FRANKLIN'S ALMANAC

“Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man” ― Francis Bacon

Benjamin Franklin (1706 to 1790] was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. He was called` the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society that America would become----”. He helped draft the American Constitution, and was signatory to the Declaration of American Independence. A voracious reader, a prolific writer, an accomplished diplomat, he personified the very values he advocated.

Benjamin Franklin is not a personality well-known India. I don’t remember coming across his name when I was a school student. It was much later, when reading about the American revolution, that I came to learn about him for the first time. In science classes we learned about his experiments on conduction of electricity with the help of a kite and a lightning rod. Even today, it is doubtful, even many of the educated Indians know about him and his contributions in establishing America as a nation.

Early Life   Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706. He was the tenth son of Josiah Franklin. His father wanted Ben to be a clergy man. However, he could not afford  schooling . Young Ben enjoyed reading, as he worked as an apprentice in the press run by his brother. According to A Quick biography of Benjamin Franklin, the young Ben used to help his brother compose pamphlets, and set types which were indeed gruelling work for a child of barely 12 years. After that, he would also sell pamphlets in the streets.

When Ben was 15, his brother started the New England Courant, the first newspaper in Boston. Young Ben wanted to write for the paper, but knew that his brother would not allow him. He, therefore, started writing letters under the pseudonym of an imaginary widow Silence Dogood. ‘Dogood was filled with advice and very critical of the world around her, particularly concerning the issue of how women were treated’. Ben would sneak the letters under the press -cum- shop door at night. The pieces he wrote were instant hit and were the topics of conversation among the locals. Everyone wanted to know who the real Silence Dogood was. After 16 letters, Ben confessed to his brother that he had been writing the letters all along, which indeed made his brother very angry. Thereafter, young Benjamin left his home and took up many odd jobs to support himself.

The Almanac After a life of struggle, he started publishing Poor Richards’ Almanack in 1773. Almanacs were very popular at that time in colonial America. They were published annually covering a variety of topics including weather forecasts, recipes, practical household hints, puzzles and homilies. Franklin published his almanac, adopting the pseudonym Poor Richard

 

or Richard Saunders, a poor man who needed money to take care of his ailing wife. He borrowed the name from the 17th century writer of Appollo Anglicanus -a popular London almanac and the character was based on Jonathan swifts’ “Isaac Bicker Staff”. In later years the original character Richard Saunders was gradually replaced by “Poor Richard’.

 The publication of the Almanac appeared continuously, lasting for 25 long years. It became a bestseller in the Colonies, with the circulation reaching 10,000. ‘His clever and extensive use of word play, poems, witty aphorisms and proverbs, and lively writing made it very popular’. Many of these aphorisms live on in American English. Several of these were borrowed from an earlier writer, Lord Halifax. His book The Way to Wealth, which included them, was popular, both in England and America. ‘He was foundational in defining American ethos as a marriage of practical and democratic values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self- governing institutions and opposition to authoritarianism, both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment-----In Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment, without its heat."

Thus Spoke Poor Richard

Hunger never saw bad bread; Great Talkers Little doers; Fools make feasts and wise men eat them; After three days men go weary, of a wench, a guest and weather raining; You cannot pick roses for the fear of thorns; Without justice courage is weak; No man has ever been glorious who was not laborious; Poverty wants some things, luxury many things and Avarice all things; Marys’ mouth costs her nothing, for she never opens it but at others expense; A good lawyer is a bad neighbour; Well done is better than well said;

 Reading makes a full man, meditation a profound man, discourse a clear man; He who falls in love with himself will have no rivals; An empty bag will not stand upright; Let no pleasure tempt thee, no profit allure thee, no ambition corrupt thee; He who sows thorns should never go bare feet; What you would seem to be, be really; A small leak will sink a great ship; When the wells dry, we know the worth of water; A good example is the best sermon; Lost time is never found again; Being poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it is; Hunger is the best pickle; We may give advice, but we cannot give conduct; He that best understands the world least likes it; Doors of wisdom are never shut; Love your enemies for they will tell you your faults; The way to be safe is never to be secure.

Relevance Although some of his aphorisms/phrases may not be acceptable to people in modern times, the Almanac was indeed a reflexion of the social norms and conventions followed in that period. Further, they reflected Franklin’s own character, values and beliefs. Nevertheless, they influenced the language and cultural ethos of America and left an indelible mark in its history. Napoleon Bonaparte, impressed by the Almanac, got them translated into the French language. The Almanac was reprinted in England. The King of France was believed to have named a ship after Richard.

 

 

A Polymath Franklin was a multi-faceted genius. He was aptly called `the harmonious human multitude’! He was an acclaimed author, editor, printer, publisher, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, political activist and theorist, diplomat and statesman. He became wealthy, publishing the Almanac and the Pennsylvania Gazette, but used the money for many noble purposes. He became famous as a scientist with his experiments with electricity and invention of the lightening rod. He also developed the Franklin stove, a carriage odometer, and the glass harmonica.

He was a tireless campaigner of colonial unity and an author and spokesman in London for several colonies. He became the first US Ambassador to France. He was the US Post Master General, and, later on, became the Governor of Pennsylvania. His testimony before Parliament helped the repeal of the much- hated Stamp Act. He set up the first lending library in US and the first Fire department in Pennsylvania. He played a major role in the setting up of the Pennsylvania University. He was the first president of the American Philosophical Society. He freed his slaves at the end of his life and became one of the most prominent abolitionists.

He earned the title of First American for his invaluable contribution to the cause of American independence. Keeping in view his all- pervading influence in the early history of the nation, Americans jokingly called him "the only president of the United States who was never president of the United States"

Why Franklin Matters Franklin developed his personality by dint of his hard work and merit. He sought to cultivate his own character by having a plan of 13 virtues – temperance, silence, order, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquillity, chastity, and humility. Both as the fictional widow ‘Silence Dogood’ and Poor Richard he reaffirmed these virtues in his writings and are now called the American values. ‘Franklin confessed that he himself did not work on all of them, but one at a time. While he did not live completely by these virtues and by his own admission, fell short of them many times, he believed the attempt made him a better man, contributing greatly to his success and happiness.”

Franklin died on April17, 1790 at the age of 84. “His journey from a boy selling pamphlets printed in his brothers’ print shop in the streets to the exalted position of a statesman and one of the Founding Fathers of America symbolised the very values he propagated. His electric personality still lights up the world’. (Ref: en.wikipedia.org; www.britannica.com; www.biography.com; www.benjamin-franklin-history.org; www.history.com; benjaminfranklin.net)

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(Note: First published by the author as article in Annual Issue of Life Stream 2011 -e-magazine)

 

 

 

THE LIVING CELL

The Cell, the basic constituent of all living organisms,continues to fascinate us, for, it holds within its core the very secret of life. Today, with the aid of cutting edge-technology, scientists are making use of cell-therapy and manipulation of genes for treatment of various diseases, including cancer. “The Song of the Cells”, a recent book by Siddharth Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize winner, takes us through the exhilarating journey of cell research and describes its new possibilities.

The Cell All of us know about the Cell; cells group together to form tissues, tissues into organelles, and organelles into the whole organisms. Some organisms like the bacteria, of course, are unicellular.

 Although Robert Hook, the English polymath, and, Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch cloth merchant, discovered cells under the microscope in 1600, it took several centuries after that for scientists to unravel the structure and functioning of the Cell.

Today we learn that a cell comprises of the nucleus having the genetical material tucked within, the mitochondria, or the cell’s power house, Ribosomes involved in protein synthesis, the Golgi apparatus connected with transport, sorting and modification of both protein and lipid, vacuoles for eliminating wastes, plastids in plants which helps in photosynthesis etc. Plants cells are bound by cell walls, whereas, animal cells have only cell membranes.

Stephen Sir &What he taught usWhen I think about the Cell, I can’t help remembering Stephen Sir.It seems only yesterday that we were sitting in hisCytology class, listening to serious lectures on the Cell, its structure and functions.

Sir always looked too old for his age, with veryfew hairs standing erect on his bald head. He wore clothes that didn’t fit him.He walked with a slight stoop. He looked like a man in deep thoughts; there were furrows on his forehead. No wonder, we, his students, aptly gave him the nick-name him ‘wet hen’. However, to his credit, he led us to the hither to unknown world of Cells, when new research findings on Cells had just started getting published. He gave us innumerable references from top scientific journals, ensuring that we were fed with the latest information. Noting down all those tedious details did not give us any chance to chat or laugh, as we did in other classes.

In our practical classes we started looking at the cells, especially the stained chromosomes in the cells of Onion roots, grown in petri-dishes, crushed and stained. This opened before us a new world, confirming what we already learned in our theory classes.

Years passed by, and I chose a non-scientific profession. Even then, I used to come across the latest research findings on cells, especially the Human Genome Project and the like, from time to time. I had no problem relating to the latest discoveries, for, Stephen Sir had laid the foundations of cell studies so firmly in our minds. In my last visit to my nativeplace, I came to know, with deep regret, that Sir had passed away, sometime ago. However, the knowledge he painstakingly imparted in us still lives in our minds.

The Song of the Cell

There are numerous text books, articles and scientific papers describing the functioning of the cells. However, the book entitled “The Song of the Cells” is a class apart. Written by Siddhartha Mukherjee, it is a fascinating foray into the life of cells. I came across this book after reading an interview of Mukherjee in a leading newspaper. By then, his book had already started making waves. There were raving reviews. Those prompted me to get a copy of the book.

Siddhartha Mukherjee is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University and a cancer physician and researcher. A Rhodes scholar, he graduated from Stanford University, University of Oxford and Harvard Medical School. He was the winner of Pulitzer Prize in 2011.

The booknarrates the history of research into the biological and medical aspects of the cells, painstakingly carried out by scientists, since the 17^th century. We come across the description about the structure and functions of the cells, organization of the cells into tissues, organelles and organisms. It gives us a graphic description of the blood cells, anti-bodies, B cells, T-cells, platelets and neutrophils. It tells us about cell division, cell death, cell repairs, and cell regeneration. It discusses leukemia and other types of cancers and auto-immune diseases. It also shares the exciting developments and future possibilities in cell therapy and gene manipulation. And finally, he discusses “The Song of the Cells.”

Had he been alive, Stephen Sir too could have reeled out all the facts relating to cells and would have given an account of the latest developments in the field. But any comparison is unfair in this regard, as one was a dedicated teacher, and the other, a gifted science writer. Here not only the cells, but also the scientists, their experiments, the laboratories, the people who are subject to experiments---all come alive. It looks at each patient with sensitivity and compassion. He explains difficult concepts on the basis of his own experiments or experiences or through personal stories. The whole text is interspersed with the life stories of scientists, the despair or courage of the patients and the trial and errors in cell research.No wonder the Washington Post wrote about the book thus “----(He) swaddles his medical rigor with rhapsodic tenderness, surprising vulnerability and occasional flashes of pure poetry---"Yes, there is the fine blending of science and poetry. One generally finds that at the ethereal level of thoughts,the boundary between science and poetryblurs, and they become indistinguishable from one another.

The book gives us many insights. It explains why the body’s immune system does not attack the body’s own cells, why in cancer cells divide without control, why in Arthritis stem cells remain inactive and the like. Latest experiments in cell therapy and gene manipulation provide us new information. Future possibilities are also indicated.

Behind the dramaAfter reading the book I started thinking-what is behind the pattern- the architecture of the cell, its organization and methodic division, orderly replication of chromosomes, synthesis of countless number of proteins through which the genes express themselves and control each and every activity of the cell, the capacity for cell repairs and regeneration, and a host of other things. Some scientists believe in intelligent design and a designer behind the patterns we witness in nature. The prevailing view is that nature is blind; evolution takes place randomly. The constant flux of creation and destruction takes place in nature. Organisms evolve trough natural selection. The quintessential pattern remains the same in all organisms, although they diversify due to natural selection.When the author refers to the Song of the Cell, he refers to the inter-connectedness -both internal and external to the cell. But when we visualize the whole nature endowed with plants and animals composed of billions in harmonious ensemble,their communication is not just a song any more,but an eternal symphony!

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