Page:Works of the Late Doctor Benjamin Franklin (1793).djvu/27

17 and even hatred, between perſons to whom friendſhip is indiſpenſably neceſſary. I acquired it by reading, while I lived with my father, books of religious controverſy. I have ſince remarked, that men of ſenſe ſeldom fall into this error; lawyers, fellows of univerſities, and perſons of every profeſſion educated at Edinburgh, excepted.

Collins and I fell one day into an argument relative to the education of women; namely, whether it were proper to inſtruct them in the ſciences, and whether they were competent to the ſtudy. Collins ſupported the negative, and affirmed that the taſk was beyond their capacity. I maintained the oppoſite opinion, a little perhaps for the pleaſure of diſputing. He was naturally more eloquent than I; words flowed copiouſly from his lips; and frequently I thought myſelf vanquiſhed, more by his volubility than by the force of his arguments. We ſeparated without coming to an agreement upon this point; and as we were not to ſee each other again for ſome time, I committed my thoughts to paper, made a fair copy, and ſent it him. He anſwered, and I replied. Three or four letters had been written by each, when my father chanced to light upon my papers and read them. Without entering into the merits of the cauſe, he embraced the opportunity of ſpeaking to me upon my manner of writing. He obſerved, that though I had the advantage of my adverſary in correct ſpelling and pointing, which I owed to my occupation, I was greatly his inferior in elegance of expreſſion, in arrangement, and perſpicuity. Of this he convinced me by ſeveral examples. I felt the juſtice of his remarks, became more attentive to language, and reſolved to make every effort to improve my ſtyle. Amidſt theſe