Philosophical Hall
Museum of the American Philosophical Society in Philosophical Hall
 
Online Exhibition
 
 
The Princess and the Patriot: Ekaterina Dashkova, Benjamin Franklin, and the Age of Enlightenment

Virtue and Self-Improvement

Today, the word “virtue” often refers to chastity or purity. But in the writings of Enlightenment philosophers such as Baron de Montesquieu, it typically referred to love of country and a sense of civic responsibility. Franklin spoke of “being good” and “doing good”—that is, developing both personal and civic virtue.

 Miniature Chess Set, 18th c. Maker unknown; said to have belonged to Benjamin Franklin. American Philosophical Society.
Travel Writing Case, n.d. Maker unknown; belonged to Martha (Bradford) Wilmot; red leather embroidered with metal thread. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin.

Dashkova and Franklin each used their autobiographical writings to construct a virtuous self-image. Dashkova presented herself as a model of virtue, defending her involvement in court politics, her decisions at the Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences and Arts, and her rejection of conventional female behavior. Franklin attributed his success to various self-improvement projects, from studying great books and testing a vegetarian diet to following a daunting regimen of thirteen self-imposed virtues.

 

 

I have never done any harm to anybody … my heart was honest and my intentions pure.
– E. R. Dashkova

I conceiv’d the bold and arduous Project of arriving at moral Perfection. I wished to live without committing any Fault at any time.
- Benjamin Franklin

104 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106