Classic Book Reader
Cover of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

by Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)

  • Free to read
  • 18 hours to read
  • 16 chapters
  • Reading level: 8th & 9th grade

"Benjamin Franklin: Representative Selections, with Introduction, Bibliography, and Notes" by Frank Luther Mott and Chester E. Jorgenson is a scholarly collection of writings curated from the works of Benjamin Franklin, reflecting the multifaceted nature of his contributions to American thought. Likely written in the early 20th century, the selection aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of Franklin's intellectual legacy beyond his popular aphorisms and autobiography, encapsulating themes of education, politics, science, and journalism. Through a structured collection of historical documents, it illustrates Franklin's role as a thinker of the Enlightenment and his impact on various disciplines. The opening of this work introduces the reader to the complexity of Franklin’s character and achievements. It critiques the narrow view of Franklin as merely the practical American and emphasizes his broader contributions to literature, economics, and political theory. The editors set the stage for a deep dive into Franklin's writings and ideas, discussing influences from the Age of Enlightenment and laying out the thematic structure of the selections to follow. Readers are invited to explore not only Franklin’s famous quotes but also his extensive correspondence and lesser-known works, which provide a richer view of his thoughts on liberty, education, and societal progress.

Read free now No app, no sign-up. Your place is saved automatically. Or download for your e-reader ↓
  • Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790

Read the opening

I. Franklin's Milieu: The Age of Enlightenment

Benjamin Franklin's reputation, according to John Adams, "was more universal than that of Leibnitz or Newton, Frederick or Voltaire, and his character more beloved and esteemed than any or all of them."[i-1] The historical critic recognizes increasingly that Adams was not thinking idly when he doubted whether Franklin's panegyrical and international reputation could ever be explained without doing "a complete history of the philosophy and politics of the eighteenth century." Adams conceived that an explication of Franklin's mind and activities integrated with the thought patterns of the epoch which fathered him "would be one of the most important that ever was written; much more interesting to this and future ages than the 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.'" And such a historical and critical colossus is still among the works hoped for but yet unborn. Too often, even in the scholarly mind, Franklin has become a symbol, and it may be confessed, not a winged one, of the self-made man, of New-World practicality, of the successful tradesman, of the Sage of Poor Richard with his penny-saving economy and frugality. In short, the Franklin legend fails to transcend an allegory of the success of the doer in an America allegedly materialistic, uncreative, and unimaginative.

Keep reading Benjamin Franklin →

Contents

  1. Front Matter
  2. Introduction
  3. I. Franklin's Milieu: The Age of Enlightenment
  4. II. Franklin's Theories of Education
  5. III. Franklin's Literary Theory and Practice[I-121]
  6. IV. Franklin As Printer and Journalist
  7. V. Franklin's Economic Views
  8. VI. Franklin's Political Theories
  9. VII. Franklin As Scientist and Deist
  10. I. Works
  11. II. Collections and Reprints
  12. III. Biographies
  13. IV. Biographical and Critical Studies
  14. V. The Age of Franklin
  15. VI. Bibliographies and Check Lists
  16. Part I: Philad^a, NOV. 20: 1728

Download for your e-reader

Files are provided by Project Gutenberg. On a Kindle, the simplest route is to send the EPUB with Amazon’s Send to Kindle. Downloaded copies don’t sync with your place on Classic Book Reader.

About this edition

This free edition of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #35508, released 2011-03-06. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Biographies, Essays, Letters & Speeches, American Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

More by Benjamin Franklin