Before getting to what was actually the first Virtue on Ben Franklin's list of weekly focuses to improve our lives, let's revisit Humility. My take probably left the impression that Franklin believed we should not act with humility.
As with many famous people, Franklin made seemingly contradictory points at different times. At age 18, Franklin returned from Philadelphia to his home town Boston, where he visited renowned minister and prolific-author Cotton Mather.
On his way out through a low passageway, young Franklin walked with his head turned to face Mather as he spoke.
"Stoop! Stoop!" exclaimed Mather when the back of Franklin's head approached a low beam. Too late.
Franklin's head banged into the beam. Ever the minister, Mather took the opportunity to make a point. "You are young, and have the world before you; stoop as you go through it, and you will miss many hard thumps."
Franklin carried that memory the rest of his life. Decades later, Franklin wrote in a letter to Cotton Mather's son Samuel,"This Advice, thus beat into my head has frequently been of use to me, and I often think of it when I see Pride mortified, & Misfortunes brought upon People by their carrying their Heads too high."
An interesting aside about Franklin and Cotton Mather which we should consider during our current COVID-19 pandemic involves Small Pox, which swept through Boston about once every twelve years back in that era. The mortality rate was 30% for all who contracted Small Pox, a horrible disease that covers the body with disgusting sores. Whereas COVID-19 primarily claims unhealthy seniors as its primary victims, Small Pox can kill anyone, including the young and healthy, with babies being the most susceptible of all.
Mather had a man-servant --- yes, that's a eupehmism for slave --- name Onesimus. He told Cotton that in Africa, this same deadly affliction arrived regularly, but they took blood from the first to fall ill and admistered a drop of that blood orally to the rest of the village. While some became sick with minor symptoms, they survived. Mather shared this information with the public, advocating this type of inoculation the next time Small Pox returned. When the inevitable happened, many lives were saved as a result of Mather's influential testimony.
In Istanbul, Ottomans had utilized a similar treatment that served as confirmation for Onesimus' primitive vaccination. Franklin's fledgling newspaper took an editorial stance against it.
Years later in Philadelphia, Small Pox again swept through the American Colonies.
Franklin's 4-year old son succumbed of the disease.
Rumors spread that Franklin's son had died because of inoculation, proving Franklin's point made when he was much younger, prior to witnessing the success of heeding Mather's sage advice in Boston.
Franklin dispelled this notion, explaining that he had delayed giving his son the drop of blood because the boy already had a cold, a pre-existing ailment Franklin worried might be exacerbated. Ben would regret that decision the rest of his life.
Anyway, Benjamin Franklin's Temperance summary is to "Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation."
Portraits of Franklin do not reveal a model of slimness. He must have been quite healthy, however, because he lived 84-plus remarkable years, from 1706 to 1790. We would be well-advisded to heed his instruction to what I would interpret as Moderation.
Some younger victims of COVID-19 had serious obesity and long-term diabetes as co-morbidities, which some may consider deadlier than the virus attributed as the cause of death. Hopefully these people have been using the pandemic recess as motivation to improve their fitness, thus lowering their health risks. To that end, I am always happy when I see obviously sedentary people have at least for a few minutes abandoned the comforts of chips, easy chair and screen time to take an extended walk outside.
Getting back to exactly what Franklin said about Temperance, what did he mean by eating to dullness? As we approach Thanksgiving, it is easy for most of us to recall times when we ate so much turkey, stuffing and pie that we slipped into dreamland watching a football game on TV. Wouldn't it be much better to not eat to the point of such dullness and go out to play catch with the football after dinner?
We all remember being kids when that was certainly the case. Why resign to the lethargy of old age rather than embrace the vim of your inner child?
There's no way Ben Franklin could have accomplished all he did without holding fast to his vigor.
My old friend Mike, upon hearing "Drink not to elevation," would undoubtedly quip, "But I thought getting high was the point." The fact that he pours strong Tanqueray and Tonics for his guests and keeps his wife's wine glass topped off masks the fact that he never drinks more than he can handle. I too talk more about wine and beer than I actually imbibe.
So, why did Franklin write "elevation" rather than "dullness" as being too much drink? I think Franklin meant that we should always have our feet metaphorically planted on the ground so that we avoid making impetuous, foolish decisions, which of course is always good advice.
That being said, as we kick off the holiday season with a wonderful Thanksgiving, we can all be forgiven if we eat a little too much or drink one toast too many. Just don't make a habit of it.
After all, we don't want to throw away the health we work so rigorously to maintain all year long in a few weeks of winter splurging.
We want to be healthy enough to enjoy our next cruise when freedom returns to the Home of the Brave and the rest of the world. On board, we can enjoy delectable, nutirious cuisine served in healthy portions. Because you'll find plenty of activities to burn off those calories, feel free to splurge a bit during your vacation.
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