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Some one has called attention to his " remarkable affinity 

 for superior people." His affinity for the best of books was 

 also remarkable, and no one was ever more sensitive to their 

 influence. In the " Autobiography " he mentions the books 

 which, as a boy, he liked to read, and it is easy to trace the 

 effects of each upon his subsequent life. 



His literary style, though founded principally upon a tho- 

 rough study of the Spectator, gave evidence at a very early 

 day, of intimate acquaintance with Bunyan, Defoe, Plutarch, 

 Kabelais and Xenophon. His philanthropic tendencies were 

 shaped and strengthened by Cotton Mather's " Essays to do 

 Good," and his administrative faculties by Defoe's " Essay 

 upon Projects." Shaftesbury and Collins strongly influenced 

 his theological opinions. Locke's " Essay on the Human Un- 

 derstanding" moulded his habits of thought, as did also the 

 " Memorabilia " of Xenophon. 



Franklin has been called the founder of modern utilitarian- 

 ism, but it is unjust and ungenerous to place this estimate 

 upon his character. He knew the world in which he lived, 

 and the people for whom he wrote. His aim was to produce 

 immediate and practical results. His precepts were written 

 for the unthinking, the inexperienced and the selfish. Poor 

 Richard was a kindergarten teacher. 



In his advice in regard to the treatment of the aged, for 

 example, he reminded his readers that they would themselves 

 in their own last years need care and indulgence, but he also 

 first appealed to motives the loftiest and tenderest. Whoever 

 studies Franklin in a generous spirit, will find no lack of gen- 

 erous thought and principle. 



Like Socrates, Franklin estimated the value of every action 

 by its utility. Moral utility was to him, however, the high- 

 est test of value. He believed that the promotion of universal 



