Franklins First Virtue Temperance

I found that Ben Franklin continually wrote in his autobiography about improving himself. In his book, The Autobiography of Ben Franklin, he listed 13 virtues. With each virtue he gave a brief description on how he interpreted it, the first was;

Temperance - Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

Ben devised a plan to develop further the virtues he listed and started with Temperance. He determined that trying to work on all of the virtues at the same time would not be beneficial so he would focus on each individually. Since keeping a clear mind would be necessary to continue his work on the others as they came into focus he started with Temperance.

Temperance is the virtue that controls the desire for pleasure. It manages every form of enjoyment that comes from the exercise of human desire. Pleasure follows all natural activity the most intense are from the pleasures of food and drink.

Most Judeo-Christian religions consider Temperance to be one of their main virtues, I am not well versed in other religions but am certain that the other religions of the world would consider keeping a clear mind virtuous.

Even though Ben does not mention it I am sure that today in our world we should include other things that would cloud our minds in our struggle for Temperance. Recreational/Legal drugs and prescription medications are two that come to mind. Caffeine and Nicotine even though legal can alter the mind. To make the proper decisions at all times we should have complete control of our entire self.

With the obesity crisis we are facing in America today I found it interesting that Ben would mention eating as a part of Temperance back in the 1784. I have seen people that are out of control of themselves after over eating.

In sharing my thoughts with you I hope that some of you will comment and expand the conversation and understanding of each of the virtues.