“That’s my favorite chapter in the book.” That’s what I told my friend and Fast Money Alert co-editor Dr. Mark Skousen when we discussed his new book, “The Greatest American: Benjamin Franklin, History’s Most Versatile Genius.” But what chapter of Mark’s book was I referring to, and more importantly, why is that chapter my favorite?
Being the ever-curious gent that he is, Mark asked me what chapter I was talking about. I suspect he knew already, but I told him anyway. It is Chapter 77, brilliantly titled, “On Love, Sex and Marriage: Franklin’s Hard-to-Govern Passions.”
Now, one reason why this is my favorite chapter is because I can relate to the following description of Franklin:
… a freethinker, a nudist, a hoaxer, a clubber and bon vivant extraordinaire whom women couldn’t resist. The savant of Philadelphia was no distant marble figure like the reserved George Washington or the prudish John Adams. Here was a red-blooded American Casanova who distained the mores of a sexually repressed Puritan age, enjoyed a strong libido and was adored and memorialized by the fairer sex for his charm, humor, storytelling, fame and savoir faire.
Hey, if I didn’t know better, I would have guessed Mark was writing about me!
I jest (sort of), but learning this about Franklin was quite revelatory, as are many things about “The Greatest American,” as it is a book written to entertain, inform, engage and teach the reader about the history, ethics, politics, philosophy, marriage and the complexities one faces while dealing with those stubbornly sublime, yet hard-to-govern passions.
In the following passage, Mark tells us about Franklin’s public persona and teachings, which may indeed have been slightly different than some of his personal exploits:
In his memoirs, written for public consumption, he would have us believe that he daily plotted a life of thirteen virtues, among them temperance, moderation and chastity. He urged his young readers to “rarely use venery but for health or offspring.” And did not Poor Richard warn, “Women & wine, game & deceit, makes the wealth small and wants great”? Yet his own story suggests that he surely practiced all the more a “healthy” sex life. “He went to women hungrily, secretly and briefly,” states Carl Van Doren (p. 91).
Now, I am sure you can see why this is my favorite chapter!
All jest aside, it’s interesting to learn about the “American Casanova” side of Franklin. Not only does he become a relatable and human figure, but he also becomes a man who vividly struggled with the realities that men (and women) face when dealing with the balance of natural desires and the need to maintain societal mores.
Later in the chapter, Mark tells us of Franklin’s adventures with the “Hellfire Club.” Check out the description here of a place where, well, let’s just say I would have felt right at home.
Though not a member, he was known to occasionally frequent the “Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe,” better known as the infamous Hellfire Club, which catered to the hard-drinking and womanizing habits of wealthy patrons. Created by the British politician Francis Dashwood, the Hellfire Club served as the meeting place outside of London for “persons of quality” who wished to partake in mock rituals, worship the devil and false gods and engage in obscene parodies of religious rites, which allegedly included prostitutes dressed up as nuns. It was mostly a parody of Elizabethan mores.
Now that’s my kinda party!
Finally, Mark ends my favorite chapter by telling us of Franklin’s love of song, a love you likely know I share with this greatest American:
Franklin loved to sing, and one of his favorites was “The Old Man’s Wish.”
May I govern my passions with absolute sway
Grow wiser and better as my strength wears away,
Without gout or stones by gentle decay.
One of his detractors presented his old age in a more critical light:
Franklin, though plagued with fumbling age,
Needs nothing to excite him,
But is too ready to engage,
When younger arms invite him.
May we all be sung about like so as we endeavor to age with grace under pressure, and with our hard-to-govern passions still vigorous within.
If you would like to enjoy the entirety of “The Greatest American: Benjamin Franklin, History’s Most Versatile Genius,” and I strongly recommend you do, then now is the time to get your own signed copy.
Acquiring this work through the link here will get you an autographed copy, and a rare Franklin stamp. The price is right, too, at just $24 ($19 for each additional copy), and Mark will mail them to you at no extra charge inside the United States.
If you want a great Christmas gift for those loveable and Franklinesque scalawags in your life, then get yourself a copy of “The Greatest American: Benjamin Franklin, History’s Most Versatile Genius,” today!
*************************************************************
Ben’s Best Quote
“Hide not your Talents, they for Use were made. What’s a Sun-Dial in the shade!”
–Benjamin Franklin
Living in Los Angeles most of my life and growing up around the entertainment industry, I know many talented people who dabbled in writing, acting, film, music, etc. Some flaunted their talents, while others kept them hidden, repressing them out of fear of failure, fear of success or just plain fear. But I never understood that.
I see it like Ben, when he says, “what’s a Sun-Dial in the shade!” The talents I’ve been blessed with, and that I’ve cultivated over the years, I’ve put out in display for all to see. If you like them, and I hope you do, then we’ve just connected on a special level. But if I had hidden them, they would remain obscure, and neither of us would have gained. And what is the point in that?
Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote that you’d like me to share with your fellow readers, send it to me, along with any comments, questions and suggestions you have about my newsletters, seminars or anything else. Click here to ask Jim.
In the name of the best within us,
Jim Woods
