Was Benjamin Franklin's System of Virtues successful?

“If there were no blemishes in this picture, it would scarcely be human” (Tuckerman).  No one in this universe is impeccable or unblemished.  Many people probably think they are perfect, but in reality they are not.  Benjamin Franklin noticed that his life was flawed, so he contrived a list of thirteen virtues that he thought were necessary to follow to help him reach moral perfection.  Franklin created a cycle that could be completed in thirteen weeks and in four times a year (Franklin).  He followed this system until eventually he was able to stop, because he had no faults.  “After a while I went thro’ one course only in a year, and afterward only one in several years, till at length I omitted them entirely” (Franklin 88).  Benjamin Franklin’s system of virtues was rewarding in making him a moral and exemplary person because the system became fixed into his brain.

“It was about this time that I conceiv’d the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection.  I wish’d to live without committing any fault at any time” (Franklin 82).  Benjamin Franklin came to the conclusion that he needed to alter his ways of living.  To realize and accept that his life needed changing, would take a lot of will power.  A little notebook was used by Benjamin Franklin to record all of his faults throughout each day, week, month, and year.  By keeping track in his book, he was able to see just how many faults he had in his everyday living.  “I was surpris’d to find myself so much fuller of faults than I had imagined; but I had the satisfaction of seeing them diminish” (Franklin 88).  At first, all he saw were the black markings symbolizing the faults, BUT as his records went on, he noticed the marks slowly diminishing.  Imagine the feeling of accomplishment as the markings decreased as each day went on. 

Benjamin Franklin realized that his life needed adjustment, so he took charge.  He changed his ways of living by coming up with his own techniques.  Franklin did all this adjusting and altering because he wanted to become a better person.  Becoming a better person takes some work and major amounts of perseverance.  "This article, therefore, cost me so much painful attention, and my faults in it vexed me so much, and I made so little progress in amendment, and had such frequent relapses, that I was almost ready to give up the attempt, and content myself with a faulty character in that respect" (Franklin 88).  In some cases, Franklin just wanted to give up and felt that he could live with his lack of moral perfection.  When he actually thought about it though, he knew that he would not be happy with himself.  In the end, he “omitted them (virtues) entirely” (Franklin 88).  Benjamin Franklin was able to stop completing the cycle because he had trained his mind to always be following the thirteen virtues.  It eventually became a subconscious effort.  All in all, the system of thirteen virtues that Benjamin Franklin created was successful in making him an overall better person.

Bloom, Harold, ed. "The Character of Franklin." Benjamin Franklin, Classic Critical Views. New York: C helsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=&iPin=C C VBF019&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 21, 2012).

Franklin, Benjamin, Dixon Wecter, Larzer Ziff, and Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1959. 81+. Print.