given to us. In fact, if you wish to instruct others, a positive dogmatical manner in advancing your sentiments, may occasion opposition, and prevent a candid attention. If you desire instruction and improvement from others, you should not at the same time express yourself fixed in your present opinions: modest and sensible men, who do not love disputation, will leave you undisturbed in the possession of your errors. In adopting such a manner you can seldom expect to please your hearers, or obtain the concurrence you desire. Pope judiciously observes, "Men must be taught, as if you taught them not, And things unknown propos'd as things forgot." He also recommends it to us, "To speak, though sure, with seeming diffidence." And he might have joined with this line, that which he has coupled with another, I think, less properly, "For want of modesty is want of sense." If you ask why less properly, I must repeat the lines, "Immodest words admit of no defence, For want of modesty is want of sense." Now, is not the want of sense (where a man is so unfortunate as to want it) some apology for his want of modesty? and would not the lines stand more justly thus? "Immodest words admit but this defence, This, however, I should submit to better judg ments. My brother had in 1720 or 21 begun to print a newspaper. It was the second that appeared in America, and was called the New England Courant. The only one before it was the Boston News Letter. I remember his being dissuaded by some of his friends from the undertaking, as not likely to succeed, one newspaper being in their judgment enough for America. At this time, 1771, there are not less than five and twenty. He went on, however, with the undertaking; I was employed to carry the papers to the customers, after having worked in composing the types, and printing off the sheets. He had some ingenious men among his friends, who amused themselves by writing little pieces for this paper, which gained it credit, and made it more in demand, and these gentlemen often visited us. Hearing their conversations, and their accounts of the approbation their papers were received with, I was excited to try my hand among them. But being still a boy, and suspecting that my brother would object to printing any thing of mine in his paper, if he knew it to be mine, I contrived to disguise my hand, and writing an anonymous paper, I put it at night under the door of the printing-house. It was found in the morning, and communicated to his writing friends when they called in as usual. They read it, commented on it in my hearing, and I had the exquisite plea sure of finding it met with their approbation, and that in their different guesses at the author, none were named but men of some character among us, for learning and ingenuity. I suppose, that I was rather lucky in my judges, and that they were not really so very good as I then believed them to be. Encouraged however by this attempt, I wrote and sent in the same way to the press several other pieces, that were equally approved, and I kept my secret till all my fund of sense for such performances was exhausted, and then discovered it, when I began to be considered a little more by my brother's acquaintance. However that did not quite please him, as he thought it tended to make me too vain. This might be one occasion of the differences we began to have about this time. Though a brother, he considered himself as my master, and me as his apprentice, and accordingly expected the same services from me as he would from another, while I thought he degraded me too much in some he required of me, who from a brother expected more indulgence. Our disputes were often brought before our father, and I fancy I was either generally in the right, or else a better pleader, because the judgment was generally in my favor. But my brother was passionate, and had often beaten me, which I took extremely amiss: and, thinking my apprenticeship very tedious, I was continually wishing for some opportu nity of shortening it, which at length offered in a manner unexpected. Perhaps this harsh and tyrannical treatment of me, might be a means of impressing me with the aversion to arbitrary power, that has stuck to me through my whole life. One of the pieces in our newspaper on some political point, which I have now forgotten, gave offence to the assembly. He was taken up, censured, and imprisoned for a month by the speaker's warrant, I suppose because he would not discover the author. I too was taken up and examined before the council; but, though I did not give them any satisfaction, they contented themselves with admonishing me, and dismissed me, considering me perhaps as an apprentice, who was bound to keep his master's secrets. During my brother's confinement, which I resented a good deal, notwithstanding our private differences, I had the management of the paper; and I made bold to give our rulers some rubs in it, which my brother took very kindly, while others began to consider me in an unfavorable light, as a youth that had a turn for libelling and satire. My brother's discharge was accompanied with an order (and a very odd one) that "James Franklin should no longer print the newspaper, called The New England Courant." On a consultation held in our printing-office amongst his friends, what he should do in this conjuncture, it was proposed to elude the order, by changing the name of the paper. But my brother seeing inconveniences in this, came to a conclusion, as a better way, to let the paper in future be printed in the name of Benjamin Franklin: and in order to avoid the censure of the assembly, that might fall on him, as still printing it by his apprentice, he contrived and consented that my old indenture should be returned to me with a discharge on the back of it, to shew in case of necessity; and in order to secure to him the benefit of my service, I should sign new indentures for the remainder of my time, which were to be kept private. A very flimsy scheme it was: however it was immediately executed, and the paper was printed accordingly, under my name, for several months. At length, a fresh difference arising between my brother and me, I took upon me to assert my freedom; presuming that he would not venture to produce the new indentures. It was not fair in me to take this advantage, and this I therefore reckon one of the first errata of my life: but the unfairness of it weighed little with me, when under the impressions of resentment for the blows his passion too often urged him to bestow upon me. Though he was otherwise not an ill-natured man: perhaps I was too saucy and provoking. When he found I would leave him, he took care to prevent my getting employment in any other printing-house of the town, by going round and speaking to every master, who accordingly refused to give me work. I then thought of going to New York, as the nearest place where there was a print |