1726年富兰克林20岁，试图总结出道德十三条，并在日后实践。在自传中，他列出： “节制：食不过饱，饮不过量；” “节言：于人于己不利的话不说，避免琐碎的闲聊；” “秩序：物件有所归，办事有定时；” “决心：该做的事情一定要做，决心要做的事情一定要做好；” “节俭：花钱要于人于已有利，决不浪费；” “勤劳：珍惜时间， 时间要花在做有用的事情上，力戒无意义的举动；” “诚实：力戒虚伪欺诈，心存良知与公正，说话亦如此；” “正直：不做有损他人的事情，要做对人们有益的事情，这是你的义务；” “中庸：不走极端， 别人对你的冒犯， 若是正当，就要善于容忍；” “整洁：身体、衣物以及住所，要保持清洁；” “宁静：对待琐事、平常事或者不可避免之事，不可自扰；” “贞节：不要纵欲过度，有伤身体，切忌损害自己或者他人的安宁和名誉；” “谦虚：仿效耶稣与苏格拉底。” 富兰克林不是一蹴而就，而是每周一项，“等到一种美德养成了习惯，再实行下一项”。富兰克林没有完全做到，许多时候自认失败，但这极大地促进自己进步，有助成功与幸福，因而在自传里用了更多篇幅研究该计划，写道：“因此我希望，我的一些子嗣能够从效法榜...

I finally came to the conclusion that maybe he was right. Maybe there's no such thing as heroes. Maybe there are just people like my dad. I finally came to understand why they were so uncomfortable being called heroes. Heroes are something we create, something we need. It's a way for us to understand what is almost incomprehensible how people could sacrifice so much for us. But for my dad and these men, the risks they took, the wounds they suffered, they did that for their buddies. They may ha...