* * * * *
I am about to tell you the story of a very great and noble man. It is
the story of one whom all the world honors--of one whose name will
forever be remembered with admiration. Benjamin Franklin was not born to
greatness. He had none of the advantages which even the poorest boys may
now enjoy. But he achieved greatness by always making the best use of
such opportunities as came in his way. He was not afraid of work. He did
not give up to discouragements. He did not overestimate his own
abilities. He was earnest and faithful in little things; and that, after
all, is the surest way of attaining to great things. There is no man to
whom we Americans owe a greater debt of gratitude. Without his aid the
American colonies would hardly have won independence. It was said of him
that he knew how to subdue both thunder and tyranny; and a famous orator
who knew him well, described him as "the genius that gave freedom to
America and shed torrents of light upon Europe." But, at the close of a
very long life, the thing which gave him the greatest satisfaction was
the fact that he had made no man his enemy; there was no human being who
could justly say, "Ben Franklin has wronged me."