Read the passage. [Franklin wants his descendants to know about their ancestor. His list of virtues is important to him. In fact, he says he owes the constant happiness in his life to it. He is now seventy-nine years old. He owes his good health to Temperance. He owes his fortune to Industry and Frugality. To Sincerity and Justice, he owes the confidence his country has in him.] . . . and to the joint influence of the whole mass of the virtues, even in the imperfect state he was able to acquire them, all that evenness of temper, and that cheerfulness in conversation, which makes his company still sought for, and agreeable even to his younger acquaintance. I hope, therefore, that some of my descendants may follow the example and reap the benefit. At the end of The Autobiography, what consolation does Benjamin Franklin offer himself when he realizes that he will never be perfect?
