship which my father used to exact on me when I was under his care， and which indeed I still thought a duty， though I could not， as it seemed to me， afford time to practise it.
28When about 16 years of age I happened to meet with a book， written by one Tryon， recommending a vegetable diet. I determined to go into it. My brother， being yet unmarried， did not keep house， but boarded himself and his apprentices in another family. My refusing to eat flesh occasioned an inconveniency， and I was frequently chid for my singularity. I made myself acquainted with Tryon's manner of preparing some of his dishes， such as boiling potatoes or rice， making hasty pudding， and a few others， and then proposed to my brother， that if he would give me， weekly， half the money he paid for my board， I would board myself. He instantly agreed to it， and I presently found that I could save half what he paid me. This was an additional fund for buying books. But I had another advantage in it. My brother and the rest going from the printing-house to their meals， I remained there alone， and， despatching presently my light repast， which often was no more than a bisket or a slice of bread， a handful of raisins or a tart from the pastry-cook's， and a glass of water， had the rest of the time till their return for study， in which I made the greater progress， from that greater clearness of head and quicker apprehension which usually attend temperance in eating and drinking.
29And now it was that， being on some occasion made asham'd of my ignorance in figures， which I had twice failed in learning when at school， I took Cocker's book of Arithmetick， and went through the whole by myself with great ease. I also read Seller's and Shermy's books of Navigation， and became acquainted with the little geometry they contain； but never proceeded far in that science. And I read about this time Locke On Human Understanding， and the Art of Thinking， by Messrs. du Port Royal.
30While I was intent on improving my language， I met with an English grammar (I think it was Greenwood's)， at the end of which there were two little sketches of the arts of rhetoric and logic， the latter finishing with a specimen of a dispute in the Socratic method； and soon after I procur'd Xenophon's Memorable Things of Socrates， wherein there are many instances of the same method. I was charm'd with it， adopted it， dropt my abrupt contradiction and positive argumentation， and put on the humble inquirer and doubter. And being then， from reading Shaftesbury and Collins， become a real doubter in many points of our religious doctrine， I found this method safest for myself and very embarrassing to those against whom I used it； therefore I took a delight in it， practis'd it continually， and grew very artful and expert in drawing people， even of superior knowledge， into concessions， the consequences of which they did not foresee， entangling them in difficulties out of which they could not extricate themselves， and so obtaining victories that neither myself nor my cause always deserved. I continu'd this method some few years， but gradually left it， retaining only the habit of expressing myself in terms of modest diffidence； never using， when I advanced any thing that may possibly be disputed， the words certainly， undoubtedly， or any others that give the air of positiveness to an opinion； but rather say， I conceive or apprehend a thing to be so and so； it appears to me， or I should think it so or so， for such and such reasons； or I imagine it to be so； or it is so， if I am not mistaken. This habit， I believe， has been of great advantage to me when I have had occasion to inculcate my opinions， and persuade men into measures that I have been from time to time engag'd in promoting； and， as the chief ends of conversation are to inform or to be informed， to please or to persuade， I wish well-meaning， sensible men would not lessen their power of doing good by a positive， assuming manner， that seldom fails to disgust， tends to create opposition， and to defeat every one of those purposes for which speech was given to us， to wit， giving or receiving information or pleasure. For， if you would inform， a positive and dogmatical manner in advancing your sentiments may provoke contradiction and prevent a candid attention. If you wish information and improvement from the knowledge of others， and yet at the same time express yourself as firmly fix'd in your present opinions， modest， sensible men， who do not love disputation， will probably leave you undisturbed in the possession of your error. And by such a manner， you can seldom hope to recommend yourself in pleasing your hearers， or to persuade those whose concurrence you desire. Pope says， judiciously：
Men should be taught as if you taught them not，
And things unknown propos'd as things forgot；
farther recommending to us
To speak， tho' sure， with seeming diffidence.
And he might have coupled with this line that which he has coupled with another， I think， less properly，
For want of modesty is want of sense.
If you ask， Why less properly？ I must repeat the lines，
Immodest words admit of no defense，
For want of modesty is want of sense.
Now， is not want of sense (where a man is so unfortunate as to want it) some apology for his want of modesty？ and would not the lines stand more justly thus？
Immodest words admit but this defense，
That want of modesty is want of sense.
This， however， I should submit to better judgments.
31My brother had， in 1720 or 1721， begun to print a newspaper. It was the second that appeared in America， and was called the New England Courant. The only one before it was the Boston News-Letter. I remember his being dissuaded by some of his friends from the undertaking， as not likely to succeed， one newspaper being， in their judgment， enough for America. At this time (1771) there are not less than five-and-twenty. He went on， however， with the undertaking， and after having worked in composing the types and printing off the sheets， I was employed to carry the papers thro' the streets to the customers.
32He had some ingenious men among his friends， who amus'd themselves by writing little pieces for this paper， which gain'd it credit and made it more in demand， and these gentlemen often visited us. Hearing their conversations， and their accounts of the approbation their papers were received with， I was excited to try my hand among them； but， being still a boy， and suspecting that my brother would object to printing anything of mine in his paper if he knew it to be mine， I contrived to disguise my hand， and， writing an anonymous paper， I put it in at night under the door of the printing-house. It was found in the morning， and communicated to his writing friends when they call'd in as usual. They read it， commented on it in my hearing， and I had the exquisite pleasure of finding it met with their approbation， and that， in their different guesses at the author， none were named but men of some character among us for learning and ingenuity. I suppose now that I was rather lucky in my judges， and that perhaps they were not really so very good ones as I then esteem'd them.
33Encourag'd， however， by this， I wrote and convey'd in the same way to the press several more papers which were equally approv'd； and I kept my secret till my small fund of sense for such performances was pretty well exhausted and then I discovered it， when I began to be considered a little more by my brother's acquaintance， and in a manner that did not quite please him， as he thought， probably with reason， that it tended to make me too vain. And， perhaps， this might be one occasion of the differences that we began to have about this time. Though a brother， he considered himself as my master， and me as his apprentice， and accordingly， expected the same services from me as he would from another， while I thought he demean'd me too much in some he requir'd of me， who from a brother expected more indulgence. Our disputes were often brought before our father， and I fancy I was either generally in the right， or else a better pleader， because the judgment was generally in my favor. But my brother was passionate， and had often beaten me， which I took extreamly amiss； and， thinking my apprenticeship very tedious， I was continually wishing for some opportunity of shortening it， which at length offered in a manner unexpected.
34One of the pieces in our newspaper on some political point， which I have now forgotten， gave offense to the Assembly. He was taken up， censur'd， and imprison'd for a month， by the speaker's warrant， I suppose， because he would not discover his author. I too was taken up and examin'd before the council； but， tho' I did not give them any satisfaction， they content'd themselves with admonishing me， and dismissed me， considering me， perhaps， as an apprentice， who was bound to keep his master's secrets.
35During my brother's confinement， which I resented a good deal， notwithstanding our private differences， I had the management of the paper； and I made bold to give our rulers some rubs in it， which my brother took very kindly， while others began to consider me in an unfavorable light， as a young genius that had a turn for libelling and satyr. My brother's discharge was accompany'd with an order of the House (a very odd one)， that "James Franklin should no longer print the paper called the New England Courant."
36There was a consultation held in our printing-house among his friends， what he should do in this case. Some proposed to evade the order by changing the name of the paper； but my brother， seeing inconveniences in that， it was finally concluded on as a better way， to let it be printed for the future under the name of Benjamin Franklin； and to avoid the censure of the Assembly， that might fall on him as still printing it by his apprentice， the contrivance was that my old indenture should be return'd to me， with a full discharge on the back of it， to be shown on occasion， but to secure to him the benefit of my service， I was to sign new indentures for the remainder of the term， which were to be kept private. A very flimsy scheme it was； however， it was immediately executed， and the paper went on accordingly， under my name for several months.
37At length， a fresh difference arising between my brother and me， I took upon me to assert my freedom， presuming that he would not venture to produce the new indentures. It was not fair in me to take this advantage， and this I therefore reckon one of the first errata of my life； but the unfairness of it weighed little with me， when under the impressions of resentment for the blows his passion too often urged him to bestow upon me， though he was otherwise not an ill-natur'd man： perhaps I was too saucy and provoking.
38When he found I would leave him， he took care to prevent my getting employment in any other printing-house of the town， by going round and speaking to every master， who accordingly refus'd to give me work. I then thought of going to New York， as the nearest place where there was a printer； and I was rather inclin'd to leave Boston when I reflected that I had already made myself a little obnoxious to the governing party， and， from the arbitrary proceedings of the Assembly in my brother's case， it was likely I might， if I stay'd， soon bring myself into scrapes； and farther， that my indiscrete disputations about religion began to make me pointed at with horror by good people as an infidel or atheist. I determin'd on the point， but my father now siding with my brother， I was sensible that， if I attempted to go openly， means would be used to prevent me. My friend Collins， therefore， undertook to manage a little for me. He agreed with the captain of a New York sloop for my passage， under the notion of my being a young acquaintance of his， that had got a naughty girl with child， whose friends would compel me to marry her， and therefore I could not appear or come away publicly. So I sold some of my books to raise a little money， was taken on board privately， and as we had a fair wind， in three days I found myself in New York， near 300 miles from home， a boy of but 17， without the least recommendation to， or knowledge of any person in the place， and with very little money in my pocket.
39My inclinations for the sea were by this time worne out， or I might now have gratify'd them. But， having a trade， and supposing myself a pretty good workman， I offer'd my service to the printer in the place， old Mr. William Bradford， who had been the first printer in Pennsylvania， but removed from thence upon the quarrel of George Keith. He could give me no employment， having little to do， and help enough already； but says he， "My son at Philadelphia has lately lost his principal hand， Aquila Rose， by death； if you go thither， I believe he may employ you." Philadelphia was a hundred miles further； I set out， however， in a boat for Amboy， leaving my chest and things to follow me round by sea.
40In crossing the bay， we met with a squall that tore our rotten sails to pieces， prevented our getting into the Kill and drove us upon Long Island. In our way， a drunken Dutchman， who was a passenger too， fell overboard； when he was sinking， I reached through the water to his shock pate， and drew him up， so that we got him in again. His ducking sobered him a little， and he went to sleep， taking first out of his pocket a book， which he desir'd I would dry for him. It proved to be my old favorite author， Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress， in Dutch， finely printed on good paper， with copper cuts， a dress better than I had ever seen it wear in its own language. I have since found that it has been translated into most of the languages of Europe， and suppose it has been more generally read than any other book， except perhaps the Bible. Honest John was the first that I know of who mix'd narration and dialogue； a method of writing very engaging to the reader， who in the most interesting parts finds himself， as it were， brought into the company and present at the discourse. De Foe in his Cruso， his Moll Flanders， Religious Courtship， Family Instructor， and other pieces， has imitated it with success； and Richardson has done the same， in his Pamela， etc.
41When we drew near the island， we found it was at a place where there could be no landing， there being a great surff on the stony beach. So we dropt anchor， and swung round towards the shore. Some people came down to the water edge and hallow'd to us， as we did to them； but the wind was so high， and the surff so loud， that we could not hear so as to understand each other. There were canoes on the shore， and we made signs， and hallow'd that they should fetch us； but they either did not understand us， or thought it impracticable， so they went away， and night coming on， we had no remedy but to wait till the wind should abate； and， in the meantime， the boatman and I concluded to sleep， if we could； and so crowded into the scuttle， with the Dutchman， who was still wet， and the spray beating over the head of our boat， leak'd thro' to us， so that we were soon almost as wet as he. In this manner we lay all night， with very little rest； but， the wind abating the next day， we made a shift to reach Amboy before night， having been thirty hours on the water， without victuals， or any drink but a bottle of filthy rum， and the water we sail'd on being salt.
42In the evening I found myself very feverish， and went in to bed； but， having read somewhere that cold water drank plentifully was good for a fever， I follow'd the preion， sweat plentiful most of the night， my fever left me， and in the morning， crossing the ferry， I proceeded on my journey on foot， having fifty miles to Burlington， where I was told I should find boats that would carry me the rest of the way to Philadelphia.
43It rained very hard all the day； I was thoroughly soak'd， and by noon a good deal tired； so I stopt at a poor inn， where I staid all night， beginning now to wish that I had never left home. I cut so miserable a figure， too， that I found， by the questions ask'd me， I was suspected to be some runaway servant， and in danger of being taken up on that suspicion. However， I proceeded the next day， and got in the evening to an inn， within eight or ten miles of Burlington， kept by one Dr. Brown. He entered into conversation with me while I took some refreshment， and， finding I had read a little， became very sociable and friendly. Our acquaintance continu'd as long as he liv'd. He had been， I imagine， an itinerant doctor， for there was no town in England， or country in Europe， of which he could not give a very particular account. He had some letters， and was ingenious， but much of an unbeliever， and wickedly undertook， some years after， to travestie the Bible in doggrel verse， as Cotton had done Virgil. By this means he set many of the facts in a very ridiculous light， and might have hurt weak minds if his work had been published； but it never was.
44At his house I lay that night， and the next morning reach'd Burlington， but had the mortification to find that the regular boats were gone a little before my coming， and no other expected to go before Tuesday， this being Saturday； wherefore I returned to an old woman in the town， of whom I had bought gingerbread to eat on the water， and ask'd her advice. She invited me to lodge at her house till a passage by water should offer； and being tired with my foot travelling， I accepted the invitation. She understanding I was a printer， would have had me stay at that town and follow my business， being ignorant of the stock necessary to begin with. She was very hospitable， gave me a dinner of ox-cheek with great good will， accepting only a pot of ale in return； and I thought myself fixed till Tuesday should come. However， walking in the evening by the side of the river， a boat came by， which I found was going towards Philadelphia， with several people in her. They took me in， and， as there was no wind， we row'd all the way； and about midnight， not having yet seen the city， some of the company were confident we must have passed it， and would row no farther； the others knew not where we were； so we put toward the shore， got into a creek， landed near an old fence， with the rails of which we made a fire， the night being cold， in October， and there we remained till daylight. Then one of the company knew the place to be Cooper's Creek， a little above Philadelphia， which we saw as soon as we got out of the creek， and arriv'd there about eight or nine o'clock on the Sunday morning， and landed at the Market-street wharf.