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The following epitaph on himself, was written by him many years previous to his death;

THE BODY
of

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Printer,
(Like the cover of an old book,
Its contents torn out,

And ftript of its lettering and gilding)
Lies here, food for worms

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Yet the work itfelf fhall not be loft,
For it will (as he believed) appear once more,

In a new

And more beautiful edition,
Corrected and amended

by

The Author.

EXTRACTS from the laft Will and Testament of

Dr. FRANKLIN.

WITH regard to my books, those I had in France, and thofe I left in Philadelphia, being now affembled together here, and a catalogue made of them, it is my intention to difpofe of the fame as follows:

My hiftory of the Academy of Sciences, in fixty or feventy volumes quarto, I give to the philofophical fociety of Philadelphia, of which I have the honour to be prefident. My collection in folio of Les Arts &les Metiers, I give to the American philofophical fociety, eftablished in New England, of which I am a member. My quarto edition of the fame Arts & Metiers, I give to the library company of Philadelphia. Such and fo many of my books as I fhall mark, in the faid catalogue, with the name of my grandfon Benjamin Franklin Bache, I do hereby give to him: and fuch and fo many of my books, as I fhall

mark

mark in the faid catalogue with the name of my grandfon William Bache, I do hereby give to him and fuch as fhall be marked with the name of Jonathan Williams, I hereby give to my coufin of that name. The refidue and remainder of all my books, manufcripts and papers, I do give to my grandfon William Temple Franklin. My fhare in the library company of Philadelphia Į give to my grandfon Benjamin Franklin Bache, confiding that he will permit his brothers and fifters to fhare in the use of it.

I was born in Bofton, New England, and owe my first inftructions in literature to the free grammar-schools eftablished there. I therefore give one hundred pounds fterling to my executors, to be by them, the furvivors or furvivor of them, paid over to the managers of the free schools in my native town of Boston, to be by them, or the perfon or perfons who fhall have the fuperintendence and management of the said schools, put out to intereft, and fo continued at intereft for ever; which intereft annually fhall be laid out in filver medals, and given as honorary rewards annually by the directors of the faid free fchools, for the encouragement of scholarship in the faid fchools, belonging to the faid town, in fuch manner as to the difcretion of the felect men of the faid town fhall feem meet.

Out of the falary that may remain due to me, as president of the ftate, I give the fum of two thousand pounds to my executors, to be by them, the furvivors or furvivor of them, paid over to fuch perfon or perfons as the legiflature of this ftate, by an act of affembly, fhall appoint to receive the fame, in truft, to be employed for making the Schuylkil navigable.

During the number of years I was in business as a ftationer, printer, and post-master, a great

many

many fmall fums became due to me, for books, advertisements, poftage of letters, and other matters, which were not collected, when, in 1757, I was fent by the affembly to England as their agent-and, by fubfequent appointments, continued there till 1775-when, on my return, I was immediately engaged in the affairs of congrefs, and fent to France in 1776, where I remained nine years, not returning till 1785; and the faid debts not being demanded in fuch a length of time, are become in a manner obfolete, yet are nevertheless justly due.-Thefe, as they are stated in my great folio leger, E, I bequeath to the contributors of the Pennsylvania hofpital; hoping that thofe debtors, and the defcendants of fuch as are deceased, who now, as I find, make fome difficulty of fatisfying fuch antiquated demands as juft debts, may however be induced to pay or give them as charity to that excellent inftitution. I am fenfible that much muft inevitably be loft; but I hope fomething confiderable may be recovered. It is poffible too that fome of the parties charged may have exifting old unfettled accounts againft me in which cafe the managers of the faid hofpital will allow and deduct the amount, or pay the balance, if they find it against me.

I requeft my friends Henry Hill, Efq. John Jay, Efq. Francis Hopkinfon, Efq. and Mr. Edward Duffield, of Bonfield, in Philadelphia county, to be the executors of this my laft will and teftament, and I hereby nominate and appoint them for that purpose.

I would have my body buried with as little expence or ceremony as may be.

Philadelphia, July 17, 1788.

CODICIL.

CODICIL.

I Benjamin Franklin, in the foregoing or an nexed laft will and testament, having further confidered the fame, do think proper to make and publifh the following codicil, or addition thereto:

It having long been a fixed political opinion of mine, that in a democratical state there ought to be no offices of profit, for the reasons I had given in an article of my drawing in our constitution, it was my intention, when I accepted the office of prefident, to devote the appointed falary to fome public ufe: Accordingly I had already, before I made my laft will, in July laft, given large fums of it to colleges, fchools, building of churches, &c.; and in that will I bequeathed two thoufand pounds more to the state, for the purpose of making the Skuylkil navigable; but understanding fince, that fuch a fum will do but little towards accomplishing fuch a work, and that the project is not likely to be undertaken for many years to come-and having entertained another idea, which I hope may be more extenfively ufeful, I do hereby revoke and annul the bequest, and direct that the certificates I have for what remains due to me of that falary, be fold towards raising the fum of two thousand pounds fterling, to be difpofed of as I am now about to order.

It has been an opinion, that he who receives an estate from his ancestors, is under fome obligation to transmit the fame to pofterity. This obligation lies not on me, who never inherited a fhilling from any ancestor or relation. I fhall, however, if it is not diminished by fome accident before my death, leave a confiderable eftate among my defcendants and relations. The above obfervation is made merely as fome apology to my family, for my making bequefts that do not ap

pear

pear to have any immediate relation to their adyantage.

I was born in Bofton, New-England, and owe my firft inftructions in literature to the free grammar-fchools eftablished there. I have therefore confidered thofe fchools in my will.

But I am alfo under obligations to the state of Maffachusetts, for having, unasked, appointed me formerly their agent, with a handfome falary, which continued fome years: and although I accidentally loft in their fervice, by transmitting governor Hutchinson's letters, much more than the amount of what they gave me, I do not think that ought in the leaft to diminish my gratitude. I have confidered that, among artifans, good apprentices are moft likely to make good citizens; and having myself been bred to a manual art, printing, in my native town, and afterwards aflifted to fet up my business in Philadelphia by kind loans of money from two friends there, which was the foundation of my fortune, and of all the utility in life that may be afcribed to me-I wish to be useful even after my death, if poffible, in forming and advancing other young men, that may be ferviceable to their country in both these

towns.

To this end I devote two thousand pounds fterling, which I give, one thousand thereof to the inhabitants of the town of Boston, in Maffachufetts, and the other thousand to the inhabitants of the city of Philadelphia, in truft, to and for the ufes, intents, and purposes, herein after mentioned and declared.

The faid fum of one thoufand pounds fterling, if accepted by the inhabitants of the town of Bofton, fhall be managed under the direction of the felect men, united with the minifters of the oldeft epifcopalian, congregational, and prefby

terian

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