THE LIFE AND TIMES
—OF—
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
Taken altogether, this book is deserving of hearty
approval as a valuable contribution of material towards
the proper understanding of the work of a past generation,
and of the life of one who, whatever may have been his
errors, developed in his life many of the characteristics
of true greatness—an indomitable worker, a ready writer;
a powerful preacher, whose strong practical sense,
boundless energy, and earnest devotion to his work would
have made him a man of mark in any department of life;
and which in his chosen department, lifted him out of
poverty and obscurity to a position of great influence and
successful leadership, and won for him the admiration and
affection of multitudes.
The publisher has done his work in creditable style. The
book ought to have a large sale.—_Isaac Errett._
LIFE AND TIMES OF ELDER BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.—We have just
received a copy of the above work, from the office of the
publisher, John Burns, St. Louis, Mo. It is a very handsome
volume of 508 pages, good, plain type, on nice, white paper,
and neatly bound in cloth.
We were very anxious to see the book, and rejoice that
it has been published. We regard it as a valuable addition
to our Christian literature, and think a copy of it should
be put into every Christian library, by the side of the
lives of Stone, Smith, Johnson, the two Campbells, Walter
Scott, and others. These biographies of our great and good
men should be read and studied by all, and especially our
young preachers.—_J. M. Mathes._
The work comprises a biography of Elder Franklin from
his childhood—embracing his early life and surroundings,
his conversion, consecration to the work of preaching;
his early efforts, trials, sufferings and encouragements.
There are in this portion of his life some touching
and pathetic incidents concerning his wife’s struggles
with poverty. His labor and growth as a preacher are
recorded, his mistakes and faults are presented with
fairness. His career as a writer is given, his connection
with the various questions that presented themselves as
matter of controversy with the denominations and among
the disciples, his positions, changes and arguments are
presented with fairness. Short sketches are given of many
of the associates of Elder Franklin.
The style is plain, direct and very attractive. We found
it difficult to lay the book aside when we had once looked
into it until we finished it. Our readers will find it an
interesting and instructive volume. We hope all of them
will get it and read it.—_D. Lipscomb._
The publisher has done his work well. There is nothing
flashing nor fanciful in its make up. The man whose deeds
it records was a plain, practical man. On pages 68 and 71
is a very just tribute to the humble, patient woman, the
wife of Benjamin Franklin, who waits a little longer until
the summons comes to call her home. The paragraph is a
just and beautiful tribute from an affectionate son to a
pious and devoted mother. Read it.
I hope that the book will have a very wide circulation.
Let every one who can do so buy and read the Life and
Times of Benjamin Franklin.—_B. B. Tyler._
We are much pleased with a cursory glance at its
contents. The tribute of love and affection which
Joseph Franklin pays to his mother, when reciting her
trials and tribulations as the wife of a poor and
struggling preacher, and when recalling her devotion and
self-sacrifice in the darkest days of a pioneer’s life,
starts tears unbidden from our eyes, and causes us to
thank God that he has given to the Church such peerless
and faultless mothers.—_John F. Rowe._
We have received from the publisher, John Burns, “The
Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin.” It is a very neat
and attractive volume of 508 pages. The publisher deserves
much praise for the mechanical execution of the work.
It is printed on good paper, and in large type, and old
persons can read it with pleasure. We will speak of it
again when we shall have read it.—_Dr. W. H. Hopson._
Benjamin Franklin was a great man. He was one of
nature’s noblemen. He was not a favorite of fortune. The
golden gods never wove a chaplet around his brow, nor
emptied their treasures in his lap. He was one of the
hardy sons of toil. His greatness was not the greatness
of accident. He made himself great by the nobility of his
life. He loved God and the truth. He never trimmed his
sails to popular breezes. He was always on one side or
the other of every important question, and generally on
the right side. Though you might not always agree with
him, you always knew where he stood. He gave no uncertain
sound. He was a man for the people. His simplicity, his
faith, and his devotion to the truth were simply sublime.
In this lay his power.—_Frank G. Allen._
There is a real charm in biography, especially when the
deeds and struggles of a valuable life are recorded. Few
studies are so fascinating to a thoughtful man as that of
the growth of a human soul, the upbuilding of a noteworthy
human life. We cannot think of a man who has made his mark
in the world, without wishing to know the processes of his
development; to mark the conflict of forces within, and
limitations without, under the moulding power of whose
interactions he became, at last, what we know him to have
been. In this case it is the world-old story of struggle
and conflict of a strong, earnest nature, grappling
bravely with adverse surroundings, and pressing forward
with indomitable energy to final victory. The world is
full of instances, doubtless, which illustrate the power
of man over outward circumstances; but there are few such
which are more satisfactory, I think, than that of the
life traced in the volume before us. From the materials
now accumulating, the historian of another generation will
be able to do the chief actors of the last twenty-five
years the justice of impartial judgment. Since each shall
be present in the grand assizes of heaven, he can the more
willingly commit his reputation on earth to the care of
impartial posterity.
The enterprising publisher, John Burns, deserves much
credit for the handsome shape in which the book is brought
out.—_G. W. Longan._
It might be thought, by some who read the work, that
there is too much of the “Times” and not enough of the
“Life” of Benjamin Franklin; but as the author justly
claims, it could not have been done otherwise and be
faithful. I regard the book as a faithful portraiture,
which, indeed, should be allowed by all, especially since
in the statement of propositions and differences, the
author gives both sides.
A good part of the life of Bro. Franklin was the life of
an editor, and my pen is uneasy to say something about the
manner in which he conducted religious periodicals, but I
must restrain it. Editors and preachers now-a-days think
theirs is a toilsome, weary lot. Dear me! Well, let them
read the Life of Benjamin Franklin and become ashamed of
themselves.—_L. B. Wilkes. O. A. Carr._
Address all orders to JOHN BURNS, Publisher,
717 Olive Street, St. Louis, Mo.