officers of America may [not have the merit of being] be no great
scholars, but they undoubtedly merit much, [as brave soldiers,] from
their Country, which should therefore not leave them merely to _Fame_
for their "_Virtutis Premium_," which is one of their Latin Mottos.
Their "_Esto perpetua_," another, is an excellent Wish, if they meant it
for their Country; bad, if intended for their Order. The States should
not only restore to them the _Omnia_ of their first Motto, which many of
them have left and lost, but pay them justly, and reward them
generously. They should not be suffered to remain, with [all] their
new-created Chivalry, _entirely_ in the Situation of the Gentleman in
the Story, which their _omnia reliquit_ reminds me of. You know every
thing makes me recollect some Story. He had built a very fine House, and
thereby much impair'd his Fortune. He had a Pride, however, in showing
it to his Acquaintance. One of them, after viewing it all, remark'd a
Motto over the Door, "OIA VANITAS." "What," says he, "is the Meaning
of this OIA? it is a word I don't understand." "I will tell you,"
said the Gentleman; "I had a mind to have the Motto cut on a Piece of
smooth Marble, but there was not room for it between the Ornaments, to
be put in Characters large enough to be read. I therefore made use of a
Contraction antiently very common in Latin Manuscripts, by which the
_m_'s and _n_'s in Words are omitted, and the Omission noted by a little
Dash above, which you may see there; so that the Word is _omnia_, OMNIA
VANITAS." "O," says his Friend, "I now comprehend the Meaning of your
motto, it relates to your Edifice; and signifies, that, if you have
abridged your _Omnia_, you have, nevertheless, left your VANITAS legible
at full length." I am, as ever, your affectionate father,
B. FRANKLIN.
AN ECONOMICAL PROJECT
TO THE AUTHORS OF THE JOURNAL OF PARIS
[March 20, 1784?[120]]
MESSIEURS,
You often entertain us with accounts of new discoveries. Permit me to
communicate to the public, through your paper, one that has lately been
made by myself, and which I conceive may be of great utility.
I was the other evening in a grand company, where the new lamp of
Messrs. Quinquet and Lange was introduced, and much admired for its
splendour; but a general inquiry was made, whether the oil it consumed
was not in proportion to the light it afforded, in which case there
would be no saving in the use of it. No one present could satisfy us in
that point, which all agreed ought to be known, it being a very
desirable thing to lessen, if possible, the expense of lighting our
apartments, when every other article of family expense was so much
augmented.
I was pleased to see this general concern for economy, for I love
economy exceedingly.
I went home, and to bed, three or four hours after midnight, with my
head full of the subject. An accidental sudden noise waked me about six
in the morning, when I was surprised to find my room filled with light;
and I imagined at first, that a number of those lamps had been brought
into it; but, rubbing my eyes, I perceived the light came in at the
windows. I got up and looked out to see what might be the occasion of
it, when I saw the sun just rising above the horizon, from whence he
poured his rays plentifully into my chamber, my domestic having
negligently omitted, the preceding evening, to close the shutters.
I looked at my watch, which goes very well, and found that it was but
six o'clock; and still thinking it something extraordinary that the sun
should rise so early, I looked into the almanac, where I found it to be
the hour given for his rising on that day. I looked forward, too, and
found he was to rise still earlier every day till towards the end of
June; and that at no time in the year he retarded his rising so long as
till eight o'clock. Your readers, who with me have never seen any signs
of sunshine before noon, and seldom regard the astronomical part of the
almanac, will be as much astonished as I was, when they hear of his
rising so early; and especially when I assure them, _that he gives light
as soon as he rises_. I am convinced of this. I am certain of my fact.
One cannot be more certain of any fact. I saw it with my own eyes. And,
having repeated this observation the three following mornings, I found
always precisely the same result.
Yet it so happens, that when I speak of this discovery to others, I can
easily perceive by their countenances, though they forbear expressing it
in words, that they do not quite believe me. One, indeed, who is a
learned natural philosopher, has assured me that I must certainly be
mistaken as to the circumstance of the light coming into my room; for it
being well known, as he says, that there could be no light abroad at
that hour, it follows that none could enter from without; and that of
consequence, my windows being accidentally left open, instead of letting
in the light, had only served to let out the darkness; and he used many
ingenious arguments to show me how I might, by that means, have been
deceived. I owned that he puzzled me a little, but he did not satisfy
me; and the subsequent observations I made, as above mentioned,
confirmed me in my first opinion.
This event has given rise in my mind to several serious and important
reflections. I considered that, if I had not been awakened so early in
the morning, I should have slept six hours longer by the light of the
sun, and in exchange have lived six hours the following night by
candle-light; and, the latter being a much more expensive light than the
former, my love of economy induced me to muster up what little
arithmetic I was master of, and to make some calculations, which I shall
give you, after observing that utility is, in my opinion the test of
value in matters of invention, and that a discovery which can be applied
to no use, or is not good for something, is good for nothing.
I took for the basis of my calculation the supposition that there are
one hundred thousand families in Paris, and that these families consume
in the night half a pound of bougies, or candles, per hour. I think this
is a moderate allowance, taking one family with another; for though I
believe some consume less, I know that many consume a great deal more.
Then estimating seven hours per day as a medium quantity between the
time of the sun's rising and ours, he rising during the six following
months from six to eight hours before noon, and there being seven hours
of course per night in which we burn candles, the account will stand
thus;--
In the six months between the 20th of March and the 20th of September,
there are
Nights 183
Hours of each night in which we burn candles. 7
_____
Multiplication gives for the total number of
hours 1,281
These 1,281 hours multiplied by 100,000, the
number of inhabitants, give 128,100,000
One hundred twenty-eight millions and one
hundred thousand hours, spent at Paris by
candle-light, which, at half a pound of wax
and tallow per hour, gives the weight of 64,050,000
Sixty-four millions and fifty thousand of pounds,
which, estimating the whole at the medium
price of thirty sols the pound, makes the sum
of ninety-six millions and seventy-five thousand
livres tournois 96,075,000
An immense sum! that the city of Paris might save every year, by the
economy of using sunshine instead of candles.
If it should be said, that people are apt to be obstinately attached to
old customs, and that it will be difficult to induce them to rise before
noon, consequently my discovery can be of little use; I answer, _Nil
desperandum_. I believe all who have common sense, as soon as they have
learnt from this paper that it is daylight when the sun rises, will
contrive to rise with him; and, to compel the rest, I would propose the
following regulations;
First. Let a tax be laid of a louis per window, on every window that is
provided with shutters to keep out the light of the sun.
Second. Let the same salutary operation of police be made use of, to
prevent our burning candles, that inclined us last winter to be more
economical in burning wood; that is, let guards be placed in the shops
of the wax and tallow chandlers, and no family be permitted to be
supplied with more than one pound of candles per week.
Third. Let guards also be posted to stop all the coaches, &c. that would
pass the streets after sun-set, except those of physicians, surgeons,
and midwives.
Fourth. Every morning, as soon as the sun rises, let all the bells in
every church be set ringing; and if that is not sufficient, let cannon
be fired in every street, to wake the sluggards effectually, and make
them open their eyes to see their true interest.
All the difficulty will be in the first two or three days; after which
the reformation will be as natural and easy as the present irregularity;
for, _ce n'est que le premier pas qui coûte_. Oblige a man to rise at
four in the morning, and it is more than probable he will go willingly
to bed at eight in the evening; and, having had eight hours sleep, he
will rise more willingly at four in the morning following. But this sum
of ninety-six millions and seventy-five thousand livres is not the whole
of what may be saved by my economical project. You may observe, that I
have calculated upon only one half of the year, and much may be saved in
the other, though the days are shorter. Besides, the immense stock of
wax and tallow left unconsumed during the summer, will probably make
candles much cheaper for the ensuing winter, and continue them cheaper
as long as the proposed reformation shall be supported.
For the great benefit of this discovery, thus freely communicated and
bestowed by me on the public, I demand neither place, pension, exclusive
privilege, nor any other reward whatever. I expect only to have the
honour of it. And yet I know there are little, envious minds, who will,
as usual, deny me this, and say, that my invention was known to the
ancients, and perhaps they may bring passages out of the old books in
proof of it. I will not dispute with these people, that the ancients
knew not the sun would rise at certain hours; they possibly had, as we
have, almanacs that predicted it; but it does not follow thence, that
they knew _he gave light as soon as he rose_. This is what I claim as my
discovery. If the ancients knew it, it might have been long since
forgotten; for it certainly was unknown to the moderns, at least to the
Parisians, which to prove, I need use but one plain simple argument.
They are as well instructed, judicious, and prudent a people as exist
anywhere in the world, all professing, like myself, to be lovers of
economy; and, from the many heavy taxes required from them by the
necessities of the state, have surely an abundant reason to be
economical. I say it is impossible that so sensible a people, under such
circumstances, should have lived so long by the smoky, unwholesome, and
enormously expensive light of candles, if they had really known, that
they might have had as much pure light of the sun for nothing. I am, &c.
A SUBSCRIBER.
TO SAMUEL MATHER[121]
Passy, May 12, 1784.
REV^D SIR,
I received your kind letter, with your excellent advice to the people of
the United States, which I read with great pleasure, and hope it will be
duly regarded. Such writings, though they may be lightly passed over by
many readers, yet, if they make a deep impression on one active mind in
a hundred, the effects may be considerable. Permit me to mention one
little instance, which, though it relates to myself, will not be quite
uninteresting to you. When I was a boy, I met with a book, entitled
"_Essays to do Good_," which I think was written by your father. It had
been so little regarded by a former possessor, that several leaves of it
were torn out; but the remainder gave me such a turn of thinking, as to
have an influence on my conduct through life; for I have always set a
greater value on the character of a _doer of good_, than on any other
kind of reputation; and if I have been, as you seem to think, a useful
citizen, the public owes the advantage of it to that book.
You mention your being in your 78^th year; I am in my 79^th; we are
grown old together. It is now more than 60 years since I left Boston,
but I remember well both your father and grandfather, having heard them
both in the pulpit, and seen them in their houses. The last time I saw
your father was in the beginning of 1724, when I visited him after my
first trip to Pennsylvania. He received me in his library, and on my
taking leave showed me a shorter way out of the house through a narrow
passage, which was crossed by a beam over head. We were still talking as
I withdrew, he accompanying me behind, and I turning partly towards him,
when he said hastily, "_Stoop, stoop!_" I did not understand him, till I
felt my head hit against the beam. He was a man that never missed any
occasion of giving instruction, and upon this he said to me, "_You are
young, and have the world before you_; STOOP _as you go through it, and
you will miss many hard thumps_." This advice, thus beat into my head,
has frequently been of use to me; and I often think of it, when I see
pride mortified, and misfortunes brought upon people by their carrying
their heads too high.
I long much to see again my native place, and to lay my bones there. I
left it in 1723; I visited it in 1733, 1743, 1753, and 1763. In 1773 I
was in England; in 1775 I had a sight of it, but could not enter, it
being in possession of the enemy. I did hope to have been there in 1783,
but could not obtain my dismission from this employment here; and now I
fear I shall never have that happiness. My best wishes however attend my
dear country. _Esto perpetua._ It is now blest with an excellent
constitution; may it last for ever!
This powerful monarchy continues its friendship for the United States.
It is a friendship of the utmost importance to our security, and should
be carefully cultivated. Britain has not yet well digested the loss of
its dominion over us, and has still at times some flattering hopes of
recovering it. Accidents may increase those hopes, and encourage
dangerous attempts. A breach between us and France would infallibly
bring the English again upon our backs; and yet we have some wild heads
among our countrymen, who are endeavouring to weaken that connexion! Let
us preserve our reputation by performing our engagements; our credit by
fulfilling our contracts; and friends by gratitude and kindness; for we
know not how soon we may again have occasion for all of them. With great
and sincere esteem, I have the honour to be, &c.
B. FRANKLIN.
TO BENJAMIN VAUGHAN[122]
Passy, July 26th, 1784.
DEAR FRIEND,
I have received several Letters from you lately, dated June 16, June 30,
and July 13. I thank you for the Information respecting the Proceedings
of your West India Merchants, or rather Planters. The Restraints what
ever they may be upon our Commerce with your Islands, will prejudice
their Inhabitants, I apprehend, more than us.
It is wonderful how preposterously the affairs of this world are
managed. Naturally one would imagine, that the interest of a few
individuals should give way to general interest; but individuals manage
their affairs with so much more application, industry, and address, than
the public do theirs, that general interest most commonly gives way to
particular. We assemble parliaments and councils, to have the benefit of
their collected wisdom; but we necessarily have, at the same time, the
inconvenience of their collected passions, prejudices, and private
interest. By the help of these, artful men overpower their wisdom, and
dupe its possessors; and if we may judge by the acts, _arrêts_, and
edicts, all the world over, for regulating commerce, an assembly of
great men is the greatest fool upon earth.
I have received Cook's _Voyages_, which you put Mr. Oswald in the way of
sending to me. By some Mistake the first Volume was omitted, and instead
of it a Duplicate sent of the third. If there is a good Print of Cook, I
should be glad to have it, being personally acquainted with him. I thank
you for the Pamphlets by Mr. Estlin. Every thing you send me gives me
Pleasure; to receive your Account would give me more than all.
I am told, that the little Pamphlet of _Advice to such as would remove
to America_, is reprinted in London, with my Name to it, which I would
rather had been omitted; but wish to see a Copy, when you have an
Opportunity of sending it.
Mr. H. has long continued here in Expectation of Instructions for making
a Treaty of Commerce, but they do not come, and I begin to suspect none
are intended; tho' perhaps the Delay is only occasioned by the over
great Burthen of Business at present on the Shoulders of your Ministers.
We do not press the Matter, but are content to wait till they can see
their Interest respecting America more clearly, being certain that we
can shift as well as you without a Treaty.
The Conjectures I sent you concerning the cold of last Winter still
appear to me probable. The moderate Season in Russia and Canada, do not
weaken them. I think our Frost here began about the 24th of December; in
America, the 12 of January. I thank you for recommending to me Mr.
Arbuthnot; I have had Pleasure in his Conversation. I wish much to see
the new Pieces you had in hand. I congratulate you on the Return of your
Wedding-day, and wish for your Sake and Mrs. Vaughan's, that you may see
a great many of them, all as happy as the first.
I like the young stranger very much. He seems sensible, ingenious, and
modest, has a good deal of Instruction, and makes judicious
Observations. He will probably distinguish himself advantageously. I
have not yet heard from Mr. Nairne.
Dr. Price's Pamphlet of Advice to America is a good one, and will do
Good. You ask, "what Remedy I have for the growing Luxury of my Country,
which gives so much _Offence_ to all _English travellers_ without
exception." I answer, that I think it exaggerated, and that Travellers
are no good Judges whether our Luxury is growing or diminishing. Our
People are hospitable, and have indeed too much Pride in displaying upon
their Tables before Strangers the Plenty and Variety that our Country
affords. They have the Vanity, too, of sometimes borrowing one another's
Plate to entertain more splendidly. Strangers being invited from House
to House, and meeting every Day with a Feast, imagine what they see is
the ordinary Way of living of all the Families where they dine; when
perhaps each Family lives a Week after upon the Remains of the Dinner
given. It is, I own, a Folly in our People to give _such Offence_ to
_English Travellers_. The first part of the Proverb is thereby verified,
that _Fools make Feasts_. I wish in this Case the other were as true,
_and wise Men eat them_. These Travellers might, one would think, find
some Fault they could more decently reproach us with, than that of our
excessive Civility to them as Strangers.
I have not, indeed yet thought of a Remedy for Luxury. I am not sure,
that in a great State it is capable of a Remedy. Nor that the Evil is
in itself always so great as it is represented. Suppose we include in
the Definition of Luxury all unnecessary Expence, and then let us
consider whether Laws to prevent such Expence are possible to be
executed in a great Country, and whether, if they could be executed, our
People generally would be happier, or even richer. Is not the Hope of
one day being able to purchase and enjoy Luxuries a great Spur to Labour
and Industry? May not Luxury, therefore, produce more than it consumes,
if without such a Spur People would be, as they are naturally enough
inclined to be, lazy and indolent? To this purpose I remember a
Circumstance. The Skipper of a Shallop, employed between Cape May and
Philadelphia, had done us some small Service, for which he refused Pay.
My Wife, understanding that he had a Daughter, sent her as a Present a
new-fashioned Cap. Three Years After, this Skipper being at my House
with an old Farmer of Cape May, his Passenger, he mentioned the Cap, and
how much his Daughter had been pleased with it. "But," says he, "it
proved a dear Cap to our Congregation." "How so?" "When my Daughter
appeared in it at Meeting, it was so much admired, that all the Girls
resolved to get such Caps from Philadelphia; and my Wife and I computed,
that the whole could not have cost less than a hundred Pound." "True,"
says the Farmer, "but you do not tell all the Story. I think the Cap was
nevertheless an Advantage to us, for it was the first thing that put our
Girls upon Knitting worsted Mittens for Sale at Philadelphia, that they
might have wherewithal to buy Caps and Ribbands there; and you know that
that Industry has continued, and is likely to continue and increase to a
much greater Value, and answer better Purposes." Upon the whole, I was
more reconciled to this little Piece of Luxury, since not only the Girls
were made happier by having fine Caps, but the Philadelphians by the
Supply of warm Mittens.
In our Commercial Towns upon the Seacoast, Fortunes will occasionally be
made. Some of those who grow rich will be prudent, live within Bounds,
and preserve what they have gained for their Posterity; others, fond of
showing their Wealth, will be extravagant and ruin themselves. Laws
cannot prevent this; and perhaps it is not always an evil to the
Publick. A Shilling spent idly by a Fool, may be picked up by a Wiser
Person, who knows better what to do with it. It is therefore not lost. A
vain, silly Fellow builds a fine House, furnishes it richly, lives in it
expensively, and in few years ruins himself; but the Masons, Carpenters,
Smiths, and other honest Tradesmen have been by his Employ assisted in
maintaining and raising their Families; the Farmer has been paid for his
labour, and encouraged, and the Estate is now in better Hands. In some
Cases, indeed, certain Modes of Luxury may be a publick Evil, in the
same Manner as it is a Private one. If there be a Nation, for Instance,
that exports its Beef and Linnen, to pay for its Importation of Claret
and Porter, while a great Part of its People live upon Potatoes, and
wear no Shirts, wherein does it differ from the Sot, who lets his Family
starve, and sells his Clothes to buy Drink? Our American Commerce is, I
confess, a little in this way. We sell our Victuals to your Islands for
Rum and Sugar; the substantial Necessaries of Life for Superfluities.
But we have Plenty, and live well nevertheless, tho' by being soberer,
we might be richer.
By the by, here is just issued an _arrêt_ of Council taking off all the
Duties upon the exportation of Brandies, which, it is said, will render
them cheaper in America than your Rum; in which case there is no doubt
but they will be preferr'd, and we shall be better able to bear your
Restrictions on our Commerce. There are Views here, by augmenting their
Settlements, of being able to supply the growing People of America with
the Sugar that may be wanted there. On the whole, I guess England will
get as little by the Commercial War she has begun with us, as she did by
the Military. But to return to Luxury.
The vast Quantity of Forest Lands we have yet to clear, and put in order
for Cultivation, will for a long time keep the Body of our Nation
laborious and frugal. Forming an Opinion of our People and their Manners
by what is seen among the Inhabitants of the Seaports, is judging from
an improper Sample. The People of the Trading Towns may be rich and
luxurious, while the Country possesses all the Virtues, that tend to
private Happiness and publick Prosperity. Those Towns are not much
regarded by the Country; they are hardly considered as an essential Part
of the States; and the Experience of the last War has shown, that their
being in the Possession of the Enemy did not necessarily draw on the
Subjection of the Country, which bravely continued to maintain its
Freedom and Independence notwithstanding.
It has been computed by some Political Arithmetician, that, if every Man
and Woman would work for four Hours each Day on something useful, that
Labour would produce sufficient to procure all the Necessaries and
Comforts of Life, Want and Misery would be banished out of the World,
and the rest of the 24 hours might be Leisure and Pleasure.
What occasions then so much Want and Misery? It is the Employment of Men
and Women in Works, that produce neither the Necessaries nor
Conveniences of Life, who, with those who do nothing, consume the
Necessaries raised by the Laborious. To explain this.