Words: 1001
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 is 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 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 Franklins 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 Ben]amen Franklins 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 many conflicts. When someone attacks someone verbally, it makes them want to rebel against the attacker, be it verbally or physically. While a physical attack might not be as damaging, the outcome of a verbal attack might have much longer lasting damage.
To continue, the second most important virtue from Franklins experiment is Moderation. “Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve. ” In other words, try not to have things In abundance. The virtue Moderation is important because it can cause great jealousy in other human beings. For example, when someone finds themselves with an abundance of money or other material possessions, they might become green with envy. Those people, in order to have equal or more other worldly possessions, may result to crime to get the things the other person already obtains.
Moderation throughout life may also prevent people from getting overwhelmed. If everyone had a determined amount of what they would bring into their homes, they would be less likely to become stressed with dealing with all those things. Along with becoming overwhelmed with all of the excess objects, many health problems may come along the way. Such as heart problems, lack of sleep, and an overall unsettled state of mind. Moderation can also be applied to things like drinking, eating, and working/slacking off.
People who are known to eat in ho drink excessively can be turned from upstanding men and women of society, into foolish looking people that others pity. Many individuals under work or over work themselves. Those who work too much become overtired and don’t get the work they do done properly, while those who don’t work enough won’t get money and then won’t be able to provide for themselves and contribute to society. Last but not least, it is believed that the most importantly crucial virtue in anyone’s life is Order.
During Benjamin Franklins test to see if he could reach moral perfections he found order to be the most difficult for him. “Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time. ” This in simpler terms means to have a place for everything, and keep everything in its place, and to have an orderly schedule so as not to run late on tasks. Without order, daily routines would be nearly impossible to complete. Without being able to see what needs to be done throughout the day, people find it more challenging to manage their time well enough to get each task done successfully.
On a much larger stand point, without order, nations themselves would become chaotic and fall to ruin. Most political systems depend on order to keep their citizens under control and to carry out their laws or restrictions to ensure the safety of everyone under their rule. Another downfall that would occur without order would be nothing ever getting done. Order helps people see what needs to get done and when they should do it. When people have this information they are more likely to work more efficiently and get work done quicker.
To finalize, Benjamin Franklin came up with an idea to make his life better by trying to be perfect by reaching moral perfection by following the strict guidelines for virtues which he created for himself. With these virtues one could find themselves being happy with the life they live. In the end of his experiment he ended up not being able to reach or achieve his goal but learned a very valuable lesson. The most crucial, valuable, and important virtues were Silence, Moderation, and Order. By using these virtues throughout life people may find that they might Just have a more successful life, as did the brilliant man Benjamin Franklin.