The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: Part 2 Summary & Analysis

The first letter Franklin includes to show why he is continuing his Autobiography is from a man named Abel James who wrote to Franklin while Franklin was in Paris. James says he has wanted to write Franklin for some time but feared the letter might fall into the hands of the British.

Abel James read over 23 pages of Franklin’s handwritten draft of Part One of the Autobiography. He includes a copy of it so that Franklin might continue to write the history of his life. He says the book would be entertaining to millions. He says it would instruct the world’s youth to achieve Franklin’s industry and temperance. The work would have many other values, he adds, but this would be most important.

The second, longer letter Franklin includes to demonstrate why he’s undertaken to complete his Autobiography was sent by Benjamin Vaughn in Paris, January 31st 1783. After reading over a description from a mutual friend (perhaps James) of what was to become Part One of Franklin’s book, Vaughn says, he found it necessary to urge Franklin to complete the work.

Vaughn says he solicits the history of Franklin’s life because: (1) His life is remarkable (2) It will be a valuable document of the foundation and working of the newly created United States. (3) Most importantly, it will allow for the formation of future great men who might follow in Franklin’s example, in particular by giving a “noble rule and example of self-education.”

Franklin’s Autobiography, Vaughn continues, will not only teach self-education, but the education of a wise man. He insists that the small, private details are as important as the larger plans because what people need is “rules of prudence in ordinary affairs.” His book will be a “key to life.” His readers will see that even Franklin formed a plan by which he became considerable—that he wasn’t simply born to greatness. A man should arrange his conduct to suit the whole of a life, not simply a moment.

Vaughn praises what he calls Franklin’s modesty and disinterestedness. Yet another reason, Vaughn continues, is that Franklin’s style of writing is serviceable, shrewd, and well-composed and his continuing it may inspire more writing of the same kind rather than the vain trifles of the pretentiously literary. He concludes his letter with a personal application. Vaughn says he himself is desirous of seeing the Autobiography come into the world. He asks Franklin to show himself as he is, a great man, one who loves “justice, liberty, and concord.”

Franklin continues the account of his life, writing from Passy, near Paris, in 1784. He says he had been too busy to set to work again when he first received the letters. He says if he lives until he gets home to Philadelphia he might improve his present recollections from his notes and adds that he can’t remember if he gave an account of the means he used to establish the Philadelphia public library. He speaks of the lack of booksellers and the poor state of printing houses in New York and Philadelphia when he first moved from Boston.

Franklin recounts how the Junto formed a small library, and he transformed this into a subscription library after seeing its utility. Other towns copied the idea, reading became fashionable, and people became better read. He says that Brockden, the scrivener who helped him start the library, criticized that they would all be dead before the term of subscription had expired, but he says that, in his case, Brockden was wrong, and a charter allowed the library to continue in perpetuity without subscriptions anyway.

Franklin says his attempts to gain subscribers showed him that soliciting his fellows was more easily done if he did not present himself as the author of the idea. It was best to fain modesty because the sacrifice of vanity would later be amply repaid. He said the library gave him a chance to improve by constant study, for which he set aside an hour or two every day.

Reading, Franklin adds, was his only amusement. He says he became industrious to provide for the family he was starting and to achieve success, eventually standing before five kings and sitting down with one, the King of Denmark, for dinner. He reiterates his luck at having such a good wife, and tells how he eventually went from eating from a wooden bowl with a pewter spoon to eating out of china bowls with silver.

Franklin tells how he was raised Presbyterian, didn’t attend service, but never doubted God existed. The best way to serve God, he thought, was to do good to man. He eventually refrained from debating points of religion with others. Though he didn’t attend church service, he paid an annual sum to the Presbyterian church. He said he would have gone to church more if the minister had been a good preacher. He laments that when he did go to church he received no practical moral instruction.

It was about this time, Franklin writes, he conceived the “bold and arduous plan of arriving at moral perfection.” He wished to live faultlessly, but soon found he couldn’t. He devised what he calls a more practical means for moral improvement. He established a list of thirteen virtues with definitions. They are: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, and Humility.

Franklin wanted to achieve all these virtues, but thought it best to focus on one at a time. He resolved to pay strict attention to one virtue per week for thirteen weeks, improving in one area before moving on to the next. The ordering of the virtues was planned to build toward success. He made charts, and tracked his failures in each realm of virtue with a dot, wanting, eventually, to keep the charts completely clear of marks.

Franklin chose quotations from Cato, Cicero, and King Solomon to preface his book of charts, wrote a prayer to God asking him for wisdom, guidance, and strength, and used sometime a prayer of Thomson’s asking God to teach us what is good.

One page of Franklin’s notebook contained a daily schedule which entailed: (1) rising at 5:00 A.M., washing, addressing the “Powerful Goodness” and asking “What good shall I do this day?” (2) a work period from 8:00-12:00 (3) two hours for lunch and looking over accounts (4) working from 2:00-6:00, and (5) putting things in their proper places, listening to music or taking diversion, examining the day and asking the question “What good have I done today?”

Franklin said he went through with the plan for several cycles of thirteen weeks, with occasional intermissions, and was surprised to find how full of faults he was. He was satisfied to see himself improve. In time he went through only one cycle per year, then one every several years. He says that Order was most difficult for him, that he almost gave up pursuing it, and he wishes he had gotten better at it because his memory has grown worse as he has aged and it would have been a great thing to have all his documents in order.

Franklin says he owes all his happiness, right down to his 79th year (his age at the time of writing), to pursuing this plan. He says he owes his health to Temperance; to Industry, his early success; to Sincerity and Justice, the confidence of his country; and to the influence of all the virtues, his evenness of temper and cheerfulness. He says he avoided the tenants of any particular religion because he hoped one day the plan might be serviceable to people of all faiths, and considered publishing it as book called “The Art of Virtue,” which he never did.

Franklin says that vicious or immoral actions are not hurtful because they are forbidden by various religions, but are forbidden by those religions because the actions are hurtful in themselves. He tells how his list first only had twelve virtues, but a friend convinced him he was sometimes vain, so he added humility.

Franklin says it is more important, perhaps, to seem to others to practice humility than actually to possess it. He followed the rules of the Junto in expressing dissent and tried never to rush into contradicting someone, even if that someone’s point was ridiculous. This led others to respect him and be more easily persuaded to his reasoning. Expressing himself in this way eventually became easy to him.

Pride and vanity, Franklin adds, are the hardest passions to overcome. Even if he could get rid of them, he says he would probably end in being proud of his humility.