A Pocket-Sized Collection of Benjamin Franklin's Thirteen Virtues in an Elegant Hardcover Edition

Between 1771 and 1790, American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin sat down to record the important events of his life, from his childhood in Boston to his work as a printer in Philadelphia, to his trips to Paris and his plans for the first public library. The story of the invention of the Franklin stove, the first Poor Richard's Almanac, and his experiments with electricity are all included here. His "Project for Moral Perfection"—a list of desirable virtues and steps to achieve them—influenced the modern self-help genre. Hundreds of years later, Franklin's account of his rise from middle-class obscurity to become a world-renowned scholar and civic figure continues to promote the American Dream. First published in 1791, this unabridged version of Franklin's autobiography is taken from the 1909 copyright edition.

In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin presents a plan for moral perfection: a set of thirteen virtues for individuals to cultivate. These virtues are meant to aid in one's economic and political successes while contributing to the greater social good. Rewarding Virtue questions whether Franklin's premise--that living virtuously benefits the individual as well as the community--can be judged by historical experience. In this book each of Franklin's famous virtues (temperance, order, silence, etc.) are presented in such a way to determine if living by these maxims do result in enhanced wealth or reputation. With a similar utilitarian spirit this book attempts to judge the worthiness of his ideas in the actual human experience. The subjects for this experiment are some of the best-known Americans. Presidents of the United States are assigned a virtue and then thoroughly investigated (i.e. Ulysses S. Grant and temperance, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and tranquility, etc.) By examining the lives of these selected presidents, the reader is challenged to entertain the possibility that these are lessons that could be applied to contemporary life.

This book expounds on Benjamin Franklin's 13 Virtues. Few know that Franklin was on a path of personal development. Early on, Ben Franklin realized he had to focus on his own self-improvement, thus he conceived 13 virtues to improve his life. With this book, you can follow Franklin's ways to track your progress on your journey to a better life.

Benjamin Franklin once wrote that he had “conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection…[and] wished to live without committing any fault at any time…to conquer all that either natural inclination, custom, or company might lead me into.” Although he was never able to finish this project completely, Benjamin Franklin was able to lay down the beginnings of this work in his later writings. Collected here for the first time are essays by Benjamin Franklin on living a virtuous life. Starting with Franklin’s essay “Art of Virtue,” read on to find out his thoughts on justice, moderation, chastity, and more. An easy-to-read guide to living your life with as much virtue as possible, the way Benjamin Franklin envisioned it could be.