Excerpt from Fruits of Solitude: Reflections and Maxims Relating to the Conduct of Human Life The publishers feel that they have been fortunate in their discovery of William Penn's Fruits of Solitude for the fourth volume of the Lakeside Classics. Although the book was immensely popular during the latter half of the eighteenth century, yet the scattered volumes of its many editions have found their way to but few private libraries, and the work is to-day almost unknown. Still, it possesses the same charm that carried it through its early editions. The publication of the book as an American classic may and undoubtedly will be questioned, but Penn's connection with the early history and settlement of the country warrants the extension of the claim of America to anything connected with him. Although the Maxims were first published in England, as Mr. John Vance Cheney, the editor of the present edition, informs the reader in his Introductory Note, yet the volume from which this edition is copied was printed in Philadelphia in 1797, presumably on type cast in the young republic. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.