“A Ploughman on His Legs is Higher than a Gentleman on His Knees”: The Representation of The Middling People in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s almanac

“A Ploughman on His Legs is Higher than a Gentleman on His Knees”: The Representation of The Middling People in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s almanac

The various aphorisms, maxims and chronicles that compose Poor Richard’s Almanac, written and published from 1733 to 1758 by Benjamin Franklin under the pseudonym of Richard Saunders, do not only provide advice and rules of conduct to the reader. A lively description of the “popular wisdom” of the t...

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Main Author: Pierre-François Peirano
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Société d'Etudes Anglo-Américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles 2015-12-01
Series:XVII-XVIII
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/1718/359
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spelling doaj-da4bc3be181842b3b3b082e15588225d2020-11-24T23:31:41ZengSociété d'Etudes Anglo-Américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe sièclesXVII-XVIII0291-37982117-590X2015-12-01729711410.4000/1718.359“A Ploughman on His Legs is Higher than a Gentleman on His Knees”: The Representation of The Middling People in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s almanacPierre-François PeiranoThe various aphorisms, maxims and chronicles that compose Poor Richard’s Almanac, written and published from 1733 to 1758 by Benjamin Franklin under the pseudonym of Richard Saunders, do not only provide advice and rules of conduct to the reader. A lively description of the “popular wisdom” of the time is mirrored, underpinned by the praise of virtue, modesty and industriousness. Franklin’s advice thus corresponds to the idea of the “golden mean,” but one should not overlook the role of representation, as well as the social and philosophical dimensions of the message delivered. Through the character of Saunders, they indirectly reveal Franklin’s goal of an improved society – or rather, an improved American society, but one still inspired by European principles.http://journals.openedition.org/1718/359
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Pierre-François Peirano
spellingShingle Pierre-François Peirano
“A Ploughman on His Legs is Higher than a Gentleman on His Knees”: The Representation of The Middling People in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s almanac
XVII-XVIII
author_facet Pierre-François Peirano
author_sort Pierre-François Peirano
title “A Ploughman on His Legs is Higher than a Gentleman on His Knees”: The Representation of The Middling People in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s almanac
title_short “A Ploughman on His Legs is Higher than a Gentleman on His Knees”: The Representation of The Middling People in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s almanac
title_full “A Ploughman on His Legs is Higher than a Gentleman on His Knees”: The Representation of The Middling People in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s almanac
title_fullStr “A Ploughman on His Legs is Higher than a Gentleman on His Knees”: The Representation of The Middling People in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s almanac
title_full_unstemmed “A Ploughman on His Legs is Higher than a Gentleman on His Knees”: The Representation of The Middling People in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s almanac
title_sort “a ploughman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees”: the representation of the middling people in benjamin franklin’s poor richard’s almanac
publisher Société d'Etudes Anglo-Américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles
series XVII-XVIII
issn 0291-3798
2117-590X
publishDate 2015-12-01
description The various aphorisms, maxims and chronicles that compose Poor Richard’s Almanac, written and published from 1733 to 1758 by Benjamin Franklin under the pseudonym of Richard Saunders, do not only provide advice and rules of conduct to the reader. A lively description of the “popular wisdom” of the time is mirrored, underpinned by the praise of virtue, modesty and industriousness. Franklin’s advice thus corresponds to the idea of the “golden mean,” but one should not overlook the role of representation, as well as the social and philosophical dimensions of the message delivered. Through the character of Saunders, they indirectly reveal Franklin’s goal of an improved society – or rather, an improved American society, but one still inspired by European principles.
url http://journals.openedition.org/1718/359
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