Benjamin Franklin, born in 1706 into a not so well-to-do family of a tallow chandler, is a world-renowned American statesman and scientist, whose life story of rising from a boy of poverty to an eminent figure of many causes has ever since been thought-provoking, inspiring, and encouraging to all youth after him who would make life-long efforts to achieve success. His autobiography, the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, gives youth from all over the world a general but vivid record of most of Franklins’ life experience, which serves a precious food for thoughts and provides alerting and useful maxims and motto, most of which still sound sobering and enlightening. As a figure of cult, Franklin achieved what others could not possibly reach even a half in so wide fields, had he or she had likewise the same circumstances; as a great man of letter, Franklin wrote with an elegant, complex, yet rigorous, flexible, sometimes humorous style of his own, which not only expresses his thoughts exquisitely and concisely, but makes his works classics, the language of which has ever been learned and imitated by after generations; as one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S.A., Franklin was the only one who drafted and signed the four important political documents that laid the spiritual foundation and brought the brand new United States of America into form: the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, the Treaty of Alliance with France, and the United States Constitution, his enlightening thoughts shining and inspiring the people of the U.S.A.

Franklin’s success should owe to, first, of course, his personal struggle; and the times background and living environments, which provided the very special education, people he acquainted, many rare opportunities and coincidental events that made his life experience unique, adventurous, and his later success possible.

I. Ways of learning and critical thinking
Franklin began his learning by large amount of reading from an very early age. Though a poor artisan who had a large family to feed, his father was rather versatile and acquainted with not a few eminent local “leading people” who frequented him for his insightful opinions and advices. His father would “take care to start some ingenious or useful topics for discourse, which might tend to improve the minds of his children”. In this circumstances, Franklin subtly and gradually acquired the fondness of thinking, and “what was good, just, and prudent in the conduct of life”. “From a child I was fond of reading, and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books.” Franklin, this “bookish lad”, began his life long journey of reading with Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, R. Burton’s Historical Collections, Plutarch’s Lives, Defoe’s Essay on Projects, Dr. Mather’s Essays to Do Good, and many of his father’s collections in polemic divinity. These books he read played a crucial role in forming his values and outlooks, disciplining his conscience and “influencing some of the principal future events of his life”. After he became apprenticed to his brother in the printing house, he read even more to satisfy his greed for knowledge.
Reading is a process of inputting necessary knowledge that would lay the foundation of a child’s mind, reason, and personality. After a child has passed the stage in which he was still a baby and learned about the world through senses and by imitating fragments of language in the form of sound, reading will become the decisive and principal means of obtaining knowledge about the world and developing an imaginative mind. Had Franklin not developed the habit of reading, he wouldn’t have been able to write well and wouldn’t have employed his talents in those great causes.
Later, he started to learn to write, first verse, then prose. Writing is the best way to train one’s thinking and to develop critical thinking. How writing prose benefit himself Franklin claimed in his autobiography, “but prose writing has been of great use to me in the course of my life, and was a principal means of my advancement…”
There was a peer who was also a lover of reading and learning and with whom Franklin acquainted and often converse, debate. Franklin was always defeated in a debate or discussion with him, who was rather eloquent. This made Franklin determined to reflect on himself and put down his thoughts in prose. His father discovered his works by chance and made some comments on them, approving his spelling and punctuation while criticizing that his manner of writing “far short in elegance of expression, in method and in perspicuity”. Then, how Franklin strived to improve his writing? The answer is imitating, followed by careful correcting. “I bought it, read it over and over, and was much delighted with it. I thought the writing excellent, and wished, if possible, to imitate it. With this view I took some of the papers, and, making short hints of the sentiment in each sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, without looking at the book, tried to complete the papers again, by expressing each hinted sentiment at length, and as fully as it had been expressed before, in any suitable words that should come to hand. Then I compared my Spectator with the original, discovered some of my faults, and corrected them.” Such was the way Franklin taught himself to write, a skill that would determine his future advancement, and he did really awesome in it. And he learned widely through reading and writing and became a great “factotum” (Jack-of-all-trades), as he called himself.
When reading his autobiography, readers may find that his language is so intricate yet so full of elegance and logics, with those dangling structures and redundant sentences challenging readers’ minds like exquisitely constructed winding paths in gardens.

II. Setbacks and errata
A great figure as people address him, Franklin, like any ordinary person, could not avoid coming across setbacks and making mistakes, though the incidents caused by which were indispensible and irrevocable in shaping his life experience.
This was how Franklin recorded what he thought the first of his many errata in life: “At length, a  fresh difference arising between my brother and me, I took upon me to assert my freedom, presuming that he would not venture to produce the new indentures. It was not fair in me to take this advantage, and this I therefore reckon one of the first errata of my life; but the unfairness of it weighed little with me, when under the impressions of resentment for the blows his passion too often urged him to bestow upon me, though he was otherwise not an ill-natur’d man: perhaps I was too saucy and provoking.” At that time, the printing house owned by his brother in which Franklin worked as an apprentice was forced to close down because they published a passage on their newspaper that offended the authority. And his brother was even imprisoned for some time. Long had Franklin had the idea of turning to other trades or going out on the sea to be a sailor. He had done his job in the printing house with a little but growing reluctance. What’s worse, his brother even beat him sometimes. Therefore, the idea of ending his indenture with his brother and parting with him was probably also out of his hatred toward his brother manipulation freak and which was quite natural. But here, after a lot of years when Franklin looked back and reflected upon this “first erratum”, he felt a little guilty of what he deemed improper dealing of the relationship with his brother.
Franklin’s first stay in London was one of the most important experiences in his life, during which he saw much of the Old World, which, at that time, was still the center and front of learning, commerce, and industries; practiced his skills in doing business; tempered his will in times of adversities; and acquainted him with not a few people that would be of great help to him in his later life. However, his first trip to London was one of unexpected. And the early time of his stay in England saw extreme embarrassment and hardships. All these must be due to a Sir Keith, who was a governor and was “liberal of promises which he never meant to keep.” After Franklin broke away from hometown, he traveled to Philadelphia to work in a printing house. By chance, governor was shown a letter Franklin wrote to his brother-in-law, who acquainted with the governor; and was impressed by the writing skills and began to learn about the youth, Franklin. Much appreciated and loved by this eminent governor, Franklin received a proposal by Keith to start his own printing house. Keith promised that he will sponsored all the equipment and costs and that Franklin would personally travelled to London to select and purchase the necessary facilities for a printing house. Naïve and inexperienced, Franklin ignored others’ advice and trusted Keith totally. When he finally landed on London, he soon discovered that the recommendation letter by Keith was nothing but a rubber check. Trapped in a totally strange city, Franklin became homeless, isolated, and disillusioned. With the help of some kind gentleman he met on the ship, he was accommodated and employed in trading business.
No one could be the master of one’s own fate.

III. Self-discipline and the cultivation of virtues
People often praise Franklin of his virtues; and Franklin did measure himself with rigorous moral code. Virtues are not born within, and this is true to all. In order to become virtuous, one must be tempered by fierce tribulations and setbacks, by a self-conscious self-discipline, and by a strong faith in Almighty God, or whatever the deity it might be to him. In Franklin’s autobiography, readers can find a summary by himself on virtues:
1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.
11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.
And Franklin also practiced what he said: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
The Morning.
Question. What good
shall I do this day? The Hours of a day
5, 6, 7 Rise, wash, and
address Powerful
Goodness! Contrive
day's business
and take the resolution
of the day;
prosecute the
present study, and
breakfast.
Noon. 8, 9, 10, 11 Work.
 12, 1 Read, or overlook
my accounts, and
dine.
 2, 3, 4, 5 Work.
Evenining.
Question. What good
have I done today? 6, 7, 8, 9 Put things in their
places. Supper.
Music or diversion,
or conversation.
Examination of the
day.
Night. 10, 11, 12, 1, 2, 3, 4 Sleep.

Through reading this book, it can be learned that Franklin is indeed the best representative of the American Spirit. We may not achieve as much as Franklin did for, after all, Franklin lived in an era when a new nation was rapidly rising on a vast new continent and he was blessed with opportunities to employ his talents; but as long as we hold the same attitude as Franklin toward life, work, and the world, we should live an enriched, fulfilling and wonderful life.