Benjamin Franklin was a Founding Father an inventor, scientist, politician, freemason and diplomat. He helped write the Declaration of independence and discussed terms with the 1783 Treaty of Paris. Benjamin Franklin was a skilled writer and in doing this he inspired young people in his time and in our time today by teaching them from his own experiences to be humble and generous, to understand order, and overcoming one’s pride. The meaning of generous is showing a readiness to give more of something, as money or time, than is strictly necessary or expected. Benjamin Franklin goes back to talk about the establishment of the Philadelphia first library. He repeats that it was difficult to buy or borrow books in colonial America, if u wanted to own a brand-new book you would have to order it from England.
Franklin with the help of his friend got together and decided to open a public organization where individuals would sign a contract to join and promise to pay for books if lost. When it’s created, Franklin’s trying to raise money and be humble goes on to say that the idea for the library comes from a group of friends, not just him. This inspires people to donate to it so they can claim its virtue for themselves. Franklin takes the opportunity to go to the library for pleasure and studies there daily, during this time he’s saving money for his business and his growing family.
Franklin says his routine of modesty and good management works well, and he gets to attain great things with them. Franklin honestly doesn’t seek out higher status and praise, but is content to be humble and work hard, he’s rewarded by the kinds of accolades that less-qualified schemers only hope of achieving. By showing us how he started his organization we can see that he was trying to show people that we as individuals can make something to benefit people, to show that all we need is to want to make that happen. By him being generous and humble he made an extraordinary place that people still used today. Franklin points out that he has decided to work on his mortality he then makes a list with a list of virtues.
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The virtues are temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. He adds humility last, after one of his friends from the Quakers tells him he needs to work on it. He takes the virtues one at a time until he gets them all done. He makes a little calendar to keep up with his efforts on seizing each one, and also uses the small book to pray. Franklin uses this method for many years, and the virtue he has the most difficult time overcoming is ‘order.’ This is because other people can upset it, and also because he in all likeliness was just wasn’t that organized. As he admits later in life, he doesn’t achieve all these virtues, but he becomes a better man because he attempts to work on each of them.
Franklin also says that he deliberately left religion out of his virtue-scheme, so it could apply to lots of people, and he planned to write a book about it called The Art of Virtue, but he never did. In working to make his speech to appear humbler, Franklin thinks he became more victorious in public and that he was able to have more of an example over people because he wasn’t assertive when he talked. Franklin ends this part by saying the hardest thing to get past is pride, and that it always catches him – even he could be totally humble, he’d still be proud of that. His belief in virtue and the ways he works on it, we learn a great deal more about the kinds of virtues he practices from how he describes his actions.
Franklin’s claims that he is committed to working on humility and diminishing his pride are, ultimately, undercut by his somewhat egotistical choice to write an autobiography in the first place. In our society today, we still use Benjamin franklin as an example on what coming from nothing can turn into someone extraordinary. He’s influenced anything from science, our government, education and our great philosophers today. By him being generous and humble he made an extraordinary place that people still used today.
