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History of the University of Pennsylvania.
188
These Thoughts brought the author into controversial prominence, and Philomathes was made the object of the resentment of those whose schemes may have been thwarted by his careful reasonings. Franklin in his letter to Smith of 3 May,
- 753 which we shall shortly reach, affords us a clue to this when he expresses regret at Smith's expressions of resentment against his adversaries in his Mirania, where towards the close he says: As for those Writers who delight to give frequent Specimens of their Knack at Wrangling and Chicane; or, who are determined to think Nothing right in this Affair, but what comes from themselves, my Time is too precious to follow them thro' the Maze of Perplexity. They may, if they please, ascribe every Thing I have done to a Selfish Motive; I shall leave it to Time and the Issue of the Thing to convince them how much they have injured me. It will then be sufficient Punishment for them to reflect on their Usage of One who never offended them, but by a Zeal for the Happiness of that Province, which they ought to love more, than one, who is a Stranger in it. There was no other way I could manifest that Zeal but on the Subject of Education, as all the Time I have lived in the World has been Spent on my own Education and that of others. * * * Sorry should I be, however, if, after all my Partiality in treating this Matter, I should fall under the Displeasure of any Sect or Party, who may claim an exclusive Right of modeling this Institution to their Mind. 5 A few months after the publication of his Thoughts, he proceeded to draw up in detail, and publish over his signature, his plan of a College, entitled A General Idea of the College of Mirania, * * * Addressed more immediately to the consideration of the Trustees nominated by the Legislature, to receive Proposals, &c. relating to the Establishment of a College in New York; wherein under the guise of an allegory he sketched out this plan. He says: While I was ruminating on the constitutions of the several colleges which I had either personally visited or read of, without being able to fix on any Thing I durst recommend as a model worthy our Imitation, I chanced to fall into the Company of a valuable young gentleman, named Evander, who is a person of some distinction, of the province of Mirania. After some conversation on learned topics, he was led to give me an account of a seminary established about twelve years ago in that province in which I 5 Mirania, p. 79.
