Yet I ought to have charity for these unhappy people, when I consider that, with all this wisdom of which I am boasting, there are certain things in the world so tempting, for example, the apples of King John, which, happily, are not to be bought; for if they were put to sale by auction, I might very easily be led to ruin myself in the purchase, and find that I had once more given too much for the _whistle_. Adieu, my dear friend, and believe me ever yours very sincerely and with unalterable affection, B. FRANKLIN. * * * * * ON LUXURY, IDLENESS, AND INDUSTRY.[2] [2] From a letter to Mr. Benjamin Vaughan, dated at Passy, July 26th, 1784. It is wonderful how preposterously the affairs of this world are managed. Naturally one would imagine that the interest of a few individuals should give way to general interest; but individuals manage their affairs with so much more application, industry, and address than the public do theirs, that general interest most commonly gives way to particular. We assemble parliaments and councils to have the benefit of their collected wisdom; but we necessarily have, at the same time, the inconvenience of their collected passions, prejudices, and private interests. By the help of these, artful men overpower their wisdom and dupe its possessors: and if we may judge by the acts, _arrêts_, and edicts, all the world over, for regulating commerce, an assembly of great men is the greatest fool upon earth.