Standing Before Kings
When the American Colonies rose against the exactions of England, Benjamin Franklin was called upon to serve his Country as a diplomat in France and England.
“My father,” wrote Franklin, “having among his instructions to me when a boy frequently repeated a proverb of Solomon, ‘Seest thou a man diligent in his calling, he shall stand before Kings; he shall not stand before mean men,’ “I from thence considered industry as a means of obtaining wealth and distinction, which encouraged me, though I did not think that I should ever literally stand before Kings, which, however, has since happened, for I have stood before five, and even had the honour of sitting down with one, the King of Denmark, to dinner.”