Benjamin Franklin and His Virtues

My favorite part about the first half of Benjamin Franklin's autobioraphy was the part where he decides to try to make himself into a perfect human being be ascribing virtues and a tracker for himself.  He listed 13 virtues, "temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industy, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility".  While this sounds like a great idea, in practice he finds this policy hard to adhere to.

While Benjamin Franklin is a historical idol and a founding father of America, his autobiography reveals the inconsistencies and shortcomings of a human being.  While Benjamin Franklin's autobiography was a tough read because of all of the tangents he goes off on, it provided great insight into his character.