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Benjamin Franklin's Humor PDF

197 Pages·2005·0.77 MB·English
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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

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Humor is sometimes a serious business, especially the humor of Benjamin Franklin, a master at revealing the human condition through comedy. For the country’s bicentennial, Reader’s Digest named Franklin "Man of the Year" for embodying the characteristics we admire most about ourselves as America
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