Writer Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was an American politician, scientist, and a first-class diplomat and military strategist. However, this 18th-century enlightenment cultural giant confessed in a letter to a friend that his greatest wish in life was to become an author. In more than 60 years of social activities, one thing is said to have bothered him the most - the Continental Congress selected Thomas Jefferson as the main writer to draft the Declaration of Independence (Franklin was only one of the five members of the panel) - —The reason was that there was a general fear among the attendees that "Franklin would bury a joke somewhere in the Declaration of Independence" that would affect the seriousness of the document. In fact, looking at it from another perspective, this case just shows that Franklin's reputation as a humorist is universally recognized.

Franklin wrote extensively throughout his life. American scholar Robert Spiller spoke highly of Franklin's literary creations (including letters and essays). He believed: "In Franklin's life experience, his works complemented his career." - Franklin's short story on science The booklet was often read not only at home but also at intellectual gatherings in London and Paris. Franklin's satire on Britain's stupid colonial policy is full of laughter, anger, and witty remarks, which can be compared with the political satirical poems of Swift or Voltaire. Franklin's writings not only covered a wide range of subjects, but also varied in style - the letters to Joseph Priestley, Lord Kames and David Hartley were solemn and serious, but also the charming short stories to young ladies on both sides of the Atlantic. The note is full of advice that is frivolous but within the rules. In his later years, the relaxed and joyful side of Franklin's life may be the most attractive - his epistolary prose "Bagatler", "Conversation between Franklin and Gut", "Whistle", etc. are hard to put down - "In these epistolary prose The irony in the prose is sublimated into fantasy, and the comic love for life becomes a source of profound wisdom." Unfortunately, Franklin's humor often cannot be spread to the world because of the sanctimony of those who compile and select textbooks.

Although Franklin's writing is not known for its literary quality, his writing style is unpretentious and full of humor, which can be said to be unique among American writers in the 18th century. Among his representative works, Benjamin Franklin's introduction, in addition to "Autobiography" with the purpose of educating future generations of young people, there is also "Poor Richard's Almanack" which has great influence. "Autobiography" describes Franklin's family background, self-study and work during his youth, his main experiences and activities before 1757, and his achievements in politics, economy, and science. The whole book reflects the author's determination to fight for the cause of progress in self-study, entrepreneurship, research, struggle, etc., and is considered a "splendid example of self-education". It has a profound impact on the American people's outlook on life, morality, and career. Had a profound impact. Franklin inspired the ethics of Americans in the 18th century and helped them move toward democracy. His ethical and moral thoughts, according to Max Weber, not only influenced Americans, but also influenced the entire Europe and the world. Therefore, British politician William Pitt commented: "Franklin not only belongs to the United States, he belongs to the whole world."

With the same starting point as "Autobiography", the compilation of "Poor Richard's Almanac" It is also for the purpose of educating the public, and it is more humorous. “I tried to make it entertaining as well as instructive,” he later recalled, “so I filled in the little blank spaces left between the noteworthy days on the calendar with proverbs, chiefly about the Those exhortations to industry and frugality that enable men to acquire wealth and maintain virtue make it as difficult for poor people to act honestly as it is to stand up an empty bag.

"These aphorisms, such as "To talk too much will lead to mistakes"; "Enjoyment consumes the mind"; "Don't do things you don't understand"; "Envy is the daughter of ignorance"; "A dog cannot catch two rabbits"; "Humility gives "A great man brings double fame"; "Fish and guests will turn stinky on the third day"; "A small leak can sink a big ship" and "To persuade others, it is better to talk about benefits than to reason"; "He is right You have to be wary of him if you praise him every time." "Be slow to find friends, and even slower to change friends." "Poverty, poetry, and new titles can make people crazy." "If you want a lot, a lot will come to you. "It becomes very few"; "Ants don't preach, they just move forward"; "Diligence can pay off debts, but despair will only make debts pile up"; "Keep your eyes open before marriage, half-close your eyes after marriage", etc. Most of them are concise and concise. The humor and humor can be said to condense the life philosophy of the American immigrant society, which not only provides enough material for family reading, but also provides people with life guidance. In such writings, Franklin made no secret of his pragmatic writing views. , he said: "If the author writes for a certain type of readers, the form and method he uses must adapt to the special tastes of these readers." During the Revolutionary War, Franklin also wrote some witty aphorisms and fierceness. An introduction to Benjamin Franklin's satirical essays, such as "The Law of Making a Great Empire Small" and "The Decrees of the Prussian Emperor", etc. These essays use literary techniques such as Swift's irony and Defoe's hyperbole to reveal the British waging war. It is worth mentioning that Franklin developed "the habit of expressing himself in humble words" in his creation. This kind of self-deprecating character is one of the most popular images in the history of American humor. A barrier of self-protection, it also won the general recognition of American readers with low literacy levels at that time. John Adams, who served as minister to France together with Franklin, concluded: "Franklin is good at irony and sarcasm. He likes Horace and John Adams. Swift or Rabelais. He had a gift for irony, allegory, and allegory, and he used excellent skills to promote the development of moral and practical truths. "--In fact, "The Sale of Mercenaries", regarded as Franklin's satirical masterpiece, best embodies this technique. The book describes a greedy German count who heard that the troops he sent to North America were defeated at the Battle of Trenton. He is actually ecstatic when he encounters a massacre - because it means he is about to get another big deal. Here, Franklin combines the ironic strategy of Swift's "A Little Proposal" with the extreme exaggeration of the American tall tale. Combined, the humor in it has strong American elements and American characteristics (later writers such as Mark Twain also inherited this literary tradition)

As a writer, Franklin's writing habit is everything. There must be written records. He wrote a paper on his outstanding achievements in electrical research and submitted it to the Royal Society, which made the always arrogant British people admire the scientific achievements of the colonies. He invented new things such as new stoves, lightning rods, and bifocal glasses. , he would also take the trouble to write popular science articles to introduce its functions. The glass piano he invented in 1763 was a set of glass vessels placed in a horizontal spindle. The spindle was filled with water through the player's foot pedal. The sound is produced by the delicate friction of fingers. This instrument called the "Harmony" is the prototype of the modern piano. It was very popular in Europe. It is said that even French Queen Antoinette was fascinated by it. Franklin promoted himself. Advertising soft articles also add a lot of color to it.

In addition to scientific writings, Franklin also made many inventions in the field of social sciences. For example, he was the first to propose the theory of population. As we all know, Thomas Malthus's famous prediction was food growth. The "arithmetical" speed of the population cannot keep up with the "geometric" growth of the population; however, few people know that this theory is actually deeply influenced by Franklin. Franklin discovered that the United States through research on the population growth of North America in the 1630s and 1740s. His population growth rate was the fastest on the planet at that time - doubling every 20 years - and would surpass that of Britain within a century; he also emphasized that population growth would ultimately depend on food supply.

Franklin published his research results anonymously in Boston and soon reprinted them in England. Adam Smith and Malthus were very interested in his research results and incorporated them into their respective writings.

Likewise, Franklin's innovations and inventions in economic theory and practice are often overlooked. In 1723, Pennsylvania issued paper money for the first time. In 1726, some of the banknotes were withdrawn and there was a shortage of money in the market. The currency issue became a very acute issue in economic life at that time. Franklin favored issuing more paper money and was convinced that it would be beneficial. He wrote in his "Autobiography": "Our debate made me very interested in this topic, and I wrote and published an anonymous pamphlet called "The Nature and Necessity of Paper Money." "Franklin pointed out in the book that a country with free trade must have a balanced quantity of currency. More or less than this amount is of no benefit to trade. He then went a step further and explored whether issuing large amounts of additional paper money would significantly reduce its value. To answer this question, he said: "We must first establish a correct concept of the nature and value of money in general" - it was in this part that he elaborated on the labor theory of value. After the publication of this pamphlet, it was welcomed by ordinary people, but was opposed by the wealthy. Finally, Parliament overwhelmingly passed the bill to issue additional banknotes.

Not only that, Franklin also tried to historically demonstrate his theory from the production activities of the material materials necessary for human life in his article "Some Questions Remaining to be Study Concerning National Wealth" published in 1769. The labor theory of value analyzes the composition of value and explains the source of profit. Among them, he especially advocated hard work to get rich - he advocated that "in any case, all means should be used to encourage and protect any form of diligence; all possible methods should be used to eradicate laziness." Because idleness is a kind of "uncompensated consumption". He advocated that housewives should make use of their spare time after housework. The sum of a year's fragmented time is very considerable for a single family, and correspondingly for the entire country. His motto is: "Losing time is losing livelihood, and therefore losing wealth." This is also the earliest origin of the motto "Time is money." In this regard, Marx once commented: "One of the earliest economists, the famous Franklin, following William Petty, saw the essence of value and almost saw that value is created by abstract labor. He said:' Since trade is nothing more than the exchange of one kind of labor for another kind of labor, it is most correct to estimate all values ??by labor." Marx greatly appreciated Franklin's profound insights into value, calling it "a embryonic state." Perspectives on the Duality of Labor”. Marx himself quoted and commented on it in Capital as a very original point of view.

In addition, Franklin's major works also include "Instructions for Immigrants to America" ??and "Review of North American Savages". He used the book "Instructions for Immigrants to America" ??to introduce the real situation in the United States to the whole of Europe, and to refute the Europeans' erroneous views of arrogance. "Those are all wild imaginations...The reality is that although few people in that country are as poor as the poor in Europe, there are also very few people who are called rich in Europe...America is a land of labor. , No one can get something for nothing there.” In addition, in response to the Europeans’ prejudice against the Indians, he wrote the satirical “Comments on the Savages of North America”: “We call them savages because their behavior is similar to ours. No, we think ours is civilized and perfect; they think theirs is the same... There is no violence, no prisons, no officials to force obedience or punishment, Indian women till the land, prepare the food, care for and raise the children, Preserve and teach to future generations the remembered ways of conducting public affairs. The activities of these men and women are based on nature... Compared with them, our laborious lifestyle is regarded by them as mean and inferior. ; The learning we ourselves value, they regard as frivolous and useless.

"Finally, he said: "If we examine the lifestyles of different peoples impartially, we will find that no nation is so rough that there is no politeness and no rules, and no nation is so polite that there is no trace of roughness. David Hume, a British philosopher who was contemporary with Franklin, claimed that Franklin was the "greatest man of letters" at that time because his compassionate feelings and noble humanity transcended race, color and region.

Regarding Franklin’s creative career, the famous American critic Abrams pointed out incisively: “Among all the men of letters of our time, Benjamin Franklin is second to none in terms of elegance, philosophical precision and depth of observation. Every subject he discusses appears in his writing in a more novel and attractive way than others. Politics, religion, science, these have always been boring subjects, but he can educate and entertain them through moral fables and legends, with elegant taste. "At the same time, as a representative figure of American pragmatist philosophy, Franklin was also the first writer to publicly defend "market-oriented writing" (he believed that writing was neither a sermon-like moral preaching nor a tool of public opinion in revolution) - -In his view, writing should not only express oneself, but also be aimed at the public, so as to win market recognition. American scholar Jackson Wilson wrote in his recent book "Rhetoric: American Writers and the Literary Market, from Franklin to Emily Dickinson". In the book, Franklin is defined as the first "author by profession" in the strict sense before and after the American Revolution.