Benjamin Franklin captured so many roles during his lifetime, and it’s amazing how much he was able to accomplish. How did he have time to live a life? He was a scientist, inventor, statesman, printer, humorist, diplomat, public servant, philosopher, economist, franchisor, writer, musician, and Founding Father.
He lived up to one of his famous sayings: “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth the writing.”
This came to mind today as I read a story about Orson Welles. He is possibly most famous for his grand award winning movie “Citizen Kane.” He was once invited to speak to a group in a small Midwestern town. When he showed up, the audience was actually quite sparse. He went ahead with his speech and began with a brief summary of his career.
There seems to be a difficulty these days with rendering complete forgiveness to someone who has injured one in some fashion. So as I came across some interesting quotes about forgiveness, I thought I would share them with you. The first one is from Josh Billings, who was introduced to you yesterday.
Benjamin Franklin was a man of exceptional understanding of human nature. He was always very charitable and considerate in his dealings with other people, even those who had mistreated him in some fashion. Of course you’ll remember his successes with his Project for Moral Perfection. I believe he came close, if indeed he didn’t quite get there!
James Madison had prepared himself to be a builder of nations. He wanted to go to The College of William and Mary, like his close friend and mentor. However he found that the weather and temperatures there were not favorable to his health and stamina. So he looked northward and enrolled at The College of New Jersey, later known as Princeton College, which had a good reputation. Princeton had been founded originally to train Presbyterian Ministers.
George Washington recounted that he had experienced at least 57 times during the Revolutionary War when he knew he had been protected by “the hand of Providence.” Perhaps there were some that he didn’t even know about. Like this one:
By now you know I enjoyed reading Timothy Ballard’s “The Washington Hypothesis.” It gave me some new insights. One particular part of the hypothesis is the reference to the Bible. When George Washington was given the Oath of Office as the new First President of the United States of America, he asked that a Bible be produced so that he could receive the Oath as a Covenant.
An hypothesis is, of course, also defined as a theory, a conjecture, a postulation, or a premise. In other words, it’s not for sure. But it makes for good reading!