principle of society and law.Contents [hide] 1 Republican virtue1.1 In ancient Greece and Rome1.2 During the Medieval Age and the Renaissance1.3 During the Enlightenment1.4 In the republican revolutions of the 18th century1.5 19th to mid-20th century1.6 In later times2 Comparable ideas in non-Western societies3 Related concepts4 Bibliography5 See also6 FootnotesRepublican virtue[edit]Civic virtues have historically been taught as a matter of chief concern in nations under republican forms of government, and societies with cities. When final decisions on public matters are made by a monarch, it is the monarch's virtues which influence those decisions. When a broader class of people become the decision-makers, it is then their virtues which characterize the types of decisions made. This form of decision-making is considered superior in determining what best protects the interests of the majority. Aristocraticoligarchies may also develop traditions of public lists of virtues they believe appropriate in the governing class, but these virtues differ significantly from those generally identified under the category of civic virtue, stressing martial courage over commercial honesty. Constitutions became important in defining the public virtue of republics and constitutional monarchies. The earliest forms of constitutional development can be seen in late medieval Germany (see Communalism before 1800) and in the Dutch and English revolts of the 16th and 17th centuries.In ancient Greece and Rome[edit]See also: Arete and Virtus (virtue)In the classical culture of Western Europe and those places that follow its political tradition, concern for civic virtue starts with the oldest republics of which we have extensive records, Athens and Rome. Attempting to define the virtues needed to successfully govern the Athenian polis was a matter of significant concern for Socrates and Plato; a difference in civic vision ultimately was one of the factors that led to the trial of Socrates and his conflict with the Athenian democracy. The Politics of Aristotle viewed citizenshipas consisting, not of political rights, but rather of political duties. Citizens were expected to put their private lives and interests aside and serve the state in accordance with duties defined by law.Rome, even more than Greece, produced a number of moralistic philosophers such as Cicero, and moralistic historians such as Tacitus, Sallust, Plutarch and Livy. Many of these figures were either personally involved in power struggles that took place in the late Roman Republic, or wrote elegies to liberty which was lost during their transition to theRoman Empire. They tended to blame this loss of liberty on the perceived lack of civic virtue in their contemporaries, contrasting them with idealistic examples of virtue drawn from Roman history, and even non-Roman "barbarians".During the Medieval Age and the Renaissance[edit]Texts of antiquity became very popular by the Renaissance. Scholars tried to gather as many of them as they could find, especially in monasteries, from Constantinople, and from the Muslim world. Aided by the rediscovery of the virtue ethics and metaphysics of Aristotle by Avicenna and Averroes, Thomas Aquinas fused Aristotle's cardinal virtues withChristianity in his Summa Theologica (1273).Humanists wanted to reinstate the ancient ideal of civic virtue through education. Instead of punishing sinners, it was believed that sin could