John Adams

My oldest brother graduated with a degree in History. I asked him what is his favorite time period to study, and he said that it was either WWII or the French Revolution. We got to talking about the French Revolution and then of course stumbled onto American soil. I told him about my biography project and he knew exactly who Abigail Adams is/was! I was so impressed. I am reading a biography of Mrs. Adams right now and it contains a large portion of her letters. Jeff continued to talk about the Adamses, he even owns the whole HBO series which I intend to steal sometime soon, and I got to thinking about what kinds of letters did not survive. Abigail concludes many letters with a 'burn after reading' type of comment. So what kinds of things did she think about and write about to her husband that we have no knowledge of now? There could have been something quite fascinating that disappeared. Isn't it interesting to think about all the documents that could piece together history of which we now have no trace? For example, if divers drafts of the constitution did not survive, we would not know that the abolition of slavery was initially considered. How would the discovery of a new letter or draft of the constitution or a diary or a treatise or a novel or a business transaction or whatever change the way we view history?

Othello

Has anyone ever heard of the board game 'Othello?' While we visiting family over Thanksgiving break we had a game night at a relative's house and I saw a board game that had to be purchased 2o years ago. It was called 'Othello' and was a game about black and white tiles, and I can't remember exactly what the tag-line was on the box but it said something like "black one minute... white the next..." and it takes a second to learn but "a lifetime to master."I can't find that old box online, but Amazon says "Othello is a game where not all is Black and White. The lead can change hands from play to play and strategy is everything. Play is simple. Players are represented by either Black or White discs on the board..."

Family

At some point in the reading last night, it dawned on me that Equiano spent most of his life as a lone drifter, a pseudo free-agent, without family. Reading his accounts of purchasing freedom, having it denied, being flogged unjustifiably, transferring jobs/masters, losing friends/masters, and finding his faith made me think about how dire situations make a person turn to their family for support. I thought about his separation from his sister... What would I possibly do if I was ripped from my family and never saw them again? Where would I turn if my money was stolen and I had nowhere to live? It is remarkable to me that Equiano and other slaves in his position were able to survive. I think his lack of a family unit was the catalyst for his faith journey. Equiano turned to religion when he had no one else. There were some people that he was close to and formed an attachment, but nothing that resembled a constant, unconditional familial bond.

The insane and the wicked

We have talked about the dangers of le theatre before, and and Francoise de Graffigny seems to find danger on the stage as well. In letter sixteen, she writes (or Zilia);
"They took me to a place where they enact, rather like in your palace, the actions of men who are no more, but with this difference: we evoke the memory of only the wisest and most virtuous, I think that here they celebrate only the insane and the wicked. Those who represent these figures rage and storm about like madmen; I have seen one take his fury so far that he killed himself."
My first reaction to this letter is - Did the actor really kill himself or was he such a good actor that he fooled Zilia. Then, I think about what kind of plays she might have seen, maybe some Moliere. If I had never seen a play or movie before, what kind of people and actions do I think should be represented and displayed for the public? Probably wise and virtuous ones to help spread wisdom and virtue. But, are comedies done so that the representations of vice lead men to their virtue (enlightenment reader?)? It makes me wonder what is worth celebrating via performance, and how does it vary from culture to culture?

Industry and the Way to Wealth, of Luxury

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston. He worked as a printer for his brother's paper, taking over the publication after his brother was thrown in jail for criticizing Puritan preachers. He eventually fled to Philadelphia where he also worked as an apprentice printer. Franklin spent several years in England after embarking on a trip to get printing supplies. After returning from the 'Mother land,' Franklin set up a print shop and eventually a general store and bookstore. He produced one illegitimate child before marrying. Franklin bought and contributed to The Pennsylvania Gazette. He also wrote Poor Richard's Almanac under the pen-name Richard Saunders. The almanac is famous for witty phrases like, "The sleeping fox catches no poultry," "He that lives upon hope will die fasting," "A penny saved is a penny earned," "Plough deep while Sluggards sleep, and you shall have corn to sell and to keep." Many people know Franklin for his inventions and investigations like the creation of bi-focal lenses, experiments with electricity (the kite experiment), the creation of the first library in the U.S. and several hospitals among many other accomplishments. Benjamin Franklin is probably best known for his contribution to the Declaration of Independence. For a long time, Franklin was a proud Englishman, but corruption of officials in the colonies and and England drove Franklin to form a union of the colonies. Franklin also wrote treatise against slavery.

Industry and the Way to Wealth

Benjamin Franklin writes of industry as a "means of obtaining wealth and distinction." According to him, one must live a spotless life, as much as possible and work on eliminating bad habits and faults. This, he says, will make someone more successful in obtaining wealth and industry. Franklin named 13 virtues to be employed by someone seeking to be "diligent in [their] calling."

"1. temperance- eat not to dullness: drink not to elevation

2. silence- speak not but what may benefit others or yourself, avoid trifling conversation

3. order- let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time

4. resolution- resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve

5. frugality- make no expense but to do good to others or yourself, i.e., waste nothing

6. industry- lose no time; be always employed in something useful, cut off all unnecessary actions

7. sincerity- use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly

8. moderation- avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve

10. cleanliness- tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation

11. tranquility- be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable

12. chastity- rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury or your own or another's peace or reputation

13. humility- imitate Jesus and Socrates

Franlin gives an example of the order of his day, noting that not all of these virtues can be tended to at once.

5-6- the morning: rise, wash and address Powerful Goodness, contrive day's business, and take the resolution of the day; prosecute the present study, and breakfast. Question- What good shall I do this day?

7-11- work

12-1- read, or overlook my accounts, and dine

2-5- work

6-8- put things in their places. Supper. Music or diversions, or conversation. Examination fo the day. Question- What good have I done today?

10-4- night: sleep

It is clear that Franklin uses a methodical structure to organize his daily activities so that he is always productive, and focuses on doing good.

Franklin sees idleness as very problematic, for it produces no good. If you are not working (idle) you will be in want and will not always act honestly as, "it is hard for an empty sack to stand upright." The second passage of Franklin's section in the Enlightenment Reader discusses the heavy taxation at the time, but says, "We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and tour times as much by our folly... God help them that help themselves." The point is that industrious will be able to provide for themselves, but those that fall to idleness and folly create disease, starve and will remain in a state of want. Franklin's daily method is used to insure productivity, sufficiency and to ward off faults. The second excerpt is peppered with one-liners and proverbs taken from Poor Richard. I know I have given many quotes in this summary, but I think they are more potent that any regurgitation I might be able to give. The last quote I give is a great one to meditate on given everything we are/have been discussing in HUST 461 and 463

" If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good Master should catch you idle? Are you then your own Master, be ashamed to catch yourself idle..."

Of Luxury
by David Hume

In this essay, Hume says that the age of the Enlightenment (not the term he used, of course) was one of great thinkers as well as commercial and skilled workers. He says that the two go 'hand in hand.' Hume argues that industry, knowledge and humanity are irrevocably linked. The demand for luxuries in a society make the people of that society labor for them, otherwise they would "sink into indolence, lose all enjoyment of life, and are useless to the public." Refinement of the arts enables other industries to prosper. Hume lists "laws, order, police, discipline" as things that would not operate perfectly if human reason has not been exercised. Refinements further civilizations from barbarity, and make people milder or less severe. Hume argues that "progress in the arts" is conducive to a free government. He says that "unpolished" lands focus on agricultural work and submit to slavery and subjection, while nations with luxury and commerce allow the poor to become rich and independent along with the benefits of the tradesman and merchants.
"Curiosity allures the wise, vanity the foolish, and pleasure both."

Discussion Questions:

Do Franklin's ideas about industry and the way to wealth reflect the Enlightenment attitudes we have discussed so far? How?

Do you think Franklin's location (America) effects his ideas about wealth and industry? How?

Do you agree with Hume that refinements in the arts remove communities farther from barbarianism?

Oroonoko

I'm still confused as to why Behn wrote this story. Like many other texts we have encountered, Behn assures the reader that she really was in locality described and talked to the characters about whom she writes. What I don't understand is her motivation. Why does she urge the reader to take her seriously because she was there, but then tell a story about a man that did not exist?

My simple conclusion is that she wanted to sell. She was capitalizing on current interests. Like the vampire craze we are seeing in contemporary times (yes, I did a lot of work on vampire books this summer), Behn was writing about something she knew was 'hot.' The discovery of new people and new worlds was probably something that interested most Western Europeans of colonizing nations. This wasn't just a descriptive account, however, she used the formula for success: powerful and attractive people + romance + deception + tragedy + action = readership from multiple audiences. Another reason I think she was itching to sell, or at least the publisher, was the printing job... We talked about the Improper Use Of Capital Letters and italics, suggesting that there was More of A Focus on getting it printed than Getting it Right.

I could totally be wrong, though.

Condillac and Cleland

Etienne Bonnot de Condillac was a French philosopher and abbe (member of clergy). He wrote the Treatise on the Sensations in 1784 , in line with Locke's idea that all of human experience and knowledge is based on sensation, or that "the processes of the mind could be broken down into original units of sensation." Unlike Locke, Condillac believed that all knowledge is "transformed sensation" and does not provide intuitive knowledge.

Condillac was ordained a Roman Catholic priest and was a member of the Parisian philosophical and intellectual communities, like the French Academy. Condillac also wrote "Essay on the Origin of Human Knowledge," "Treatise on Systems," "Commerce and Government Considered in Relation to One Another." He kept his religious fervor in through the Enlightenment.

Treatise on the Sensations

by Etienne Bonnot de Condillac

Condillac writes that all human cognitions stem from the senses, the primary being touch. He then states that from our sensations we get a feeling of pleasure or pain, creating an impression of our experiences. This impression or judgment is removed from the initial sensation, and makes life more varied. Each person, argues Condillac, has different judgments or impressions and therefore a different life experience. A person will acquire new experiences and sensations, they will find them either pleasurable or painful, and search for others. He says that we are thence the sum of our experiences.

An important piece of the Treatise regards the issue of pleasure or enjoyment. Condillac says "to live is to enjoy, and life is much longer for him who knows how to multiply the objects of his enjoyment." We will also find enjoyment through "memory, imagination, reflexion, passions and hope" in addition to the senses. This is related to the impression and judgment points and the desire to seek more pleasurable experiences.

Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure

by John Cleland

Although I argue that this excerpt is essentially a pornographic publication, I think it is included in the Enlightenment Reader because this fictitious account of a sexual conquest is all about sensations of pleasure and pain. It is related to the Enlightenment mode of the search for pleasure. What I think is interesting about this piece, is that it is written by a man, but from the viewpoint of a woman. It is obviously written from a male perspective though, as it is clear to see his desire for power- power over a woman, power to give her pleasure and pain, and concerned with issues of endowment which is the source of this power to give/receive pleasure and pain. I think it is also written from a female point of view to attribute base desires and the search for sexual pleasure to a woman.

I suggest you read this on your own, because I doubt that there is much need to cover it in class or a tactful way of doing it...

Discussion Questions
Is it surprising that Condillac says "for to live is to enjoy, and life is much longer for him who knows how to multiply the objects of his enjoyment" considering his role in the Church?

Does Condillac account for the reasons (or ways in which) why judgments and impressions are made, how or an experience is deciphered?

Why does Cleland write in the voice of a woman? What does it do for the text? for the reader? What does it say about Cleland?