Indeed, his passion for
improvement led him not only to try his hand upon an abridgment
of the Book of Common Prayer, but to go even so far as to propose
seriously a new rendering of the Lord's Prayer. His famous
proposal for a new version of the Bible, however, which Matthew
Arnold solemnly held up to reprobation, was only a joke which
Matthew Arnold did not see-the new version of Job being, in fact,
a clever bit of political satire against party leadership in
England. Even more brilliant examples of his skill in political
satire are his imaginary "Edict of the King of Prussia against
England," and his famous "Rules for Reducing a Great Empire to a
Small One."But I must not try to call the roll of all the good
things in Franklin's ten volumes. I will simply say that those
who know Franklin only in his "Autobiography," charming as that
classic production is, have made but an imperfect acquaintance
with the range, the vitality, the vigor of this admirable
craftsman who chose a style "smooth, clear, and short," and made
it serve every purpose of his versatile and beneficent mind.
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