Another quote, then I promise I'm done for today.
...and upon other Occasions I was generally a Leader among the Boys, and sometimes led them into Scrapes, of which I will mention one Instance, as it shows an early projecting public Spirit, tho’not then justly conducted. There was a Salt Marsh that bounded part of the Mill Pond, on the Edge of which at Highwater, we us’d to stand to fish for Minews. By much Trampling, we had made it a mere Quagmire. My Proposal was to build a Wharf there fit for us to stand upon, and I show’d my Comrades a large Heap of Stones which were intended for a new House near the Marsh, and which would very well suit our Purpose. Accordingly in the Evening when the Workmen were gone, I assembled a Number of my Playfellows, and working with them diligently like so many Emmets, sometimes two or three to a Stone, we brought them all away and built our little Wharf. The next Morning the Workmen were surpris’d at Missing the Stones; which were found in our Wharf; Inquiry was made after the Removers; we were discovered & complain’d of; several of us were corrected by our Fathers; and tho’ I pleaded the Usefulness of the Work, mine convinc’d me that nothing was useful which was not honest.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography
I've just started reading the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. I'm sure it will be a wonderful source of new quotes. Here, the first two of what will probably be many.
In the introduction, he talks about how God has blessed him greatly. He's "...gone so far through life with a consderable share of felicity..."
That Felicity, when I reflected on it, has induc’d me sometimes to say, that were it offer’d to my Choice, I should have no Objection to a Repetition of the same Life from its Beginning, only asking the Advantages Authors have in a second Edition to correct some Faults of the first. So would I if I might, besides correcting the Faults, change some sinister Accidents & Events of it for others more favourable, but tho’ this were deny’d, I should still accept the Offer.
In section 4, he relates a story passed down from his grandfather's day about the perils of being Protestant in a Catholic country:
This obscure Family of ours was early in the Reformation, and continu’d Protestants thro’ the Reign of Queen Mary, when they were sometimes in Danger of Trouble on Account of their Zeal against Popery. They had got an English Bible, & to conceal & secure it, it was fastened open with Tapes under & within the Frame of a Joint Stool. When my Great Great Grandfather read in it to his Family, he turn’d up the Joint Stool upon his Knees, turning over the Leaves then under the Tapes. One of the Children stood at the Door to give Notice if he saw the Apparitor coming, who was an Officer of the Spiritual Court. In that Case the Stool was turn’d down again upon its feet, when the Bible remain’d conceal’d under it as before.
There's little question that I will enjoy reading the rest of his work. Stay tuned for more quotes.
In the introduction, he talks about how God has blessed him greatly. He's "...gone so far through life with a consderable share of felicity..."
That Felicity, when I reflected on it, has induc’d me sometimes to say, that were it offer’d to my Choice, I should have no Objection to a Repetition of the same Life from its Beginning, only asking the Advantages Authors have in a second Edition to correct some Faults of the first. So would I if I might, besides correcting the Faults, change some sinister Accidents & Events of it for others more favourable, but tho’ this were deny’d, I should still accept the Offer.
In section 4, he relates a story passed down from his grandfather's day about the perils of being Protestant in a Catholic country:
This obscure Family of ours was early in the Reformation, and continu’d Protestants thro’ the Reign of Queen Mary, when they were sometimes in Danger of Trouble on Account of their Zeal against Popery. They had got an English Bible, & to conceal & secure it, it was fastened open with Tapes under & within the Frame of a Joint Stool. When my Great Great Grandfather read in it to his Family, he turn’d up the Joint Stool upon his Knees, turning over the Leaves then under the Tapes. One of the Children stood at the Door to give Notice if he saw the Apparitor coming, who was an Officer of the Spiritual Court. In that Case the Stool was turn’d down again upon its feet, when the Bible remain’d conceal’d under it as before.
There's little question that I will enjoy reading the rest of his work. Stay tuned for more quotes.
More on the Gravel road
I was in SL last night, and Astrophysicist McCallister (the leader of the Official Gravel HQ in SL) contacted me with urgent business. He said he hadn't paid me for the yard signs, and they were in fact using them, so he wanted to pay me. I allowed as how I'd price them using the same formula as I did for the t-shirts (i.e. X times the retail price), and he promptly paid me that exact amount. He said he'd spent the entire day doing damage control. After I read the post he referred me to, I understood why he was so anxious to pay me and why his day was so bad. You can read about it here:
http://secondchoices.wordpress.com/2007/05/21/has-mike-gravel-sold-out/
Apparently everything's OK with me doing work for him, since I've charged him (and he's paid) my "usual and customary" fee. It doesn't hurt that I'm a citizen of these United States. It all gets very complicated, but because this is an official presence in SL, it falls under the Federal Election laws, and they just aren't quite up-to-date on things like SL. Astro is breaking new ground, and I'm a part of it in my own little way. Who knew I'd be part of something so important?
http://secondchoices.wordpress.com/2007/05/21/has-mike-gravel-sold-out/
Apparently everything's OK with me doing work for him, since I've charged him (and he's paid) my "usual and customary" fee. It doesn't hurt that I'm a citizen of these United States. It all gets very complicated, but because this is an official presence in SL, it falls under the Federal Election laws, and they just aren't quite up-to-date on things like SL. Astro is breaking new ground, and I'm a part of it in my own little way. Who knew I'd be part of something so important?
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