9781422277591

and a bible were the most common books in the homes of poorer Americans. Franklin quickly saw this as a chance “for conveying instruction among the common people, who bought scarcely any other books.” He filled the spaces between the sections of facts and figures in the almanacs with memorable proverbs discovered through his wide reading, which by now included books in French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Latin—all languages that he had taught himself to read. The familiar saying “Early

A portrait of Deborah Read, Franklin’s com- mon-law wife, painted around 1758. She was fifteen years old when she first saw the seven- teen-year-old Franklin shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia in 1723.

to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” was made popular by Franklin, and reflects rather well his style of living during these years. Gaining Knowledge Franklin, apart from his very brief periods of schooling, was self-taught. He was always very inquisitive, and had a tremendous appetite for knowledge, especially information from books. Even when he was preoccupied with his business, working long hours to make his printing shop the most successful in Philadelphia, he loved to speculate on the forces behind natural phenomena. He observed the behavior of air, clouds, water, and living creatures, and looked for explanations for what he saw. If his friends, or his books, could not provide an answer, then he would work it out himself. One of his great talents as a scientist was his ability to devise simple experiments with homemade apparatus, in order to satisfy his curiosity. There is no doubt that the practical skills he learned in the printing shop were put to good use in these experiments.

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