Every nation has its heroes， of course， if a nation is lucky， it has one who was so able in everything he or she did that the person’s legacy stretches① in many directions. Michelangelo comes to mind. Well， America has been fortunate in this respect， too.
Ben Franklin was an inventor not only of things， but also of ideas. First some of the things， Ben Franklin invented the lightning rod； he created the first wood stove with a pipe out the back that extended through the wall. You may say， “So what in these days of forced air heating？” But in his time， the Franklin Stove produced far more heat than a fireplace， cost less to operate， was less smoky， and became popular all over the world. Franklin also published America’s first magazine and organized its first postal service and its first lending library.
Ben Franklin was also famous， still is， 200 some years after his death for his witty② observations， like，“Keep your eyes wide open before marriage， half shut afterwards.”Or， “There never was a good war or a bad peace.”Another on， “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”
But he was much more than just a clever tinker③ with things and words. This moon faced， simply dressed， somewhat obese man—he sometimes called himself “Mr. Fat sides”—was one of those who created the U. S. Declaration of Independence. It was he who put the “self-evident”in its most famous line—“We hold these truths to be self-evident， that all men are created equal.” When it appeared that the new United States may not be able to win its war against Britain， it was old Ben then in his seventieth， who was dispatched④ to Paris and talked the French into sending soldiers and ships to help the Americans， without which America today might well be a member of the British Common wealth. All the while he was in France， it must also be noted， he was pursuing， apparently with considerable luck， the ladies of King Louis XIV court.
Ben’s most enduring legacy， though， is the US Constitution he helped write in Philadelphia in 1787. When the delegates got into wrangles with one another on how this new kind of government should work， it was Benjamin Franklin who was always there to arrange a compromise.
On April 17，1790， Franklin died at the age of 84 in his beloved Philadelphia.
① stretchv. 伸缩，延伸
② wittyadj. 机智的，说话风趣的，幽默的
③ tinkern. 能做各种小修小补的人
④ dispatchv. 派遣，发送，快递
本·富兰克林
每一个民族都会有它自己的英雄，当然，如果一个国家很幸运的话，它就会拥有一位在各个方面都无所不能的英雄，而他留下的遗产也涉及多种领域。想到这，米开朗琪罗就会出现在我们的脑海之中。而美国在这方面也很幸运。
本·富兰克林不仅仅是一位只发明东西的发明家，他还发明思想。在他发明的这些东西当中，第一件就是避雷针；他还创造了第一个木制火炉，在背面带有一根烟囱管子可以插到墙劈里面去。你可能会说“在现在使用暖气的这个时代，那些又都算什么呢？”但是，在他所居的那个时代，富兰克林炉制造的热量要远远大于壁炉所发出的，而且费用少，烟也少，因此可以流行于全世界。另外，富兰克林还出版了美国第一份杂志，创办了美国第一家邮政服务和第一座可以出借书籍的图书馆。
本·富兰克林还以讲话和谐风趣而闻名于世，在他死后200多年的今天，他的一些言论依然非常著名。例如，他说过：“结婚前你要将自己的眼睛睁得大大的；但是，结婚后就应该睁一只眼闭一只眼了。”或者“从来都没有有利的战争，也没有不利的和平。”还有一句：“在这个世界上，没有什么是可以确定的，除了死亡和税务。”
然而，他远不仅只是一个善于摆弄东西和词藻的能工巧匠。这个圆脸、衣着简朴、某种程度上稍显肥胖的人——有时候他自嘲为“胖子先生”——就是美国《独立宣言》的创作者之一。也正是他，将“不言而喻”这几个字加入了宣言中最著名的一句话里，这句话就是：“我们认为下述真理乃是不言而喻的：那就是人人生而平等。”而当对于新诞生的美国来说，似乎无法打赢这场同英国人的战争的时候，又是本·富兰克林，当时已是年届70高龄的他，被派往巴黎，同法国人派来的士兵和船只谈判，以援助美国人，如果没有这一援助的话，那么今日的美国就很可能还是英国联邦的一个成员。此外，还必须要提到的是，在出使法国期间，很显然他的运气很好，一直在向路易十四时代宫廷里的贵妇们求爱。
但是，本·富兰克林遗留下来的最持久的遗产，就是1787年在费城写成的美国宪法，那是在他的协助下完成的。当代表们在就新型的政府究竟应该怎样工作上争论的不可开交之时，富兰克林，总是能够挺身而出，安排一个折衷的解决方案。
1790年4月17日，富兰克林逝世于他所热爱的费城，时年84岁。
