Franklin and Franklin impersonator

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 stretches in many directions. Michelangelo comes to mind. Well, America has been fortunate in this respect, too.

每个国家自然都有自己的英雄。如果一个国家运气好，它就会有一个不论做什么事都有非人才干的英雄，他留下的遗产是多方面的。我们自然会想到米开朗琪罗 。在这方面，美国也很幸运。

Ben Franklin was an inventor not only of things, but 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.

本·富兰克林是一位发明家，不仅发明东西，而且也发明思想。他发明的东西当中有避雷针；他还创造了第一个木制火炉，从背后通出一根烟囱管子插到墙劈里去。在现在使用暖气的时代，你可能会说：“那又有什么?”可是，在那个时代，富兰克林炉比壁炉发出的热量大得多，费用少，烟也少，因此而流行于全世界。富兰克林还出版了美国第一份杂志，组建了美国第一家邮政局和第一座出借书籍的图书馆。

Ben Franklin was also famous-- still is, 200 some years after his death-- for his witty observations, like, "Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half--shut afterwards. " Or, "There never was a good war or a bad peace. " Another one: "In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. "

本·富兰克林讲话谈谐风趣，他的一些言论在他死后200多年的今天依然十分出名。例如，他说过：“结婚前应该把眼睛睁得大大的；结婚后应该半睁半闭。”“从来没有好战争，也没有坏和平。”还有一句：“在这个世界上，只有死亡和交税是无法避免的。”

But he was much more than just a clever tinker with things and words. This moon" faced, simply dressed, somewhat obese man- he sometimes called himself "Mr. Fatsides" --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. " And 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 70s, who was dispatched to Paris and talked the French into sending soldiers and ships to help the Americans--help 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.

但是，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、略肥胖的人——有时候他自称是“胖子先生”——是美国独立宣言的作者之一。就是他在宣言中最著名的一句话里加上了“不言而喻”这几个字。这句话就是：“我们认为下述真理乃是不言而喻的：人人生而平等。”当新诞生的美国看起来可能打不赢这场同英国人的战争时，又是当时已届70高龄的本杰明被派往巴黎。是他说服法国人派来士兵和舶只以援助美国人——如果没有这一援助，今天的美国很可能还是英联邦的一个成员。还应提到，在他出使法国期间，他一直在向路易十四世宫廷里的贵妇们求爱，显然他的运气还很不错呢。joozone.com