Benjamin Franklin is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable men to have graced the United States with his intellect, living in Philadelphia from age 17 until he died at the age of 84. He was instrumental in founding the first library in the States (initiating the founding of many more across the colonies), the first public hospital, and the University of Philadelphia, all of which still stand today. He rightfully earned the accolade of most prestigious printer in Philadelphia by his early 20’s and only increased his notoriety from there. He is one of the founding fathers of the United States and was instrumental in bringing together the statesmen of the disparate colonies to agree to the laws of the Constitution, being the only man to have personally signed the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Treaty of Paris.
While I could list more facts about him, (he invented bifocal glasses, for example, and also designed an experiment enabling the harnessing of electricity from lightning—an exercise generating intense excitement across Western Europe and being dubbed The Philadelphia Experiment) his true genius can be found in his character. “I grew convinc’d that truth, sincerity, and integrity in dealings between man and man were of the utmost importance to the felicity of life;” he wrote, “and I form’d written resolutions, which still remain in my journal book, to practice them ever while I lived.” (Italics his.)
From a young age, Franklin was obsessed with the prospect of living a virtuous life. He toiled long hours at crafting his personal character the same way a farmer in his day might toil from dawn to dusk out in his fields. Franklin’s fields were his books and his study of morals, languages, history, politics, and anything else he deemed important to living a morally good life. He kept a physical notebook of his 13 virtues (temperance, order, and sincerity, to name a few) and would actively mark down in the pages when he found himself faulting in one area or another. His determination to live in a positively virtuous manner was, to me, obsessive.
My biggest take away from reading his autobiography was his determination to bring a healthy amount of skepticism with him into any discourse. He abhorred conviction of opinion, and actively avoided using terms like “certainty, undoubtedly, or any others that give the air of positiveness to an opinion.” He would instead say, “I conceive or apprehend a thing to be so and so; it appears to me, or I should think it so or so, for such and such reasons; or I imagine it to be so; or it is so, if I am not mistaken.” (Italics his.) He learned early on that certainty in the promotion of ideas was the surest way to create opposition to those ideas. Cultivating this understanding throughout a lifetime of politics and civil work led him to be an ideal candidate in helping bring together the disputing colonial representatives and forge the Constitution of the United States. (Fun Fact: While the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th 1776, Franklin had first written and proposed a plan for the colonies to unite back in 1754 at the onset of the French and Indian War. Despite this first treaty landing on deaf ears, it shows that he had the idea for unification over twenty years before its fruition.)
We can all learn from the examples that Benjamin Franklin’s life offers. Do we need to forgo all leisure time actives in preference for absolute virtuosity? No. But in a day in age where distractions abound and vice is a click away, the pursuit of a good moral life is more important than ever. Do we need to hone our rhetoric to the point of perfection? Again, no. But again, in an era overburdened with ideas, both good and bad, skepticism in the face of certainty is paramount. His life is the foremost example of always doing your best, always being your best, and always keeping an open mind.
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