Sunday, November 8, 2009

Benjamin Franklin Anecdotes

I've started reading Philip Dray's biography of Benjamin Franklin, "Stealing God's Thunder," which approaches Franklin as scientist first and statesman second. The book is full of interesting anecdotes, but I found one story of Benjamin Franklin's youth particularly humorous. One day, while assisting his father with a barrel of beef in the cellar, young Benjamin suggested blessing the unprepared food once so that they could save themselves from saying grace before every dinner. I love how the economical and bright thinking that would characterize Franklin's later life seems already present in his childhood and even foreshadows his eventual antagonism toward organized religion and authority.

1 comments:

Unknown said...

Even though I just told you this in person I thought it might make a bigger impact if it's on the net:

Post something relevant to my interests!