Philadelphia, June 6,
1753.
Sir,
I received your kind letter of the 2d instant, and am glad
to hear that you increase in strength; I hope you will continue mending till
you recover your former health and firmness. Let me know whether you still use
the cold bath, and what effect it has.
As to the kindness you mention, I wish it could have been of
more service to you. But if it had, the only thanks I should desire is, that
you would always be equally ready to serve any other person that may need your
assistance, and so let good offices go round; for mankind are all of a family.
For my own part, when I am employed in serving others, I do
not look upon myself as conferring favors, but as paying debts. In my travels,
and since my settlement, I have received much kindness from men, to whom I
shall never have any opportunity of making the least direct return; and
numberless mercies from God, who is infinitely above being benefited by our
services. Those kindnesses from men, I can therefore only return on their
fellow men, and I can only show my gratitude for these mercies from God, by a
readiness to help his other children, and my brethren. For I do not think that
thanks and compliments, though repeated weekly, can discharge our real
obligations to each other, and much less those to our Creator. You will see in
this my notion of good works, that I am far from expecting to merit heaven by them.
By heaven we understand a state of happiness, infinite in degree, and eternal
in duration: I can do nothing to deserve such rewards. He that for giving a
draught of water to a thirsty person, should expect to be paid with a good
plantation, would be modest in his demands, compared with those who think they
deserve heaven for the little good they do on earth. Even the mixed imperfect
pleasures we enjoy in this world, are rather from God's goodness than our
merit: how much more such happiness of heaven! For my part, I have not the
vanity to think I deserve it, the folly to expect it, nor the ambition to
desire it; but content myself in submitting to the will and disposal of that
God who made me, who has hitherto preserved and blessed me, and in whose fatherly
goodness I may well confide, that he will never make me miserable; and that
even the afflictions I may at any time suffer shall tend to my benefit.
The faith you mention has certainly its use in the world: I
do not desire to see it diminished, nor would I endeavour to lessen it in any
man. But I wish it were more productive of good works, than I have generally
seen it: I mean real good works; works of kindness, charity, mercy, and public
spirit; not holiday-keeping, sermon-reading, or hearing; performing church
ceremonies, or making long prayers, filled with flatteries and compliments,
despised even by wise men, and much less capable of pleasing the Deity. The
worship of God is a duty; the hearing and reading of sermons may be useful; but
if men rest in hearing and praying, as too many do, it is as if a tree should
value itself on being watered and putting forth leaves, though it never
produced any fruit.
Your great master thought much less of these outward
appearances and professions, than many of his modern disciples. He preferred
the doers of the word to the mere hearers; the son that seemingly
refused to obey his father, and yet performed his commands, to him that
professed his readiness but neglected the work; the heretical but charitable
Samaritan, to the uncharitable though orthodox priest, and sanctified Levite;
and those who gave food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, raiment to the
naked, entertainment to the stranger, and relief to the sick, though they never
heard of his name, he declares shall in the last day be accepted; when those
who cry Lord! Lord! who value themselves upon their faith, though great enough
to perform miracles, but have neglected good works, shall be rejected. He
professed that he came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance;
which implied his modest opinion that there were some in his time who thought
themselves so good that they need not hear even him for improvement; but
now-a-days we have scarce a little parson that does not think it the duty of
every man within his reach to sit under his petty ministrations; and that
whoever omits them, offends God. I wish to such more humility, and to you
health and happiness; being
Your friend and
servant,
B.franklin.
_______________
* One of the founders of the Methodists; born at Glocester,
1714, died in New England, 1770. See a full account of him in the Memoirs of
the Life of Dr. Franklin.
SOURCE: William Temple Franklin, The Private Correspondence
of Benjamin Franklin, Volume 1, p. 1-4
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