Wednesday, March 4, 2009

March 4: Penn: Pioneer, Thinker and Builder (Vol. 1, pp. 321-330)

William Penn was granted a royal charter for Pennsylvania from King Charles on his day in 1681, so the editors selected a collection of reflections and maxims from the founder of Pennsylvania and staunch defender of Quakerism.

The editors call "Some Fruits of Solitude" a combination of "the acute common sense of Franklin" with "the spiritual elevation of Woolman." Their assessment is correct. His maxims are steeped in piety, but have a core of common sense.

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