6^th I attended meeting with the perpetual fund company
Adjurned till 1^st monday in ma[r]ch I took out of the
Library the 1^st vol of Benjamin Franklin By J Sparks
which consisted of 10 vol I red the first vol through which
I found Highly instructing & interesting the following is an extrct
of his rules of perfection which He endeavored to carry out in his
Life

The names of virtues with their precepts were

1^st Temperance—Eat not to dulness; drink not to elevation

2nd Silence—Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself
avoid trifling conversation

3rd Order—Let all your things have their places. let each part
of your business have its time

4^th Resolution—Resolve to perform what you ought perform
without fail what you resolve

5 Frugality—Make no expens but to do good to others or yourself
that is waste nothing

6^th Industry—Lose no time be always employed in somthing useful
cut off all unnecessary action

7^th Sincerity—Use no hurtful deceit think innocently and justly
And if you speak speak accordingly

8^th Justice—wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits
that are your duty

9^th Moderation—Avoid extremes forbear resenting injuries so much
as you thing they deserve

10 Cleanliness—Tolerate no uncleanliness in boby, clothes or
habitation

11^th Tranquility—Be not disturbed at trifles or at accidents
common or unavoidable

12 Chastity . . . . .

13 Humility—Imitate Jesus and Socrates

Says Franklin—My intention being to acquire the habit
of all these virtues I judgesd it would be well not to distract
my attention by attempting the whole at once but to fix
it on one of them at a time & when I should be master of
that, then to procede to another, & so on till I should have
gone through the 13. And as the previous acquisition of some
might facilitate the acquisition of certain others I aranged
them with this view as they stand above. Temperance first
as it tends to procure that cooleness & clearness of head
which is so necessary whare constant vigilance was to be up
and a guard maintained against the unremiting attraction
of ancient habits and the force of perpetual temptations.

This being acquired and esstablished Silence would be more
easy and my desire begiing to gaing knowledge at the same time
that I improved in virtue & considering that in conver-
sation it was obtained rather by the use of the ear than of
the tongue, and therefore wishing to break a habit I was
getting unto of prattling, punning, and jesting which ownly
made me acceptable to trifling company. I gave silence the
second place this and the next order I expected would
allow me more time for attending to my project and my
studies. Resolution once become habitual would keep me
firm in my endeavours to obtain all the subsequent virtues
Frugality and industry releiving me from my remaining debt
and producing affluence and independance would make more

easy the practice of sincerity & Justice &c &c

Conceiving then that agreeable to the advice of
Pythagoras in the golden verses daily exemination
would be nessary, I contrived the following method for
conducting that examination. I made a little Book
in which I allotted a page for each of the virtues I
ruled each page with red ink so as to have seven columns
one for each day of the week, marking each column
with a letter for the day I crossed these colomns with
13 red lines marking the begining of each line with the
first letter of one of the virtues on which line on which
line and in its proper column I might mark by a little
black spot every fault I found upon examination to have
been committed respecting that virtue upon that day

Form of the Pages

TEMPERANCE
Eat not to dulness, drink not to elevation

I determined to give a weeks strict attention to each of the
virtues successively. thus in the first week I could my
great guard was to avoid even the least offence against
temperance leaving the other virtues to their ordinary chance
ownly marking evry evening the faults of the day.

Thus ^if^ in the first ^week^ I could keep my first line marked T
clear of spots I supposed the habit of that virtue so
much strengthend and its opposite weakened that I
might venture extending my attention to include the
next and for the following week keep both lines
clear of spots proceding thus to the last I could get
through a course complete in 13 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 wood exced his reach and his strength but
works on one of the beds at a time and having acco-
mplished the first proceds to a second so I should
have I hoped the encouraging pleasure of seeing on my
pages the progress made in virtue by clearing success-
fully my lines of their spots till in the end by a num-
ber 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 Addisons Cato

Here will I hold if there's a power above us
And that there is all nature cries aloud
Through all her works He must delight in virtue
And that which he delights in must be happy

Thus I have copied so much out of the life of Franklin think-
ing it an excellent & worthy example, and hoping it masy
do me or my children or some other persons some good.
Another principle of Dr Franklins life & recommendation
is vary good under many circumstances in life He recom
mends to all persons in the pulpit, at the bar, in debate,
in conversation to take the modarate ground in Phrase-
ology to say I think or apprehend, I believe or I am
of the opinion that things are thus & so. And not that I
know, I declare, I affirm, that things are thus and so