successively. Thus, in the first week, my great guard was to avoid
every the least offense against _Temperance_, leaving the other
virtues to their ordinary chance, only marking every evening the
faults of the day. Thus, if in the first week I could keep my first
line, marked T, clear of spots, I suppos'd the habit of that virtue so
much strengthen'd, and its opposite weaken'd, that I might venture
extending my attention to include the next, and for the following week
keep both lines clear of spots. Proceeding thus to the last, I could
go thro' a course compleat in thirteen weeks, and four courses in a
year. And like him who, having a garden to weed, does not attempt to
eradicate all the bad herbs at once, which would exceed his reach and
his strength, but works on one of the beds at a time, and, having
accomplish'd the first, proceeds to a second, so I should have, I
hoped, the encouraging pleasure of seeing on my pages the progress I
made in virtue, by clearing successively my lines of their spots, till
in the end, by a number of courses, I should be happy in viewing a
clean book, after a thirteen weeks' daily examination.
This my little book had for its motto these lines from Addison's
_Cato_:
"Here will I hold. If there's a power above us
(And that there is, all nature cries aloud
Thro' all her works), He must delight in virtue;
And that which he delights in must be happy."
Another from Cicero,
"O vitæ Philosophia dux! O virtutum indagatrix expultrixque
vitiorum! Unus dies, bene et ex præceptis tuis
actus, peccanti immortalitati est anteponendus."[69]
[69] "O philosophy, guide of life! O searcher out of
virtue and exterminator of vice! One day spent well and
in accordance with thy precepts is worth an immortality
of sin."--_Tusculan Inquiries_, Book V.
Another from the Proverbs of Solomon, speaking of wisdom or virtue:
"Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand
riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace." iii. 16, 17.
And conceiving God to be the fountain of wisdom, I thought it right
and necessary to solicit his assistance for obtaining it; to this end
I formed the following little prayer, which was prefix'd to my tables
of examination, for daily use.
"_O powerful Goodness! bountiful Father! merciful
Guide! Increase in me that wisdom which discovers my
truest interest. Strengthen my resolutions to perform what
that wisdom dictates. Accept my kind offices to thy other
children as the only return in my power for thy continual
favours to me_."
I used also sometimes a little prayer which I took from Thomson's
Poems, viz.:
"Father of light and life, thou Good Supreme!
O teach me what is good; teach me Thyself!
Save me from folly, vanity, and vice,
From every low pursuit; and fill my soul
With knowledge, conscious peace, and virtue pure;
Sacred, substantial, never-fading bliss!"
The precept of _Order_ requiring that _every part of my business
should have its allotted time_, one page in my little book contain'd
the following scheme of employment for the twenty-four hours of a
natural day.
{ 5} Rise, wash, and address
{ 6} _Powerful Goodness_!
The Morning. { } Contrive day's
_Question._ What good { } business, and take the
shall I do this day? { } resolution of the day;
{ 7} prosecute the present
{ } study, and breakfast.
8}
9} Work.
10}
11}
Noon. {12} Read, or overlook my
{ 1} accounts, and dine.
2}
3} Work.
4}
5}
Evening. { 6} Put things in their
_Question._ What good { 7} places. Supper. Music
have I done to-day? { 8} or diversion, or conversation.
{ 9} Examination of
{ } the day.
Night. {10} Sleep.
{11}
{12}
{ 1}
{ 2}
{ 3}
{ 4}
I enter'd upon the execution of this plan for self-examination, and
continu'd it with occasional intermissions for some time. 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. To avoid the
trouble of renewing now and then my little book, which, by scraping
out the marks on the paper of old faults to make room for new ones in
a new course, became full of holes, I transferr'd my tables and
precepts to the ivory leaves of a memorandum book, on which the lines
were drawn with red ink, that made a durable stain, and on those lines
I mark'd my faults with a black-lead pencil, which marks I could
easily wipe out with a wet sponge. 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, being employ'd in voyages and
business abroad, with a multiplicity of affairs that interfered; but I
always carried my little book with me.
My scheme of Order gave me the most trouble;[70] and I found that, tho'
it might be practicable where a man's business was such as to leave
him the disposition of his time, that of a journeyman printer, for
instance, it was not possible to be exactly observed by a master, who
must mix with the world, and often receive people of business at their
own hours. _Order_, too, with regard to places for things, papers,
etc., I found extreamly difficult to acquire. I had not been early
accustomed to it, and, having an exceeding good memory, I was not so
sensible of the inconvenience attending want of method. 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,
like the man who, in buying an ax of a smith, my neighbour, desired to
have the whole of its surface as bright as the edge. The smith
consented to grind it bright for him if he would turn the wheel; he
turn'd, while the smith press'd the broad face of the ax hard and
heavily on the stone, which made the turning of it very fatiguing. The
man came every now and then from the wheel to see how the work went
on, and at length would take his ax as it was, without farther
grinding. "No," said the smith, "turn on, turn on; we shall have it
bright by-and-by; as yet, it is only speckled." "Yes," says the man,
"_but I think I like a speckled ax best_." And I believe this may have
been the case with many, who, having, for want of some such means as I
employ'd, found the difficulty of obtaining good and breaking bad
habits in other points of vice and virtue, have given up the struggle,
and concluded that "_a speckled ax was best_"; for something, that
pretended to be reason, was every now and then suggesting to me that
such extream nicety as I exacted of myself might be a kind of foppery
in morals, which, if it were known, would make me ridiculous; that a
perfect character might be attended with the inconvenience of being
envied and hated; and that a benevolent man should allow a few faults
in himself, to keep his friends in countenance.
[Illustration: "The smith consented to grind it bright for him if he
would turn the wheel"]
[70] Professor McMaster tells us that when Franklin was
American Agent in France, his lack of business order was
a source of annoyance to his colleagues and friends.
"Strangers who came to see him were amazed to behold
papers of the greatest importance scattered in the most
careless way over the table and floor."
In truth, I found myself incorrigible with respect to Order; and now I
am grown old, and my memory bad, I feel very sensibly the want of it.
But, on the whole, tho' I never arrived at the perfection I had been
so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the
endeavour, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have
been if I had not attempted it; as those who aim at perfect writing by
imitating the engraved copies, tho' they never reach the wish'd-for
excellence of those copies, their hand is mended by the endeavour, and
is tolerable while it continues fair and legible.
It may be well my posterity should be informed that to this little
artifice, with the blessing of God, their ancestor ow'd the constant
felicity of his life, down to his 79th year, in which this is written.
What reverses may attend the remainder is in the hand of Providence;
but, if they arrive, the reflection on past happiness enjoy'd ought to
help his bearing them with more resignation. To Temperance he ascribes
his long-continued health, and what is still left to him of a good
constitution; to Industry and Frugality, the early easiness of his
circumstances and acquisition of his fortune, with all that knowledge
that enabled him to be a useful citizen, and obtained for him some
degree of reputation among the learned; to Sincerity and Justice, the
confidence of his country, and the honorable employs it conferred upon
him; and to the joint influence of the whole mass of the virtues,[71]
even in the imperfect state he was able to acquire them, all that
evenness of temper, and that cheerfulness in conversation, which makes
his company still sought for, and agreeable even to his younger
acquaintance. I hope, therefore, that some of my descendants may
follow the example and reap the benefit.
[71] While there can be no question that Franklin's moral
improvement and happiness were due to the practice of
these virtues, yet most people will agree that we shall
have to go back of his plan for the impelling motive to
a virtuous life. Franklin's own suggestion that the
scheme smacks of "foppery in morals" seems justified.
Woodrow Wilson well puts it: "Men do not take fire from
such thoughts, unless something deeper, which is missing
here, shine through them. What may have seemed to the
eighteenth century a system of morals seems to us
nothing more vital than a collection of the precepts of
good sense and sound conduct. What redeems it from
pettiness in this book is the scope of power and of
usefulness to be seen in Franklin himself, who set these
standards up in all seriousness and candor for his own
life." See _Galatians_, chapter V, for the Christian
plan of moral perfection.
It will be remark'd that, tho' my scheme was not wholly without
religion, there was in it no mark of any of the distinguishing tenets
of any particular sect. I had purposely avoided them; for, being fully
persuaded of the utility and excellency of my method, and that it
might be serviceable to people in all religions, and intending some
time or other to publish it, I would not have anything in it that
should prejudice anyone, of any sect, against it. I purposed writing a
little comment on each virtue, in which I would have shown the
advantages of possessing it, and the mischiefs attending its opposite
vice; and I should have called my book The Art of Virtue,[72] because
it would have shown the means and manner of obtaining virtue, which
would have distinguished it from the mere exhortation to be good, that
does not instruct and indicate the means, but is like the apostle's
man of verbal charity, who only without showing to the naked and
hungry how or where they might get clothes or victuals, exhorted them
to be fed and clothed.--James ii. 15, 16.
[72] Nothing so likely to make a man's fortune as
virtue.--_Marg. note_.
But it so happened that my intention of writing and publishing this
comment was never fulfilled. I did, indeed, from time to time, put
down short hints of the sentiments, reasonings, etc., to be made use
of in it, some of which I have still by me; but the necessary close
attention to private business in the earlier part of my life, and
public business since, have occasioned my postponing it; for, it being
connected in my mind with _a great and extensive project_, that
required the whole man to execute, and which an unforeseen succession
of employs prevented my attending to, it has hitherto remain'd
unfinish'd.
In this piece it was my design to explain and enforce this doctrine,
that vicious actions are not hurtful because they are forbidden, but
forbidden because they are hurtful, the nature of man alone
considered; that it was, therefore, everyone's interest to be virtuous
who wish'd to be happy even in this world; and I should, from this
circumstance (there being always in the world a number of rich
merchants, nobility, states, and princes, who have need of honest
instruments for the management of their affairs, and such being so
rare), have endeavoured to convince young persons that no qualities
were so likely to make a poor man's fortune as those of probity and
integrity.
My list of virtues contain'd at first but twelve; but a Quaker friend
having kindly informed me that I was generally thought proud; that my
pride show'd itself frequently in conversation; that I was not content
with being in the right when discussing any point, but was
overbearing, and rather insolent, of which he convinc'd me by
mentioning several instances; I determined endeavouring to cure
myself, if I could, of this vice or folly among the rest, and I added
_Humility_ to my list, giving an extensive meaning to the word.
I cannot boast of much success in acquiring the _reality_ of this
virtue, but I had a good deal with regard to the _appearance_ of it. I
made it a rule to forbear all direct contradiction to the sentiments
of others, and all positive assertion of my own. I even forbid myself,
agreeably to the old laws of our Junto, the use of every word or
expression in the language that imported a fix'd opinion, such as
_certainly, undoubtedly_, etc., and I adopted, instead of them, _I
conceive, I apprehend_, or _I imagine_ a thing to be so or so; or it
_so appears to me at present_. When another asserted something that I
thought an error, I deny'd myself the pleasure of contradicting him
abruptly, and of showing immediately some absurdity in his
proposition; and in answering I began by observing that in certain
cases or circumstances his opinion would be right, but in the present
case there _appear'd_ or _seem'd_ to me some difference, etc. I soon
found the advantage of this change in my manner; the conversations I
engag'd in went on more pleasantly. The modest way in which I propos'd
my opinions procur'd them a readier reception and less contradiction;
I had less mortification when I was found to be in the wrong, and I
more easily prevail'd with others to give up their mistakes and join
with me when I happened to be in the right.
And this mode, which I at first put on with some violence to natural
inclination, became at length so easy, and so habitual to me, that
perhaps for these fifty years past no one has ever heard a dogmatical
expression escape me. And to this habit (after my character of
integrity) I think it principally owing that I had early so much
weight with my fellow-citizens when I proposed new institutions, or
alterations in the old, and so much influence in public councils when
I became a member; for I was but a bad speaker, never eloquent,
subject to much hesitation in my choice of words, hardly correct in
language, and yet I generally carried my points.
In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard
to subdue as _pride_. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down,
stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and
will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it,
perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I
had compleatly overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.
[Thus far written at Passy, 1784.]
[_"I am now about to write at home, August, 1788, but cannot have the
help expected from my papers, many of them being lost in the war. I
have, however, found the following."_][73]
[73] This is a marginal memorandum.--B.
Having mentioned _a great and extensive project_ which I had
conceiv'd, it seems proper that some account should be here given of
that project and its object. Its first rise in my mind appears in the
following little paper, accidentally preserv'd, viz.:
_Observations_ on my reading history, in Library, May 19th, 1731.
"That the great affairs of the world, the wars, revolutions, etc., are
carried on and effected by parties.
"That the view of these parties is their present general interest, or
what they take to be such.
"That the different views of these different parties occasion all
confusion.
"That while a party is carrying on a general design, each man has his
particular private interest in view.
"That as soon as a party has gain'd its general point, each member
becomes intent upon his particular interest; which, thwarting others,
breaks that party into divisions, and occasions more confusion.
"That few in public affairs act from a mere view of the good of their
country, whatever they may pretend; and, tho' their actings bring real
good to their country, yet men primarily considered that their own and
their country's interest was united, and did not act from a principle
of benevolence.
"That fewer still, in public affairs, act with a view to the good of
mankind.
"There seems to me at present to be great occasion for raising a
United Party for Virtue, by forming the virtuous and good men of all
nations into a regular body, to be govern'd by suitable good and wise
rules, which good and wise men may probably be more unanimous in their
obedience to, than common people are to common laws.
"I at present think that whoever attempts this aright, and is well
qualified, cannot fail of pleasing God, and of meeting with success.
B. F."
Revolving this project in my mind, as to be undertaken hereafter, when
my circumstances should afford me the necessary leisure, I put down
from time to time, on pieces of paper, such thoughts as occurr'd to me
respecting it. Most of these are lost; but I find one purporting to be
the substance of an intended creed, containing, as I thought, the
essentials of every known religion, and being free of everything that
might shock the professors of any religion. It is express'd in these
words, viz.:
"That there is one God, who made all things.
"That he governs the world by his providence.
"That he ought to be worshiped by adoration, prayer, and
thanksgiving.
"But that the most acceptable service of God is doing good to man.
"That the soul is immortal.
"And that God will certainly reward virtue and punish vice, either
here or hereafter."
My ideas at that time were, that the sect should be begun and spread
at first among young and single men only; that each person to be
initiated should not only declare his assent to such creed, but should
have exercised himself with the thirteen weeks' examination and
practice of the virtues, as in the beforemention'd model; that the
existence of such a society should be kept a secret, till it was
become considerable, to prevent solicitations for the admission of
improper persons, but that the members should each of them search
among his acquaintance for ingenuous, well-disposed youths, to whom,
with prudent caution, the scheme should be gradually communicated;
that the members should engage to afford their advice, assistance, and
support to each other in promoting one another's interests, business,
and advancement in life; that, for distinction, we should be call'd
_The Society of the Free and Easy_: free, as being, by the general
practice and habit of the virtues, free from the dominion of vice;
and particularly by the practice of industry and frugality, free from
debt, which exposes a man to confinement, and a species of slavery to
his creditors.
This is as much as I can now recollect of the project, except that I
communicated it in part to two young men, who adopted it with some
enthusiasm; but my then narrow circumstances, and the necessity I was
under of sticking close to my business, occasioned my postponing the
further prosecution of it at that time; and my multifarious
occupations, public and private, induc'd me to continue postponing, so
that it has been omitted till I have no longer strength or activity
left sufficient for such an enterprise; though I am still of opinion
that it was a practicable scheme, and might have been very useful, by
forming a great number of good citizens; and I was not discourag'd by
the seeming magnitude of the undertaking, as I have always thought
that one man of tolerable abilities may work great changes, and
accomplish great affairs among mankind, if he first forms a good plan,
and, cutting off all amusements or other employments that would divert
his attention, makes the execution of that same plan his sole study
and business.
X
POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC AND
OTHER ACTIVITIES
In 1732 I first publish'd my Almanack, under the name of _Richard
Saunders_; it was continu'd by me about twenty-five years, commonly
call'd _Poor Richard's Almanac_.[74] I endeavour'd to make it both
entertaining and useful, and it accordingly came to be in such demand,
that I reap'd considerable profit from it, vending annually near ten
thousand. And observing that it was generally read, scarce any
neighborhood in the province being without it, I consider'd it as a
proper vehicle for conveying instruction among the common people, who
bought scarcely any other books; I therefore filled all the little
spaces that occurr'd between the remarkable days in the calendar with
proverbial sentences, chiefly such as inculcated industry and
frugality, as the means of procuring wealth, and thereby securing
virtue; it being more difficult for a man in want, to act always
honestly, as, to use here one of those proverbs, _it is hard for an
empty sack to stand upright_.
[74] The almanac at that time was a kind of periodical as
well as a guide to natural phenomena and the weather.
Franklin took his title from _Poor Robin_, a famous
English almanac, and from Richard Saunders, a well-known
almanac publisher. For the maxims of Poor Richard, see
pages 331-335.
These proverbs, which contained the wisdom of many ages and nations, I
assembled and form'd into a connected discourse prefix'd to the Almanack
of 1757, as the harangue of a wise old man to the people attending an
auction. The bringing all these scatter'd councils thus into a focus
enabled them to make greater impression. The piece, being universally
approved, was copied in all the newspapers of the Continent; reprinted
in Britain on a broadside, to be stuck up in houses; two translations
were made of it in French, and great numbers bought by the clergy and
gentry, to distribute gratis among their poor parishioners and tenants.
In Pennsylvania, as it discouraged useless expense in foreign
superfluities, some thought it had its share of influence in producing
that growing plenty of money which was observable for several years
after its publication.
Two pages from _Poor Richard's Almanac_ for 1736. Size of original.
Reproduced from a copy at the New York Public Library.
_IV Mon._ June hath xxx days.
Things that are bitter, bitterrer than Gall Physicians
say are always physical: Now Women's Tongues if into
Powder beaten, May in a Potion or a Pill be eaten, And
as there's nought more bitter, I do muse, That Women's
Tongues in Physick they ne'er use. My self and others
who lead restless Lives, Would spare that bitter Member
of our Wives.
1 3 _fine weather_, 4 Le 4 36 8 Moon set 10 12 aft
2 4 Ascension Day 5 19 4 35 8 _He that can have_
3 5 Mars Sat. Ven. _Sudden_ 6 Vi 4 35 8 _Patience, can_
4 6 _showers_ 6h 19 4 35 8 _have what he_
5 7 _of Rain_. 7 Li 4 35 8 First Quarter.
6 C Eraudi 8 19 4 35 8 _will._
7 2 Trine Mars Merc. _thunder_, 9 Sc 4 35 8 Le. Vi. Li.
8 3 _perhaps hail._ 10 17 4 35 8 Sun ent. Cn. today
9 4 7* rise 2 15 10 Sa 4 34 8 making longest
10 5 _very hot_, 11 13 4 34 8 day 14 h. 51 m.
11 6 St. Barnabas. 12 26 4 34 8 Full Moon 12 day,
12 7 _then rain_. 1 Cp 4 34 8 at 1 morn.
13 C Whitsunday. 2 20 4 35 8 Moon rise 8 20 aft.
14 2 2h Aq 4 35 8 _Now I've a sheep_
15 3 K. Geo. II. procl 3 15 4 35 8 _and a cow, every_
16 4 ff. Sun Sat. _wind, rain_, 4 27 4 35 8 _body bids me good_
17 5 Sxtil Sat. Merc. _hail and_ 5 Pi 4 35 8 _morrow._
18 6 _thunder_ 6 21 4 35 8 Moon rise 11 10 af.
19 7 Day shorter 2 m. 6h Ar 4 35 8
20 C Trinity Sund. 7 15 4 36 8 Last Quarter
21 2 _If we have rain about_ 8 27 4 36 8 _God helps them_
22 3 _the Change_, 9 Ta 4 36 8 _that help themselves_
23 4 _Let not my reader_ 10 22 4 36 8
24 5 St. John Bap. 10 Gm 4 36 8 Moon rise 2 morn.
25 6 7* rise 1 8 11 18 4 37 8 _Why does the_
26 7 vc Sun Jup. _think it_ 12 Cn 4 37 8 _blind man's wife_
27 C _strange._ 1 16 4 38 8 New moon 27 day,
28 2 Sxtil Sat. Mars _hail and_ 2 Le 4 38 8 near noon.
29 3 St. Peter & Paul 2h 15 4 39 8 _paint herself._
30 4 Square Mars Ven. _rain_. 3 Vi 4 40 8 Moon sets 9 30
_V Mon._ July hath xxxi days.
Who can charge _Ebrio_ with Thirst of Wealth? See he
consumes his Money, Time and Health, In drunken Frolicks
which will all confound, Neglects his Farm, forgets to
till his Ground, His Stock grows less that might be kept
with ease; In nought but Guts and Debts he finds
Encrease. In Town reels as if he'd shove down each Wall,
Yet Walls must stand, poor Soul, or he must fall.