Benjamin Franklin Virtue Essay

Benjamin Franklin came up with the idea to make his life better by trying to be perfect in every way. This can otherwise be known as trying to reach a state of moral perfection, in which one could find themselves being happy with the life they live, and also living a pure, sinless life. It has come to be questioned if attempting to achieve moral perfection is a worthwhile goal. In the end of his experiment he ended up not being able to reach or achieve his goal but learned a very crucial, very valuable lesson. He discovered throughout the recesses of his journey that achieving his goal would be found to be impossible, but in turn he learned that many of the virtues are good to try and maintain during everyday activities and through life itself. By maintaining these virtues the quality of life can be expected to be exponentially greater than without them. Three of the virtues that stand out the most are Silence, Order, and Moderation. Silence, Order, and Moderation are thought to be the most important virtues within Franklin’s stride to perfection and many people today can learn at his attempts to make life more enjoyable for himself. First off, the first significant virtue on Benjamin Franklin’s list of virtues is Silence. “Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.” In other words, it means do not have conversations that are not worth having, or do not have a point, for they waste valuable time. Silence is believed to be important because it can save so much time. Take, for example a person in the work place. They might have a large amount of work to get done but do not finish it all because they spend too much time talking to a co-worker. Silence is also known to uphold or otherwise save people’s reputations. If a person spends too much time gossiping about another person, lies could be spread and ruin someone’s perfectly upstanding record. Silence can also be a positive virtue because it can prevent individuals from causing