FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN, the celebrated American po litician and philosopher, was born at Boston in New Eng land, in the year 1706. He was the youngest son of Josiah Franklin, a silk dyer in Northamptonshire, who removed to America in 1682, where he embraced the occupation of a soap-boiler and tallow-chandler, reared a numerous family by honest industry, and was distinguished among his towns men as a person of sound judgment, and sober piety. His other sons were put apprentices to different trades ; but Benjamin was destined for the church ; and, at the age of eight years, was sent to a grammar school. He was remov ed, however, at the end of the first year, to a school for wri ting and arithmetic ; and at ten years of age, was taken home to assist in his father's occupation. From his earliest years he discovered a passionate love of reading, especially the ac counts of voyages; and he mentions Plutarch's Lives and Dc Foe's Essay on Projects, as among the few books of general information to which lie had access.This inclination for books, and the strong aversion which he shewed to' tne occupation of his father, suggested the plan of binding him apprentice to one of his brothers, who had established a printing-house at Boston. In this situation, he had an opportunity of pro curing better books, and pursued his studies with such avidi ty, that he frequently spent the whole night in reading. He soon began to commit his own thoughts to writing; and by making summaries of papers from the Spectator, which he afterwards endeavoured to expand, from recollection, into their original form, he laboured to improve his style with out any other instructor. When about 16 years of age, lie adopted, from some work which fell into his hands, the fancy of adhering exclusively to a vegetable diet ; and pro posed to his brother, that, if lie would allow him per week one half of what was paid for his board, he would under take to maintain himself. Out of this little fund, he con trived to purchase books, as well as to pay for his subsis tence ; and, by his new mode of living, saved much time for his favourite pursuits. " When my brother and his work men left the printing-house to go to dinner, I remained be hind; and dispatching my frugal meal, which frequently consisted of a biscuit only, or a slice of bread and a bunch of raisins, or a bun from the pastry-cook's, with a glass of water, I had the rest of the time, till their return, for study; and my prOgress therein was proportioned to that clear ness of ideas and quickness of conception, which are the fruit of temperance in eating and drinking." By perusing the works of Shaftesbury and Collins, lie became a sceptic in religion, and began to adopt the Socratic method of rea soning, especially on that topic, as at once the safest to him self, and the most embarrassing to his opponents, obtaining often in this mariner victories, which, by his own confession, " neither his cause nor his arguments merited." Having sent to the newspaper, printed by his brother, several ano nymous pieces, which were very favourably received by the critics of the place, he became a little more sensible of his own attainments, and could less easily brook the se vere treatment which he frequently experienced as an ap prentice. His brother, being of a passionate temper, and his own impertinence sometimes serving as a sufficient pro vocation, he was often punished with blows. Having, be sides, given offence, by the freedom of some of his pieces in the newspapers, both to the friends of government and of religion, he determined to quit at once the service of his brother, and the place of his nativity; but, despairing of being able to gain his father's consent, he secretly sailed to New York at the age of 17 years, without the aid or appro bation of his friends, and with no more money than what the sale of a few of his books could enable him to raise.
Being disappointed in his hopes of employment in that city, he proceeded to Philadelphia, where he arrived, after a fa tiguing journey, weary and hungry, without an acquaint ance in the place, and with no greater stock of money than a Dutch dollar in his pocket. Ile soon found employment as a journeyman printer ; and his literary attainments hav ing attracted the notice of the governor, Sir William Keith, he was encouraged, by the flattering promises of his pa tron, to conceive the design of commencing business on his own account ; and at last, after a short delay, he accepted the otter of the governor to advance the necessary sum for his establishment in business, and sailed for London to pur chase the materials of his intended printing-oflice. Upon his arrival in London, lie found himself the dupe of false professions ; and discovered that his friend Sir William Keith was either unable, or had never intended to furnish him with those letters of credit and recommendation upon which he relied. He therefore employed himself as a journeyman printer in London, that he might improve his knowledge of the profession ; and never failed to recom mend himself to those whom he served, by his assiduous application to business. After spending about 13 months in this manner, and increasing considerably his stock of knowledge by means of the acquaintance which he made with several literary characters, and the opportunities of reading which he enjoyed, he engaged himself as clerk to Mr Denham, a merchant of Philadelphia, and returned with him to that city in October 1726. But, in the begin ning of the following year, he was deprived of this excel lent friend by death, and was once more obliged to resume his occupation of printer, under his first employer in Phila delphia. In a short time, however, he opened a printing office in partnership with one of his fellow printers; and, by indefatigable industry, soon acquired a 'sufficiency of funds and of friends to undertake the whole of the busi ness. About this time, he mentions in his Memoirs, that he had for several years been completely unsettled in his belief of religious principles, and even of moral obliga tions ; but having witnessed in many of his cmnpanions the demoralizing influence of such opinions, he became practi cally convinced of the importance at least of truth and pro bity in the transactions of human life ; and, though uninflu enced by any respect for revelation, he was preserved by the good effects, it may be supposed, of his pious educa tion, from gross immorality or injustice, and confirmed in a serious resolution to pursue a course of undeviating up rightness. He soon acquired the reputation of a most in dustrious and punctual tradesman, and his friends and em ployers daily increased. He instituted, in 1728, a literary society named the Junto, which subsisted during the space of 40 years, and became the foundation of the American Philosophical Society. At the same time, he published a new periodical paper, to which he drew the attention of the public by his own ability in writing ; and particularly brought himself into notice, by a pamphlet on the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency.