Franklin early rebelled against New England Puritanism and spent his Sundays in reading and in study instead of attending church. His free-thinking ran its extreme course at the time of his publication in London of _A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain_ (1725), which he recognized as one of the great _errata_ of his life. He later called himself a deist, or theist, not discriminating between the terms. To his favourite sister he wrote: "There are some things in your New England doctrine and worship which I do not agree with; but I do not therefore condemn them, or desire to shake your belief or practice of them." Such was his general attitude. He did not believe in the divinity of Christ, but thought "his system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever saw, or is like to see." His intense practical-mindedness drew him away from religion, but drove him to a morality of his own (the "art of virtue," he called it), based on thirteen virtues each accompanied by a short precept; the virtues were Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity and Humility, the precept accompanying the last-named virtue being "Imitate Jesus and Socrates." He made a business-like little notebook, ruled off spaces for the thirteen virtues and the seven days of the week, "determined to give a week's strict attention to each of the virtues successively ... [going] thro' a course compleate in thirteen weeks and four courses in a year," marking for each day a record of his adherence to each of the precepts. "And conceiving God to be the fountain of wisdom," he "thought it right and necessary to solicit His assistance for obtaining it," and drew up the following prayer for daily use: "O powerful Goodness! bountiful Father! merciful Guide! Increase in me that wisdom which discovers my truest interest. Strengthen my resolution to perform what that wisdom dictates. Accept my kind offices to Thy other children, as the only return in my power for Thy continual favours to me." He was by no means prone to overmuch introspection, his great interest in the conduct of others being shown in the wise maxims of Poor Richard, which were possibly too utilitarian but were wonderfully successful in instructing American morals. His _Art of Virtue_ on which he worked for years was never completed or published in any form.