Abstract

Benjamin Franklin is a well-known thinker, a statesman, a diplomat, a scientist, and an industrialist, who goes down in history not only as the founder of the United States, but also as a man of glorious humanity. Autobiography is a fantastic book which inspired generations after generations of people. It contains the penetrating judgments of the struggle and successes of life and the true theory of morals of good and beauty, which changed the fate of countless people. In Autobiography, usefulness is the criteria of measurement for everything, promoting individual efforts guided by utilitarian thoughts. Franklin expressed his plain views on the ethics in the new world in Autobiography. He believed virtues are the key to achieve individuality, as well as social happiness. The thirteen virtues derived from Puritan teachings in the Autobiography are respectively: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, chastity, and humility. Not only did he promote these virtues to others, persuading them to keep from bad habits, improve their quality of life, and achieve self-improvement, but he also practiced them himself. He made himself a plan with a thirteen-week circulation to perfect his own virtues. Such standards of “usefulness” and egocentric progress of life reflect thoughts of pragmatism. Franklin’s pragmatic spirit contains a kind of secular wisdom and shares profound cultural and historical elements. Originated from his religious belief and the request of real life, it then developed with the support of the rising-up bourgeoisie. It soon became one of the major trends of thought in America and created a prerequisite for the birth of unique American pragmatism. Nowadays, it extends a far-reaching influence to American literature.

Key words：Franklin, autobiography, pragmatism, usefulness, virtues

摘 要

本杰明•富兰克林是美国著名的思想家、政治家、外交家和科学家、实业家。他不仅是美利坚合众国的缔造者之一，更因其光辉的人性而名垂史册。《富兰克林自传》是一部启发了一代又一代的励志奇书。它包含了人生奋斗与成功的真知灼见，以及善与美的道德真谛，被认为改变了无数人的命运。在《富兰克林自传》中，实用性是衡量一切的标准，富兰克林提倡以功利思想为指导的个人努力。富兰克林对于新世界的道德操守有着自己朴素的看法，在他看来美德是实现个人与社会幸福的关键所在。他在书中介绍了从清教的教诲中引出的13 点美德，即节制、安静、秩序、决心、节俭、勤奋、诚实、正直、中庸、整洁、贞静、谦恭。他不仅劝导别人遵循这些美德，远离陋习，提高生活品位，实现自我完善，并且为自己制定了一个以13 周为周期的计划进行逐个操练，以完善自己的道德修养。这种以“有用”为标准和以个人为中心的奋斗过程反映了实用主义的精神。富兰克林的实用精神包含着一种世俗的智慧，并有着深厚历史文化背景。他的这种精神因现实的要求、宗教的影响而产生,又因资本主义上升时期的资产阶级的支持而得以发展,因此成为主导美国的思想潮流之一，为美国实用主义的产生的创造了条件，对后世的美国文学产生了深远的影响。

关键词：富兰克林，自传，实用主义，有用性，美德