Franklin’s Laziness

While writing the post, “Review, D.G. Hart, Benjamin Franklin, Cultural Protestant” I was reminded of a story I read about him when I was in the fifth grade. It was about his inventions such as bifocals, a device for retrieving books from high shelves so the need for a ladder was avoided, and his more efficient stove for heating homes that required fewer logs per day. A boy asked Ben why he invented the things he did. He answered, “Because I am lazy.” He said he was too lazy to switch from distance to reading glasses; too lazy to get the ladder and climb it to retrieve a book; and too lazy to go out to the wood pile and retrieve logs. Reading Hart’s biography will dispel any thought of laziness as Franklin’s work ethic is clearly presented. If he had been lazy, what he might have accomplished through more industry would have been staggering.