Final answer:
Mercy is not one of Benjamin Franklin's thirteen virtues; his focus on personal responsibility and improvement highlights a concept of republican virtue favoring hard work over inherited wealth.
Step-by-step explanation:
In his Autobiography, Benjamin Franklin outlines a plan for moral perfection which includes various virtues. The one virtue that is not part of Franklin's thirteen virtues is mercy. The thirteen virtues include temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. Franklin's plan emphasizes personal responsibility and self-improvement as the pathway to success, and he largely dismissed circumstances such as inheriting wealth without work. His virtues played a significant role in shaping the concept of republican virtue, encouraging civic participation and moral behavior as crucial for the well-being and success of the society.