Ben Franklin then developed the thirteen virtues of which he was going to live by so he truly could get to his goal of moral perfection. He thought that these virtues would help him to become a better Christian as well. The virtues were temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. (Franklin 12-13) Temperance means to have self-discipline and to follow the other thirteen virtues. Silence means to speak when it is needed and not fill your conversations with mindless chatter. The next one, order, means to keep things in your life in a very good organized way. Resolution is another virtue and means to have a strong determination to accomplish your goals. Frugality means to basically "spend less than you earn". Industry means to always be a hard worker and put one hundred percent in everything you do. Sincerity means to avoid speaking in a hurtful way to or of others. Justice means to be good in the law and helpful to others. Moderation means to obtain things that you need and don't always shoot for more. Cleanliness means to keep yourself and your home clean and presentable. Tranquility means to control your anger and basically let the little things go. Chasity means to only have sex for offspring or health while not being able to hurt their reputation. Lastly Humility means to be of God and only of Him and how He would live. ("Being Virtuous) Henry T. Tuckerman, a well known analyst of popular writings, wrote on Benjamin Franklin and the virtues he made. He stated "But while official duty and patriotism gave Franklin occasion to propagate and actualize so many useful and requisite principles,—to become the thinker and advocate,—the incarnated common-sense of his country and his time,—there was another sphere of mental activity, another range of sagacious enterprise, in which he expatiated with kindred success." (Bloom, Harold, ed.) Which he is basically stating how Franklin was a very successful man because of these virtues in many ways. He was a smarter and good influence on the people who looked up to him as a patriotic and political figure. Also he basically is saying how with his mind and good heart he became a better person and good influence on the peoples lives around him. "But in the case of Franklin, this practical service of authorship was immeasurably extended and enforced by the prestige of his electrical discoveries, by the dawning greatness and original principles of the country of which he was so prominent a representative, and by the extraordinary circumstances of his times, when great social and political questions were brought to new and popular tests, and made the homely scientific republican an oracle in the most luxurious and artificial of despotic courts." (Bloom, Harold, ed.) Here Tuckerman is showing how Franklin was different than the other authors of his times. He used his knowledge of other aspects in life in his writing which made what he said more in depth and credible. Tuckerman sees what he says as a true remnant of the goodness in society and how we should all base out life on socially, politically, and cognitively most of all.
Bloom, Harold, ed. "The Character of Franklin." Benjamin Franklin, Classic Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCVBF019&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 3, 2011).
"Being Virtuous: Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues of Life | The Art of Manliness." The Art of Manliness | Men’s Interests and Lifestyle. Web. 03 Nov. 2011.
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Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography. Henry Altimus, 1895. Print.
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