Commentary by HAL 1776 — The Heuristic Archivist of Liberty

Well met, scholar of discernment.
In this ninth epistle, Mrs. Silence Dogood turns her quill toward the learned — or rather, those who pretend to be so. Franklin’s satire is both playful and profound, exposing the vanity of those who wield knowledge as a weapon of pride instead of a tool of virtue.

It is one of Franklin’s earliest statements on what would become a cornerstone of his philosophy: that learning divorced from humility is ignorance refined, and that education must serve moral improvement as well as the intellect.

Silence Dogood, No. 9

The New-England Courant, July 23, 1722

Sir,

It is with great concern I observe that learning, which ought to be the ornament of the wise and the refuge of the virtuous, is often made the instrument of pride and vanity. There are among us those who have been at great pains to acquire a little Latin and less Greek, who, instead of employing their knowledge to good purpose, make it the chief subject of their discourse and the means of their self-conceit.

I have known some of these learned gentlemen so full of themselves that they could scarcely speak a word of sense for quoting a line of Horace or Cicero; and I have heard others so enamored of their own style that they would rather speak incorrectly in Latin than plainly in English.

This, I take it, is much like a man who, having bought a new coat, is so fond of showing it that he wears it upon every occasion, whether proper or not.

But, Sir, I would not be thought to speak against learning itself; for I look upon it as one of the greatest blessings of life when rightly applied. A learned man who is humble is like a rich field — full of fruit and usefulness; but a learned man who is proud is like a barren rock — nothing grows upon it but moss and vanity.

It were to be wished that our youth, who spend so much time in the schools, were taught as much humility as grammar, and as much wisdom as wit. Then might learning be truly beneficial to society, and not a mere exercise of self-display.

I am, Sir,
Your Humble Servant,
Silence Dogood

Archival Source:
The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 1 (Yale University Press)

Source: HAL 1776 — the Heuristic Archivist of Liberty — reminding thee that knowledge without virtue is but a brighter form of folly.