
I practiced Ben Franklin's 13 virtue system for 3 years - jaymeh13
https://medium.com/the-mission/this-300-year-old-system-will-help-you-become-the-best-version-of-yourself-1c0d3601ae68
======
Exuma
If you're interested in something like this, but something that seems a lot
more "applicable", try to do sentence completions according to this book. It's
one of the best books I have ever read, and I don't say that lightly. Every
person I recommend it to instantly is blown away.

[https://www.amazon.com/Six-Pillars-Self-Esteem-Nathaniel-
Bra...](https://www.amazon.com/Six-Pillars-Self-Esteem-Nathaniel-Branden-
ebook/dp/B007JK9BAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1508952781&sr=8-1&keywords=6+pillars+of+self+esteem)

He talks about sentence completions in there. I've been doing them and just a
few days of doing them I've already made major changes that I haven't been
able to make with "just" mind and willpower. It's like it somehow digs up
stuff out of your subconscious and lets it go.

~~~
hsitz
I agree that's an excellent book, and that his sentence completion exercises
are helpful. I would caution against thinking they're some kind of magical
thing; they help, that's all, there's still lots of work a person needs to do.
In any case, anyone who's interested can start out by reading the same
exercises on his website (which is still there even though Branden died
several years ago):

[http://www.nathanielbranden.com/sentence-
completion-i](http://www.nathanielbranden.com/sentence-completion-i)

[http://www.nathanielbranden.com/sentence-completion-
ii](http://www.nathanielbranden.com/sentence-completion-ii)

------
ravenstine
Just a note on Bushido: Although I'm sure such codes can be useful to people,
it's essentially bullcrap got used to fuel Japan's rise of fascism.

[https://www.tofugu.com/japan/bushido/](https://www.tofugu.com/japan/bushido/)

I particularly loathe the term as I've heard it used by more than one
desperate "white knight" who doesn't practice a single bit of it but uses it
to appear virtuous. Whenever I hear someone mention "bushido", my first
instinct is to assume they don't know what they're talking about.

I think it's fine to espouse the ideology if one actually takes it seriously
and understands the history(or lack thereof). Sadly, it seems more often to be
used as a seemingly non-denominational form of code to be adopted by those
trying to mask their own lack of virtue. Then again, it's probably more
effective to adopt parts of different ideologies you find useful rather than
taint yourself with a name like Bushido.

~~~
jdmichal
Chivalry is very similar. Wikipedia even has a section calling it out:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chivalry#Literary_chivalry_and...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chivalry#Literary_chivalry_and_historical_reality)

~~~
icc97
It doesn't say that chivalry was some fascist practice, just that it's never
been that prevalent.

~~~
jdmichal
Did you read the"ten commandments" in the section above? It was very much part
of the larger fuedal system, including the church.

------
leephillips
D.H. Lawrence's take on Franklin's virtues is immortal:

[http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/lewiss/lawrence.htm](http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/lewiss/lawrence.htm)

My high school English teacher, Frank McCourt, used to love reading this out
loud.

~~~
cholantesh
_The_ Frank McCourt? Angela's Ashes Frank McCourt?

~~~
leephillips
Yes, every semester for 2.5 years while at Stuyvesant H.S.

I remember his voice clearly, when he paused and said, "I do not like him."

~~~
Arubis
What was it like having him as a teacher? His writings portray him as deeply
passionate about the field & a very genuine human being; I'd be interested to
know how your experience compared.

Also, I'm incredibly jealous.

~~~
leephillips
Well, put it this way: One day there was some kind of staffing glitch, and one
of my classes had no teacher. So 30 students were left to their own devices;
some snuck outside, some went to the cafeteria to socialize, some to the
library, or to the auditorium, which was used as a kind of study hall. At the
time, McCourt was covering _Hamlet_. Remember high school? Every subject,
every day, for forty minutes. I went to McCourt’s classroom, found the one
empty desk, and sat down. He glanced at me and kept on going, without missing
a beat.

I re-read _Hamlet_ every few years. In my inner voice, the characters have a
tendency to slip into an Irish accent.

------
emodendroket
I'm sorry but it's very hard for me to take seriously Ben Franklin's
exhortations to chastity and temperance. I guess he had some awareness of this
given his famous dialogue with gout.
[http://www.bartleby.com/109/3.html](http://www.bartleby.com/109/3.html)

~~~
smaddox
I doubt Ben took them seriously. He's well known for having fabricated popular
stories on slow publication weeks/months. This was likely his form of click-
bate.

~~~
tome
Click- _bait_? I think click-bate is something else.

~~~
B1FF_PSUVM
With bated click - the moving mouse/finger hovers for a while, then, having
hovered, moves on.

~~~
purplezooey
Especially if it's something on medium.com

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bjourne
1\. Don't waste too much time on Hacker News.

------
leephillips
In case the attempt to maintain chastity were in danger of failing, Franklin
had some interesting advice on one way to handle that:

[http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/51-fra.html](http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/51-fra.html)

------
irrational
The first thing that came to mind when reading the list:

1\. TEMPERANCE Hara Hachi Bu

2\. SILENCE It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak
out and remove all doubt.

3\. ORDER This would be my wife's number 1. She abhors clutter.

4\. RESOLUTION Why is this called resolution instead of honesty?

5\. FRUGALITY Avoid debt I guess.

6\. INDUSTRY Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent
perspiration.

7\. SINCERITY Not sure about this one. Don't be deceitful?

8\. JUSTICE I should receive compensation for my work. I shouldn't receive
compensation for work that I don't do. If I break a law I should receive the
corresponding penalty. If I don't break a law I should not be penalized.

9\. MODERATION How is this different than temperance?

10\. CLEANLINESS Take a shower once in awhile.

11\. TRANQUILLITY Don't be an asshole?

12\. CHASTITY Get checked for STIs on a regular basis.

13\. HUMILITY Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of
yourself less.

~~~
ghostbrainalpha
>12\. CHASTITY Get checked for STIs on a regular basis.

I think that even in a _modern_ context you are setting the bar a little low
there. But good for you for getting regular check-ups!

~~~
komali2
Yea I'd swap that for "wear a condom."

------
sreyaNotfilc
What a small world. I was looking at purchasing the Walter Issac's Ben
Franklin book from Audible yesterday. I remember seeing a Discovery
documentary about him a few years back and found Ben to be fascinating (before
that documentary, he was the guy who flew a kite).

I do know that after a while he did do away with his 13 virtues since many of
then conflicted with each other (after all, the dude was a ladies man). I
guess its a decent experiment to try, but I think its over doing it to have it
as your way of life (well 13 virtues anyway).

I do like the virtue of being Proactive and Silence. Maybe I should practice
them for a week.

~~~
toasterlovin
If you’re considering reading a Ben Franklin biography, I would highly
recommend reading his autobiography as well (if you haven’t already).

------
matchagaucho
As I recall, the punchline to Ben's pursuit of 13 virtues was _" Adhering to
all these virtues makes one too perfect to be humble"_

The list is self-conflicting.

Franklin's conclusion basically was "everything in moderation".

~~~
miranda_rights
Yeah, I thought the list was supposed to be satirical/humorous but it sounds
like the author of the article was really trying to follow the virtues. Am I
missing something?

------
gumby
The submission should be titled, "How I have been practicing Ben Franklin's 13
virtue system for 3 years"

I went to the article to see why the author had stopped, thinking I'd learn
something about such systems (leephillips' comment sheds more on this
question).

The author interestingly describes _how_ he followed such a process but
doesn't really get into the benefits or drawbacks and it sounds like he is
continuing.

------
burntrelish1273
My favorite BF ancillary axiom is "Advice to a friend on choosing a mistress."
There are _zillions_ of horny, middle-upper-class women whom do pilates, yoga,
etc. and are HAF. So much nicer to see someone whom has fewer hangups,
expectations, drama and behaves more like an adult. Chastity (12.) implies
neither celibacy nor promiscuity, but Moderation (9.).

~~~
theyregreat
I hear you, brother. Much less work for more benefits with benefits. Men and
women both have sex on the Maslow hierarchy of needs, to varying degrees. Men
and women both get mood and cardio improvements from getting laid regularly.

PSA: Practice safer sex.

------
jaymeh13
OP here.

This system is helpful but imperfect. I welcome any suggestions on virtues or
practicing them.

~~~
monkmartinez
Stoicism. You just missed Stoic Week 2017, but you should be able to find the
course materials online.

~~~
jsilence
Any good pointers and/or advice on getting into stoicism?

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pcunite
His number 13 is interesting. To type that out in a post would normally get
you down voted by the angry young mob around here.

------
Lasher
I had to look up "venery" :)

~~~
greglindahl
Don't miss out on "term of venery" \-- it means more than STDs and sex.

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gremlinsinc
I'm just curious if they practiced that 'chastity' one... cause 'no thanks'
lol

~~~
jaymeh13
I never practiced this because I didn't feel it very helpful. I wish I had
more insight into why Ben Franklin thought this was important.

~~~
iak8god
> I wish I had more insight into why Ben Franklin thought this was important.

Perhaps you would if you'd tried it :)

But really, doesn't this point boil down to: _don 't act like a sex addict,
and avoid stirring up a bunch of drama_?

~~~
emodendroket
The standards for acceptable conduct in the 18th Century were quite different
in this regard than they are today.

~~~
iak8god
> The standards for acceptable conduct in the 18th Century were quite
> different in this regard than they are today.

Well, they didn't have Tinder, but I'm not so sure things were as different as
you may think. Here's a pretty amusing letter Franklin wrote that may provide
some insight into his thinking on the topic:

Benjamin Franklin, Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress (1745) \-
[http://www.themightypen.net/topic/16757-benjamin-franklin-
ad...](http://www.themightypen.net/topic/16757-benjamin-franklin-advice-to-a-
young-man-on-the-choice-of-a-mistress/)

~~~
emodendroket
I've read it, but give more thought to points 3 and 4. Obviously people were
sometimes having extramarital sex, but they were not freely admitting it and
it could be truly scandalous (particularly for the woman) if someone learned
of it.

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bhhaskin
Interesting read, thanks!

------
allan_golds
Unclosable pop-up window.

------
PatientTrades
Great post, nice system to improve the self.

Sidenote: I think its fair to say Franklin never achieved the "Justice" virtue
considering he was considered a racist. I guess pretty much all influential
white man in America during the 1700s were though. But check out Benjamin
Franklin's "Obervations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of
Countries."

