Franklin, by implementing his system of virtues to his own life, was
successful in becoming a better person. Each of the virtues that he
chose is one which could apply well to anyone who is in search of becoming a
model citizen. The scientific way which
he chose to follow and track his following of the virtues showed his
determination at improving his character.
In Franklin’s Autobiography, he
writes, “”I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of
obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was by the endeavor, a better and
happier man. . .” (Franklin 89) His
original goal was to “arrive at moral perfection . . . to live without
committing any fault at any time” (Franklin 83) This was a very hard task that
he set out to accomplish. In fact, moral
perfection is so difficult to achieve that it is pretty much impossible. Even with the strong determination that
Benjamin Franklin exhibited, perfection is out of reach. He did, however, benefit from system of
virtues. While not able to be perfect,
Franklin did become a more model citizen of society, and as a result he lived a
happier life. In all likelihood,
Franklin probably had lived a less than satisfying moral lifestyle earlier in
his life and decided that he was tired of living that way and wanted to change,
to be the one that people would look up to, and also to live his life in
accordance to Divine Providence (Tuckerman 4).
The system by which Franklin tries
to achieve his moral goal is admirable, as pointed out by Tuckerman (Tuckerman 3). He decided that “daily examination would be
necessary” (Franklin 85). At any point
throughout the day that he caught himself going against any of his virtues, he
would record that mishap in his journal (Franklin 85). By doing this, he could easily track his
progress at improving his morals. It would seem, however, that while it was a workable and probably the best option by
which Franklin was given, the results would naturally be somewhat inaccurate
since what is following a selected virtue may be against other peoples’ view of
the same virtue. Also, he could have
forgotten to record each mistake as it occurred during the day. On the other hand, this process was not done
by every person in society, only Franklin, and thus the results would affect
Franklin- how much his character improved and if he was happy with living by
them.
Tuckerman notes that “The silent dignity
. . . is one of the most admirable traits of Franklin’s character” (Tuckerman
6) This seems to be true. According to Franklin, if something did not
need to be said or if it had negative effects, then it is better to not say it
at all (Franklin 83). Benjamin Franklin
seemed by all accounts to have been a man who felt a resilient desire to do
what was right and attempt to maintain peace.
“My rule is, to go straight forward in doing what appears to me right at
the time, leaving the consequences to Providence. I wish every kind of prosperity to my
friends, and forgive my enemies.” (Tuckerman 6)
If this statement does not show a true achievement of moral character by
constantly trying to do what is right, wishing prosperity to his friends, and
forgiveness to his enemies, then it would be hard to find one that would.
As a result of creating his system
of virtues, Franklin may not have achieved perfection, but he did significantly
improve his character and happiness as a result of living by a higher
standard. This is what was truly
important. By living his life in
accordance to a set of virtues, Franklin could become the person that he
deep-down wanted to be but was otherwise unable to become. Overall, his system seems to have been successful
because Franklin did experience a change in character and as a result was able
to live a happier life.
Franklin, Benjamin. The
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Paris: William Temple Franklin, 1791.
Print.
Tuckerman, Henry T. "The
Character of Franklin." Facts on File. Web. 29 Oct. 2012.
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