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1、THEAUTOBIOGRAPHYOFBENJAMINFRANKLINTHEAUTOBIOGRAPHYOFBENJAMINFRANKLINWITHINTRODUCTIONANDNOTESEDITEDBYCHARLESWELIOTLLDPFCOLLIER&SONCOMPANY,NEWYORK(1909)1THEAUTOBIOGRAPHYOFBENJAMINFRANKLININTRODUCTORYNOTEBENJAMINFRANKLINwasborninMilkStreet,Boston,onJanuary6,1706.Hisfather,JosiahFra
2、nklin,wasatallowchandlerwhomarriedtwice,andofhisseventeenchildrenBenjaminwastheyoungestson.Hisschoolingendedatten,andattwelvehewasboundapprenticetohisbrotherJames,aprinter,whopublishedthe"NewEnglandCourant."Tothisjournalhebecameacontributor,andlaterwasforatimeitsnominaleditor.Bu
3、tthebrothersquarreled,andBenjaminranaway,goingfirsttoNewYork,andthencetoPhiladelphia,wherehearrivedinOctober,1723.Hesoonobtainedworkasaprinter,butafterafewmonthshewasinducedbyGovernorKeithtogotoLondon,where,findingKeith'spromisesempty,heagainworkedasacompositortillhewasbroughtba
4、cktoPhiladelphiabyamerchantnamedDenman,whogavehimapositioninhisbusiness.OnDenman'sdeathhereturnedtohisformertrade,andshortlysetupaprintinghouseofhisownfromwhichhepublished"ThePennsylvaniaGazette,"towhichhecontributedmanyessays,andwhichhemadeamediumforagitatingavarietyoflocalrefo
5、rms.In1732hebegantoissuehisfamous"PoorRichard'sAlmanac"fortheenrichmentofwhichheborrowedorcomposedthosepithyutterancesofworldlywisdomwhicharethebasisofalargepartofhispopularreputation.In1758,theyearinwhichheceaseswritingfortheAlmanac,heprintedinit"FatherAbraham'sSermon,"nowregar
6、dedasthemostfamouspieceofliteratureproducedinColonialAmerica.MeantimeFranklinwasconcerninghimselfmoreandmorewithpublicaffairs.HesetforthaschemeforanAcademy,whichwastakenuplaterandfinallydevelopedintotheUniversityofPennsylvania;andhefoundedan"AmericanPhilosophicalSociety"forthepu
7、rposeofenablingscientificmentocommunicatetheirdiscoveriestooneanother.Hehimselfhadalreadybegunhiselectricalresearches,which,withotherscientificinquiries,hecalledonintheintervalsofmoney-makingandpoliticstotheendofhislife.In1748hesoldhisbusinessinordertogetleisureforstudy,havingno
8、wacquiredcomparativewealth;andinafewyearshehadm
