Living in a civilized society, there are certain rules and regulations that everyone must follow in order to succeed. Along with these rules, there are virtues that some people choose to follow in order to live a healthy, honorable life. In Benjamin Franklin's The Autobiography, he lists thirteen virtues that he feels are most imperative to living a moral life. Even though he created this list in the 18th century, most of the virtues are still relevant today. There are, however, a couple that seem to be out of date for today's society. There are also some virtues that should be added to Franklin's list because of the changes that our society has gone through in the past few centuries. Each individual has a personal list of virtues that he or she feels are the basis of a moral life. There will be differences in each one, but there is also a general similarity in many. Franklin's virtues fit into many of these similarities.
             In the 18th century, etiquette was an important aspect of life. This is especially apparent in three of Franklin's virtues – cleanliness, order, and silence. None of these three are crucial to a righteous life in the present. Even though cleanliness is an essential to most people, it is not necessary to living a principled life in the present century. Going long with cleanliness, order is also a nice thing to have. Most people try to be organized, but once again, it is not important to live a righteous life. Silence, again, is not imperative. Franklin says to "Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation" (317). Although this is good advice, everything someone says is not going to be beneficial. Sometimes, things just need to be said. This will not cause a loss of a moral life. None of these past three virtues are vital to living an ethical life.
             In addition to the ten objectives both Franklin and I feel are importa...