he liberty of writing to thee about seven or eight
months past under cover of my friend Benjamin Franklin, and likewise
by J---- B----, who we are afraid was lost on his passage. Having
received no answer by several vessels, nor knowing whether my letters
reached thee, or whether thine miscarried, and a good opportunity
offering by my friend Dr. Griffitts, I now seize it to send thee two
copies of a small extract of origin and principles of my brethern the
Quakers, whom I observe in such of thy writings as have come to our
hands, thou didst not think unworthy of thy attention. I have nothing
to add to what I have already wrote thee, but I shall repeat my wish
of saluting thee affectionately on the principles of reason and
humanity, which constitutes that grand circle of love and charity,
unconfined by our parentage or country, but which affectionately
embraces the whole creation, earnestly desiring to the utmost of my
abilities to promote the happiness of all men, even of my enemies
themselves, could I have any. I beseech God to give thee strength that
thou mayest continue to hold up to mankind, thy brethren, principles
tending to replenish their hearts with goodness, friendship and
charity towards each other, that thus thou mayest, to the utmost of
thy power, render men reasonable, useful, and consequently happy; and
more especially that thou mayest combat that false principle of
honour, or rather of intolerable pride and folly, which so strongly
prevails in our nation, where the most indolent, and the least
useful, fancy themselves, and are reputed the most noble. Let us
endeavour to make them sensible that men are noble, but in exact
proportion with their being rational. The happiness which is to be
found in virtue alone, is sought for by men through the titles
acquired by their fathers for their activity in those wars which have
desolated the world, or in the wealth accumulated by their ancestors;
both means generally unjust and oppressive, and consequently rather
sources of shame and humiliation. For as the Chinese philosopher well
observes, 'there is scarcely one rich man out of an hundred, who was
not himself an oppressor, or the son of an oppressor.'

"Let us display to princes and rulers of nations, the example of Numa
Pompilius, who, by a conduct opposite to that of Romulus, his
predecessor, and most of his successors, rendered the Romans, during
his long reign, so respectable and happy. Above all, my dear fri