Benjamin Franklin's Humor

3. Philadelphia's Poor Richard 1733–1748

47 Philadelphia’s Poor Richard 3 PHILADELPHIA’S POOR RICHARD 1733–1748 In adopting the model of Swift’s satire, Franklin used techniques familiar from his own practice of Socratic irony by pretending to be innocent or ignorant. He pretended to be madcap Poor Richard Saunders so successfully that the popular imagination confused worldly Franklin with Poor Richard as the Polonius of puritanical proverbs. In a day when a printer needed an almanac to stay in business, Poor Richard gave Franklin the edge in competition. Where the Pennsylvania Gazette aimed at informing and amusing a developing class of newspaper-reading Americans, Poor Richard’s almanac catered to those who never read anything else. They needed calendars and such essential information as seasons, moon- and sunsets, tides, and court dates. The information was common to all regional almanacs, so Franklin’s problem was to print an almanac more attractive than a half-dozen others in Philadelphia. In December 1732, at a modest five pence a copy, he introduced Poor Richard, an Almanack for the Year of Christ 1733 (almanacs usually appeared in October for the following year). Just as he had imitated popular comic models to beat competition from Samuel Keimer’s newspaper, Franklin imitated models already proven popular with an array of familiar comic features. The title itself fused titles of three models. It echoed Newport, Rhode BENJAMIN FRANKLIN’S HUMOR 48 Island’s almanac, Poor Robin, printed by his brother James Franklin, who took the title from London’s best-selling comic almanac.1 Spreading his net, Benjamin Franklin also adopted the London Poor Robin’s facetious character and took the family name of a third model—Richard Saunder (no “s”), another popular London almanac maker who promoted scientific astronomy as antidote to superstitious astrology. By 1732, however, Saunder had been reduced to arguing that lightning bolts were not boulders and that the heavens did not rain frogs. Franklin’s eclectic Richard Saunders became the distinctive comic voice of America—exuberant , irreverent, both deluding and self-deluded. Over a thousand copies of Franklin’s first edition sold out in two days.2 Five years later, he would sell more than three thousand copies outside of Philadelphia. Eventually sales would peak at ten thousand copies annually, generating about a third of Franklin’s income.3 Franklin filled the almanac’s empty spaces with proverbs containing “the Wisdom of many Ages and Nations.”4 His principal resource was a dictionary compiled by James Howell of proverbs in French, Spanish, and even Welsh, translated and explained in English prose and verse in parallel columns and arranged in several categories for easy reference.5 Franklin’s selection from Howell’s proverbs apparently was dictated by available space in Poor Richard’s Almanac, but not at the expense of style. He would sharpen the point of each one, clarify the sense, or distill the essence as in these random samples (with Howell’s proverbs given here in parentheses and cross-referenced to the almanac as PRA). —(A Ship under sayl, a man in compleat Armour, a Woman with a great belly, are three of the handsomest sights.—Spanish, p. 8)6 A Ship under sail and a big-bellied Woman, Are the handsomest two things that can be seen common.—PRA, June 1735 49 Philadelphia’s Poor Richard —(Two may keep Counsel when one is away.—English, 19) Three may keep a Secret, if two of them are dead.—PRA, July 1735 —(Who goeth to School to himselfe, may find a fool to his Master.— English, 19) He that teaches himself, hath a fool for his master.—PRA, January 1741 Sometimes Franklin would update the diction or make the allusions more homely to sharpen the humor, as in: —(A Client twixt his Attorney and Counsellor, is like a Goose twixt two Foxes.—English, 9) A countryman between two Lawyers, is like a fish between two cats.—PRA, February 1737 —(The Fox who sleeps in the Morning hath not his tongue feathered .—French, 7) The sleeping Fox catches no poultry.—PRA, September 1743 —(When the mouth is shut, flies cannot enter.—Spanish, 2) The close mouth catches no flies.—PRA, February 1742 —(Who hath a glass roof of his own, let him not throw stones at his neighbours.—Spanish, 11) Don’t throw stones at your neighbours, if your own windows are glass.—PRA, August 1736 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN’S HUMOR 50 —(There are...