182 
THE SCIENTIST. 
Franklin. 
By D. M. Todd. 
The life of Benjamin Franklin is 
one of marked peculiarities and great 
varieties. One very striking feature 
of his biography, and perhaps the 
most striking, is the many different 
channels of usefulness and genius 
which he has followed up w^ith such 
remarkable success in each channel. 
His life is treated in many different 
ways, by many diiferent authors, 
from many different standpoints, so 
that we can barely glance at his vast 
achievements. 
We see a great statesman in Dan- 
iel Webster, a great philanthropist in 
David Livingstone, a great electri- 
cian in Edison, and a great philoso- 
pher in Socrates; but in Franklin we 
bave all these attributes equally dis- 
tinguished in one man. 
He is well formed in stature and 
compact, with a cheerful and benign 
countenance, a man temperate in all 
things, one not addicted to any 
vicious habits, simple and sincere in 
his language, a great reader, orderly, 
patriotic and religious. He is very 
industrious and enterprising, and 
one of his mottoes is, Spend no 
time in idleness; make every moment 
useful." 
His public life embraces live dis- 
tinct, important and remarkable 
themes, all of which are uniquely 
characterized and foi'cibly demon- 
strated. He is the electrician, the 
moralist, the i)hilanthropist, the 
philosopher and the politician. 
As an electrician he ranks as one 
of the foremost in advancing the 
elementary ideas and principles of 
that great science which now governs 
the motive and heat power of many 
of our time and money saving inven- 
tions. He was the man who con- 
ceived the idea that lightning was 
electricity, and discovered the differ- 
ence between positive and negative 
electricity, and was the inventor of 
the lightning rod, a very useful in- 
strument to modern civilization. 
As a moralist he not only leaves 
his moral and proverbial sayings, 
but leaves us a wholesome example 
for imitation and emulation, and his 
teachings will live and grow in the 
hearts and minds of the American 
people. While young he conceived 
the idea of reaching moral perfec- 
tion and conscientiously labored to 
that end— a very high and beautiful 
standard for one so young to cherish. 
In this respect he becomes a second 
Tupper, leading the human race step 
l)y step to a higher level and direct- 
ing their minds to the "One Model 
Figure" of perfect humanity. 
As a philosopher he has outclassed 
all other attainments by his incom- 
parable success in this particular. 
W^e all not only respect wisdom, 
but admire it, and who is there that 
w^ill not say Franklin was a model 
man in this respect. 
In Poor llicliariVs Almanac his 
])ithy remarks, proverbial and philo- 
sophical sayings, are morally, socially 
and intellectually elevating and es- 
pecially adapted to a practical busi- 
