Virtue [vur-choo] – noun
- Moral excellence; goodness; righteousness.
- Conformity of one’s life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude.
Around 1730, while in his late 20s, American publisher and future statesman Benjamin Franklin listed thirteen virtues that he felt were important guides for living. Along with each virtue Franklin included a principle to follow that—in his opinion—would define a person of good character. The virtues can be divided into personal behavior and social character traits. Franklin tried to follow these guides in his life, although, like us all, he often went astray.
I believe these thirteen virtues are worthy of emulation by us in our personal and national discourse and in the manner in which we choose which path we will follow in our own life.
Personal
There are eight personal virtues Franklin listed. They relate to one’s attitudes toward activities and their challenges. Cultivating these personal character traits and applying them throughout your life journey will significantly increase the probability of the successful achievement of your goals.
Temperance: Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
Order: Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
Moderation: Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
Industry: Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
Cleanliness: Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.
Tranquility: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
Social
These five social virtues that Franklin listed concern our attitude toward people with whom we have dealings. Good social character traits result in other people wanting to do business or to have relationships with us.
Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
Justice: Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
Chastity: Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.
Franklin placed each one of the virtues on a separate page in a small book that he kept with him for most of his life. He would evaluate his performance with regard to each of them on a daily basis. He would also select one of the virtues to focus on for a full week.
Aristotle defined virtue as “that which makes both a person and what he does good.”
In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul spoke to our challenge of leading a virtuous life:
“My brothers and sisters, your thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, pure, admirable, decent, virtuous or worthy of praise” (4:8).
The commonality we find woven throughout the words of these wise sages is that the classic definition of virtue is a habit or firm disposition which inclines a person to do good and avoid evil. Characterized by stability, a virtuous person not only strives to be a good person, but also seeks what is good and chooses to act in a good way.
Unfortunately, today’s growing societal obsession with protest and cancellation actually denigrates rather than advances the righteousness of their underlying call for greater equality and inclusion. In actuality, the introduction of these new sets of moral attitudes and political commitments are weakening our traditional virtue-based norms of open debate and toleration of differences in favor of ideological conformity. With this as our current backdrop, there is a significant case to be made that our “new enlightenment” could use a good cleansing dose of revival and return to those old but ageless virtues espoused by Ben Franklin over two hundred nighty years ago.
Be studious in your profession, and you will be learned. Be industrious and frugal, and you will be rich. Be sober and temperate, and you will be healthy. Be in general virtuous, and you will be happy. At least you will, by such conduct, stand to be. – Benjamin Franklin
Have an AWE-full weekend!
William “Bill” Bacque