CHARACTER OF FRANKLIN. be extended to that perfection of common sense and intimate knowledge of mankind which almost entitled his sagacity to the EW men ever pos- name of prescience, and made "Franklin's sessed such opportu- forebodings" proverbially ominous among nities or talents for those who knew him. His pre-eminence contributing to the appears to have resulted from the habitual welfare of mankind; cultivation of a mind originally shrewd and fewer still have used observant, and gifted with singular powers them to better pur- of energy and self-control. There was a pose and it is pleas-business-like alacrity about him, with a ant to know, on his discretion and integrity which conciliated own authority, that such extensive ser- the respect even of his warmest political vices were rendered without any sacrifice foes; a manly straight-forwardness before of his happiness. In his later correspond- which no pretension could stand unreence he frequently alludes with compla- buked; and a cool tenacity of temper and cency to a favorite sentiment which he has purpose which never forsook him under also introduced into his "Memoirs"-that the most discouraging circumstances, and "he would willingly live over again the was no doubt exceedingly provoking to his same course of life, even though not al- opponents. Indeed, his sturdiness, howlowed the privilege of an author, to cor- ever useful to his country in time of need, fect in a second edition the faults of the was perhaps carried rather to excess; his first." enemies called it obstinacy, and accused him of being morose and sullen. No better refutation of such a charge can be wished for than the testimony borne to his His remarkable success in life and in the discharge of his public functions is not to be ascribed to genius, unless the term No. II.-4 disposition by Priestley, a man whom Franklin was justly proud to call his friend. In private life he was most estimable; two of his most favorite maxims were, never to exalt himself by lowering others, and in society to enjoy and con ciple that no one is suffered to predominate to the disparagement of the rest. tribute to all innocent amusements without PRIDE, OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE. reserve his friendships were consequently lasting, and chosen at will from among the most amiable as well as the most distinguished of both sexes, wherever his residence happened to be fixed. HE French have two words to express pride -la fierté, and l'orgueil. A lady being asked to define the difference, replied very promptly and happily that the first was "de His chief claims to philosophical distinction are his experiments and discoveries in electricity; but he has left essays upon various other matters of interest and practical utility-an end of which he nev-fensive" and the second "offensive pride." er lost sight. Among these are remarks on ship-building and lighthouses; on the temperature of the sea at different latitudes and depths, and the phenomena of what is called the Gulf-stream of the Atlantic; on the effect of oil poured upon rough water, and other subjects connected with practical navigation; and on the proper construction of lamps, chimneys, and stoves. His suggestions on these subjects are very valuable. His other writings are numerous they relate chiefly to politics, or the inculcation of the rules of prudence and morality. Many of them are light and even playful; they are all instructive, and written in an excellent and simple style; but they are not entirely free from the imputation of trifling upon serious subjects. The most valuable of them is probably his autobiography, which is unfortunately but a fragment. As a speaker, he was neither copious nor eloquent; there was even a degree of hesitation and embarrassment in his delivery. Yet, as he seldom rose without having something important to say, and always spoke to the purpose, he commanded the attention of his hearers, and generally succeeded in his object. His religious principles, when disengaged from the skepticism of his youth, appear to have been sincere, and unusually free from sectarian animosity. Upon the whole, his long and useful life forms an instructive example of the force which arises from the harmonious combination of strong faculties and feelings when so controlled by sense and prin The distinction is important. Of the first, it is impossible to have too much; of the second, it is equally impossible to have too little. Defensive pride is that proper self-respect which will not allow its possessor to commit an unworthy, a base, or a mean action. It is that which urges us to distinguish ourselves above the crowd of the idle, the ignorant, the dilatory, and the variable, by our industry, our wisdom, our perseverance, and our constancy; and which prompts us to win the applause of our fellows by our goodness, and consequent greatness. Defensive pride is the shield with which we keep off the assaults of those who, openly or insidiously, would bring us down to a lower moral level than our judgment and our conscience inform us we ought to hold: it is the amulet with which we preserve ourselves from the machinations of evil, and the perfume by aid of which we may walk amid the haunts of vice without contamination. Without a due proportion of pride like this, in some one of its various developments, no man yet has ever arrived at distinction, or left behind him a name which the world holds in honor. It is the nurse of emulation and ambition, and becomes, when properly or opportunely excited, the spur to urge the timid or the sluggish to do the good which another has left undone-the steel upon some flinty nature, eliciting heat and light which might otherwise have remained la tent for ever. Pride of this kind sits as well upon the humblest as upon the loftiest. It is the pride of a man independent of his rank, his wealth, or his station; the PRIDE-OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE. pride of the gold, and not of the stamp upon it. Pride of this kind has found its most poetical and at the same time its best and truest utterance in the song of Robert Burns, "A man's a man for a' that." Every one who feels his heart glow at the sentiments expressed in that glorious lyric, feels defensive pride; and if he continues to feel it, and makes it the guide of his life, he becomes-though he toil all day, and far into the night, for hard and scanty bread; though he "wear hodden gray,' and dwell in a hut scarcely sheltered from the winds and rains of heaven-an ornament to his kind, and a blessing to himself. 59 has hitherto rivalled him. If he give splendid entertainments, it is that he may make the earls or the barons who condescend, or the poor dependents who fawn and cringe, to appear at them, envious of the wealth which their own can never equal. If he give charity, it is that it may be blazoned abroad; for he will refuse a dollar to a deserving object if the donation is to remain secret, when he would give a hundred to a less deserving one if "the fact could be trumpeted in the newspapers. Such a man pays for the publication of his charitable deeds; and not only does not hide from his left hand what his right hand does, but fees the common crier of the streets to promulgate it with embellishments. Such a man is not proud of being charitable, but of being thought so-not thankful for wealth, because it enables him to do good, but proud of it because it gives him the means of attracting more worldly attention than better men, and enables him to ride and drink wine when superior merit walks and can only afford small beer. Offensive pride, on the other hand, shows the little mind, as defensive pride exhibits the great one. It is the pride of externals, as defensive pride is that of internals; the pride of the adventitious circumstances in which a man is placed, and not of the qualities of the man himself. Offensive pride assumes various forms, and is in all of them equally a proof of ignorance, presumption, and heartlessness. To the man of sense, it is always ridiculous; and wherever it does not excite the anger, it is sure to excite the contempt of the well-minded. When we see a man proud of his high lineage, and expecting that we shall do homage to him for the virtues of his ancestors, although he have none of his own, we despise him all the more for the highness of his name; his pride and his lordly airs gall us, if we are of stern nature; and provoke us to laughter, if we are of the number of those who can find amusement in the contemplation of human folly proud men of this class have been happily compared to turnips and potatoes-all the best part of them is under ground. Equally, if not more offensive, is the pride of wealth. This pride is the parent of every meanness. We may be quite sure, when we see a man proud of his money, that he has gained it in a dirty manner, and that he makes really, though not perhaps visibly to all men's eyes, a dirty use of it. If he have a large house, it is not for use, but for ostentation. If he have fine carriages, valuable horses, and footmen in gay liveries, it is that he may excite more attention from the frivolous and unthinking, than some one else who There is also a pride of beauty, a pride of strength, a pride of skill, and a pride of talent, which all become offensive if they are loudly expressed, and are unsupported by other qualities which it is the province of a defensive pride to foster in the mind. When a woman is proud of her beauty, and has neither wit, nor sense, nor good nature, nor any charm of mind that will endure when beauty fades, her pride is offensive. When a man vaunts his skill in any particular pursuit-a skill which may be undoubted-and thrusts it inopportunely and pertinaciously forward, his pride is offensive: and when a man who has gained some credit for talent is always fearful that he will lose it, unless he daily and hourly impresses the recollection of it upon those with whom he may be brought in contact, his pride is offensive, and is that of a little talent only, and not of a great one. Combined, on the contrary, with defensive, and not with offensive pride, beauty, strength, skill, and talent, become enhanced in our eyes. then knows and acts upon the knowledge that goodness will lend her additional charms; physical strength learns not to be proud merely of that which it has in Beauty |