Page:Cambridge Modern History Volume 7.djvu/764

 732 Benjamin Franklin. [1700- own integrity. They held certain beliefs ; they conducted themselves in certain ways ; and they were certainly themselves. It seemed indis- putably to follow that their beliefs and their conduct must be consistent. Emerson was more American than he knew when he proclaimed that " a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Among the Americans of the eighteenth century, the most eminent was probably Franklin ; and in many ways his character was typical both of his country and of his time. As the isolation of Edwards had indicated, theology was no longer a dominant force in the American colonies. The growth of the colonies inevitably forced questions of this world on the attention of the people. This was true not only in matters of politics and law, but still more in the conduct of private affairs and the business of daily life. Of the various proofs of Franklin^s common- sense which are furnished by the reading of his letters and other works, none makes a more deep and lasting impression than the cool decision with which he recognised this state of affairs. He was far removed from atheism ; on the other hand, he could see no reason for troubling himself about the problems of theology. He found himself placed in a world where he was free to win his honest way from obscurity to a distinction which gives colour to the contention that on the whole he was the most successful man of his century ; the affairs of this world, the questions which inevitably arose concerning the relations of men with one another and with physical nature, seemed to him enough for any human being. If a man did his best, intellectually and morally, he need have no fear of God ; for the angels can do no more. And Franklin did his best as printer, as shopkeeper, as practical moralist, as scientific observer, as inventor, citizen, diplomatist, statesman. It was his study of electricity which won him most recognition as a man of science. Yet, on the whole, what seems chiefly to have interested him in this respect was his invention of the lightning-rod, so long believed to be a protection against the fiercest danger which can fall from the skies. His other scientific studies were apt, in the same way, to result in practical inventions, made rather for the benefit of humanity than from any consideration of mere personal advantage. The Franklin stove an iron fireplace advanced a few inches in front of the old gaping chimneys added more to the comfort of American life than words can tell ; for more than half the heat which had escaped up the wide chimney-throat was saved to do service. In science, as in public life, this Franklin, calmly facing whatever question presented itself, tried to solve it or to measure it in the most broadly sensible way. Philosopher as he was, he troubled himself so little about ideals and abstractions that, paradoxically enough, his Americanism seems a little short of that which should most broadly have characterised his country. On the practical side he left nothing to be desired ; he was constantly willing and eager to adapt himself, and to urge that others should adapt themselves, to the conditions of life by