Journal # 6

From Ben Franklin’s The Autobiography (p. 80 – 83)

Write a well-developed paragraph in response to the following questions.

1. Explain what was involved in Franklin’s plan for self-perfection? What conclusion did Franklin come to regarding the effectiveness of this plan?
Franklin planned self-perfection by picking certain virtues that to him at the time seemed most necessary, or desirable. There were thirteen, which he intended to master and have no fault in. He planned to work on one at a time starting with the first, Temperance, and once having mastered that, moving on to the next. To keep track of his progress he made a little book where he made a page for each of the virtues. “I ruled each page with red ink, so as to have seven columns, one for each day of the week, marking each column with a letter for the day.” Every fault he found for a virtue each day, he would mark down in the book. He hoped to give a week’s worth attention to each virtue starting with temperance. The first week he hoped to “avoid even the least offense against Temperance,” and to keep moving on through the virtues each week and mastering each. But he was surprised that he found himself with more faults than he thought causing him to make a new book and keep going. He found himself relapsing and almost got to the point of giving up because it became impossible. He never made it past Order because he never felt he fully reached balance or a clear mind in Temperance. Even though his self-perfection failed he says, “Though I never arrived at the perfect I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell short of it, yet I was, by the endeavor, a better and happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it.”

2. Do you feel that a plan such as Franklin’s would improve you as a person? Why or why not? What would be your top five virtues?
I feel it would improve someone as a person. Even though the goal is unattainable you may have fewer faults than you would if you did not go through Franklin’s plan.
1. Silence
2. Order
3. Sincerity
4. Industry
5. Moderation