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"Ben Franklin"
Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography: Page 14
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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.
My 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.
He 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
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