Benjamin Franklin's Humor

197 Pages·2005·0.77 MB·English

by  Paul M. Zall

Benjamin Franklin’s
Humor
Also by Paul M. Zall
Abe Lincoln Laughing
Adams on Adams
Ben Franklin Laughing
Blue and Gray Laughing
Franklin on Franklin
Jefferson on Jefferson
Lincoln on Lincoln
Mark Twain Laughing
Washington on Washington
The Wit and Wisdom of the
Founding Fathers
BENJAMIN
FRANKLIN’S
HUMOR
BY PAUL M. ZALL
T U P K
HE NIVERSITY RESS OF ENTUCKY
Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant
from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Copyright © 2005 by The University Press of Kentucky
Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,
serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky,
Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown
College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University,
Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky
University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of
Louisville, and Western Kentucky University.
All rights reserved.
Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
09 08 07 06 05 5 4 3 2 1
Frontispiece: Portrait of Benjamin Franklin by Charles Van Loo.
Courtesy of the American Philosophical Society.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zall, Paul M.
Benjamin Franklin’s humor / by Paul M. Zall.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8131-2371-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790—Language. 2. Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-
1790—Literary style. 3. Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790—Quotations. 4.
American wit and humor. 5. Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790. 6. Statesmen—
United States—Biography. I. Title.
E302.6.F8Z35 2005
973.3’092—dc22 2005018025
This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting
the requirements of the American National Standard
for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Member of the Association of
American University Presses
For Mo Sloane
and Andy Zall

C
ONTENTS
Preface ix
Introduction: A Life in Laughter 1
1. Silence Dogood
1722–1723 11
2. Paragraphs in Philadelphia
1729–1735 27
3. Philadelphia’s Poor Richard
1733–1748 47
4. Philadelphia Comic Relief
1748–1757 65
5. Making Friends Overseas
1757–1774 85
6. Losing London
1773–1776 103
7. Seducing Paris
1776–1782 119
8. Comic Release
1783–1785 137
9. Revising Past and Future
1786–1790 153
Notes 169
Sources 175
Index 181

P
REFACE
A quarter-century ago, I compiled an edition of anecdotes by and about
Ben Franklin aimed at charting the growth of his fame as America’s en-
during voice of good-humored common sense. The present book focuses
on how a quintessentially private person used humor to craft the image
of an iconic sociable American. Besides noting that mood affected mo-
tive and mode, I have identified Franklin’s practical purpose in writing
and that his topics were timely, that his models were already familiar to
his readers, and that his basic theme was how abusing common sense
led to perpetual self-delusion.
Selecting Franklin’s humor must be subjective. Like the judge who
knows pornography when he sees it, people know humor when they
laugh at it. My favorite samples of Franklin’s humor are those sketches
that use a Socratic irony to distance him from his subject. Because his
topics were necessarily ephemeral, I have tried in every case to identify
the context. Besides identifying the immediate circumstance, model, and
intended readers, I have tried to reprint the texts as those readers saw
them. Because those sources are generally inaccessible to modern read-
ers, I have cited recent editions in my source notes. Explanatory notes
and comments are incorporated in the indented discussions linking each
selection. They derive from the resources of the Huntington Library and
the unsparing assistance of librarian David Zeidberg and his staff, Lind-
say Obregon, Claire V. Fountain, and Evie Cutting.
ix