Benjamin Franklin
...in from Franklin show were he was coming from when he decided to create his list of virtues that would lead him to moral perfection. Now that he was focused on his goal he need do dome research on the topic. “In the various enumerations of the moral virtues I had met with in my reading, I found the catalogue more or less numerous, as different writers included more or fewer ideas under the same name. Temperance, for example, was by some confin’d to eating and drinking, while by others it was extended to mean the moderating every other pleasure, appetite, inclination or passion, bodily or mental, even to our avarice and ambition.” (BF, p67). This was the problem that Franklin came across in his studies on virtues. This problem also eventually lead him to create a list of what he deemed were the most important virtues that man should strive to improve upon in life to reach moral perfection. The list was much shorter and more specific than anything he read in his studies. The list goes as follows: Temperance (eat not to dullness. Drink not to elation), Silence (speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation), Order (let all your things have their places. Let each part or your business have its time), Resolution (resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve), Frugality (make no expense but to do good to others or yourself, waste nothing), Industry (lose no time, be always employ’d in something useful, cut off all unnecessary actions), Sincerity (use no hurtful deceit, think innocently and justly; and, if you speak; speak accordingly), Justice (wrong none, by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that your duty), Moderation (avoid extremes, forbear resenting injuries so much as you think the deserve), Cleanliness (tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes or habitation), Tranquility (be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable), Chastity (rarely use venery but for health or offspring; never to dullness, weakness or the injury of your or another’s peace or reputation), and lastly Humility (imitate Jesus and Socrates). The last of which was added after some of Franklin’s friends informed him that he was too pushy with his abundant knowledge and opinions during conversations. “My intention being to acquire the Habitude of all these virtues, I judg’d it would be well not to distract my attention by attempting the whole at once, but to fix it on one of them at a time, and when I should be master of that, then to proceed to another, and so on till I should have gone thro’ the thirteen.” (BF, p68). This is how Franklin decided to approach his task of obtaining moral perfection. Thinking it too much to take on all at once; he focused on them one at a time going through the list in the order he wrote it. Temperance, for example, was first because it leads to coolness and clearness of head, which is necessary if one is to stay on guard against faults. Through achieving temperance, silence would come to pass more smoothly than if attempted beforehand. Franklin sought to learn silence because he eventually found that one can learn more if he listens more than he speaks. He also found that by talking less the conversations and company that he normally engaged in started to become less trifling. So keeping to the list Franklin spent time on each virtue till he deemed it mastered and then moved on to the next, but he found that he needed a way to track his progress and missteps. It was then that he decided to make a small pocket book type calendar to track his progress towards moral perfection. This pocket book was made to contain a full week on each page along with columns for the thirteen virtues, and few choice sayings and prayers to offer encouragement to Franklin. At the end of each day he would reflect on were he made a mistake with any one of the virtues that he was not currently trying to master and make a appropriate black mark in his book. He spent only a week with each virtue finding this to be sufficient time to master one. Although as time wore on he w...