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"Ben Franklin"
Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography: Page 49
of 154
know the then state of my mind with regard to my principles and morals, that you
may see how far those influenc'd the future events of my life. My parents had
early given me religious impressions, and brought me through my childhood
piously in the Dissenting way. But I was scarce fifteen, when, after doubting by
turns of several points, as I found them disputed in the different books I read,
I began to doubt of Revelation itself. Some books against Deism fell into my
hands; they were said to be the substance of sermons preached at Boyle's
Lectures. It happened that they wrought an effect on me quite contrary to what
was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be
refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon
became a thorough Deist. My arguments perverted some others, particularly
Collins and Ralph; but, each of them having afterwards wrong'd me greatly
without the least compunction, and recollecting Keith's conduct towards me (who
was another freethinker), and my own towards Vernon and Miss Read, which at
times gave me great trouble, I began to suspect that this doctrine, tho' it
might be true, was not very useful. My London pamphlet, which had for its motto
these lines of Dryden:
"Whatever is, is right. Though purblind man
Sees but a part o' the chain, the nearest link:
His eyes not carrying to the equal beam,
That poises all above;"
and from the attributes of God, his infinite wisdom, goodness and power,
concluded that nothing could possibly be wrong in the world, and that vice and
virtue were empty distinctions, no such things existing, appear'd now not so
clever a performance as I once thought it; and I doubted whether some error had
not insinuated itself unperceiv'd into my argument, so as to infect all that
follow'd, as is common in metaphysical reasonings.
I grew convinc'd that truth, sincerity and integrity in dealings between man and
man were of the utmost importance to the felicity of life; and I form'd written
resolutions, which still remain in my journal book, to practice them ever while
I lived. Revelation had indeed no weight with me, as such; but I entertain'd an
opinion that, though certain actions might not be bad because they were
forbidden by it, or good because it commanded them, yet probably these actions
might be forbidden because they were bad for us, or commanded because they were
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