1. By today's standards, Franklin had little education, yet he was a well-educated and wise man. What are the differences between education, knowledge, and wisdom? How does Franklin represent these?

2. "We think of Benjamin Franklin," says Meltzer, "as one of the first modern men." Do you agree with that assessment? If so, what makes Franklin "modern?"

3. Franklin did not patent his many inventions, believing they should be freely available to the public. What are the advantages, as well as the disadvantages, of this idea?

4. Meltzer sums up Franklin's philosophy this way: "Progress, Ben came to believe, was not a gift from Heaven.

He could shape a goal for himself, and advance towards it, armed by faith in himself and in the power of the mind".

What do you think of that philosophy?

Does it have application in the twentieth century?

5. Carl...