AS Printer and Philosopher 63 



when he needed it; and this faith he illustrated in his 

 own person, for he learnt French, when he needed it, 

 sufficiently well to enable him to exercise great influence 

 for many years at the French Court. As the fruit of his 

 education he exhibited a clear, pungent, persuasive Eng- 

 lish style both in writing and in conversation, — a style 

 which gave him great and lasting influence among men. 

 It is easy to say that such a training as Franklin's is suit- 

 able only for genius. Be that as it may, Franklin's 

 philosophy of education certainly tells in favor of liberty 

 for the individual in his choice of studies, and teaches 

 that a desire for good reading and a capacity to write 

 well are two very important fruits of any liberal culture. 

 It was all at the service of his successor Jefferson, the 

 founder of the University of Virginia. 



Franklin's studies in natural philosophy are charac- 

 terized by remarkable directness, patience, and inven- 

 tiveness, absolute candor in seeking the truth, and a 

 powerful scientific imagination. What has been usu- 

 ally considered his first discovery was the now famil- 

 iar fact that northeast storms on the Atlantic coast 

 begin to leeward. The Pennsylvania fireplace he 

 invented was an ingenious application to the warm- 

 ing and ventilating of an apartment of the laws 

 that regulate the movement of hot air. At the age 

 of forty-one he became interested in the subject of 

 electricity, and with the aid of many friends and ac- 



