THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Ben Franklin's epitaph
BENJAMIN Franklin was a man of parts.
To him is attributed the invention of the lightning conductor, something of immeasurable benefit to mankind. But as a politician, rather than an inventor, this son of Boston , Massachusetts, also contributed much that was of lasting benefit to the land of his birth.
Glorying in being a printer, he was among the gifted men who framed the American Declaration of Independence, as well as the Constitution of the new country.
In addition, he represented the American colonies, first at the Court of St. James in London, and then in Pre- Revolutionary France.
Indeed, he filled the latter role with such success that when Thomas Jefferson took up the post, a French politician greeted him with the remark, "Ah, you are the man who replaces Franklin." In response, Jefferson paid a fulsome tribute, "I succeed Franklin. No one could replace him."
Any dictionary of quotations will furnish the reader with a clutch of Franklin's pithy statements. The venerable statesman, concerned for his country's independence, loathed war. He stated, "There never was a good war, or a bad peace."
Facing a war with England, he appealed for unity among the colonies in a phrase that has lad a long life and many applications: "We must indeed all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately"
He also knew the value of time: "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of". It was Franklin who gave us that thoroughly modern remark, "Remember that time is money".
Another of his remarks which have passed into common parlance is the observation that "in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes". He knew well the subtlety of the human mind (what Luther called the 'Harlot reason', willing to sell herself to any cause), by observing, "It is wonderful to be a rational creature, for then one can find reasons to justify any course one has a mind to."
For me, Benjamin Franklin comes to mind each Easter time, not because he was a orthodox in his views or devout in his practices. In an epitaph he prepared for himself, which only a printer could have thought of, he captures the essence of the Christian hope of Resurrection.
It read: "The body of Benjamin Franklin , printer, Like the cover of an old book, its contents worn out, and stript of its lettering and gilding) Lies her, food for worms! Yet the work itself shall not be lost, for it will, as he believed, appear once more, in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by its author".
Outside the Bible, there can scarcely be a better statement of what Easter means to the Christian.
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Weather for Coleraine
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Heavy rain
Temperature: 5 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 32 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 9 C to 11 C
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