Justice, Wisdom, Courage, and Moderation: The Four Cardinal Virtues Justice, Wisdom, Courage, and Moderation: The Four Cardinal Virtues PETER KREEFT These four cardinal virtues are not the only virtues, but they are the cardes, the "hinges", on which all the other virtues turn. The four cardinal virtues – justice, wisdom (prudence), courage (fortitude), and moderation (self-control, temperance) – come not just from Plato or Greek philosophy. You will find them in Scripture. They are knowable by human nature, which God designed, not Plato. Plato first formulated them, but he did for virtue only what Newton did for motion: he discovered and tabulated its own inherent foundational laws. These four are called "cardinal" virtues from the Latin word for "hinge". All other virtues hinge on these four. That includes lesser Virtues, which are corollaries of these, and also greater virtues (the three "theological virtues"), which are the flower of these. These four cardinal virtues are not the only virtues, or even the highest ones. As Einstein surpassed Newton, Jesus most certainly surpassed Plato.

But just as Einstein did not contradict Newton but included him, presupposed him, and built on him, so Jesus supernatural virtues do not contradict Platos natural virtues but presuppose them. Plato gives us virtues grammar; Jesus gives us virtues poetry. Back to the future! During the Silly Sixties, I was teaching a course in ethics at Boston College to a class of idealistic, impatient, and antihistorical freshmen whose vision of history was the Dark Ages and then Us. They were eager to save the world, design a new society, and liberate themselves and everyone else (especially those who did not want to be liberated) from the terrible, tyrannical past and to create a "brave new world" for the bright future. So my assigned reading list, composed of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas, hardly turned them on. They protested, "We know so much more than people in the past did", and were not impressed with my comeback, from T. S.

Eliot: "Yes, and they are that which we know." So they asked me whether we could do something more "relevant", something more experimental, something like what other classes were doing: designing their own course instead of being "enslaved" to the hoary past and to the "imposed values" of the teacher. I decided to go along with their scheme for a trial run. I said Id play Socrates with them and together wed try to design a new ethic for a new society, from scratch. I would only be their Socratic questioner, not their lecturer. They were thrilled. Off and running we went, throwing our books temporarily into the ragbag or dustbin of history and consulting only our precious creativity. Now what values do we want in this new society? First of all, do we want a double standard? A different ethic for society and for individuals? No, that was the hypocrisy of past and present establishments. No double standard. All right, next, what does society need? Harmony, cooperation, togetherness, working as one, each doing the thing he can do best for others, for the community, doing your own thing and communalism at once.

That sounds like a very progressive notion of justice, better than the old legalistic one. In fact, it sounds like music, which they loved very much. True justice is social music, harmony. What an enlightened idea! What next? What qualities must the leaders have? Not wealth, not power, not privilege, not even sheer intelligence or cleverness, but understanding, insight, sympathy. Into what? Human nature, human needs, human values. And this understanding of theirs has to have a practical side to it. The leaders should know people and their problems and be able to solve them, not just know some abstract ideal. What a nice, relevant redefinition of wisdom! What about heroism? Do we value that, in society and in individuals? Oh, yes. The willingness to freely go beyond the call of duty, to make sacrifices, to choose the difficult thing, to take chances. Courage. Not just folly, recklessness, not just physical strength, not even just physical courage, the ability to endure pain, but moral courage, the willingness to act on your convictions even if it costs you something, such as convenience or social acceptance. What a great new notion of courage! How unbarbarian! How deep! How superior to tradition!

We must know when to fight and when to flee, what to fear and what not to fear. Now what about greed? Is that a virtue? No. Capitalism is wicked because it fosters greed, materialism, consumerism. (Of course these students had never read capitalist moralists like Adam Smith and John Locke, or even Michael Novak.) But are material things evil in themselves? Oh, no. We should be sensitive to material pleasures, but "small is beautiful". We should desire and get and use just what we naturally and truly need, not what the ad-men tell us and sell us. If we all practiced Thoreaus or Buddhas detachment from greed, our present economy would soon collapse. Well then, let it. Let us make a new one, where only natural needs are satisfied. A noneconormstic economy, where people make and use what they truly need. Material things are our servants, not our masters; our horses, not our riders. We shouldnt let them ride us, neither should we lock them up in the stable; but should "ride the wild horses", our own desires and the pleasures we take in material things.

Its a good world, but we should treat it as a work of art, raw material for beauty, not conquest. What an enlightened new alternative to both materialism and Puritanism! (They knew nothing about the real Puritans, of course.) And these new values fit the new psychology. Freud showed us what we are: id, ego, and superego; and moderation is the value for the id, for animal desires; courage is the value for the ego, or will; and wisdom is the value for the superego, or conscience, or mind. Our new values fit our nature. Justice is the harmony or integration or adjustment (what nice modern-sounding words!) of all the different parts. A really up-to-date picture! Now someone who lived like this – wouldnt he be happy? Yes. Happiness, thats the great thing, the daring new answer to the question: "Whats it all about, Alfie?" Lets free ourselves from legalism, moralism, and guilt, to pursue our own happiness. An individual who lived according to these values would be truly and naturally happy, even if not rich and powerful. Happiness comes from within, not from without; thats the great new secret we have discovered.

The sons have become wiser than the fathers. We have found lifes great secret for ourselves. And the same would be true for society. Any society patterned on these principles would be happy, just as individuals would. No double standard, remember. We have here a bold new prescription for human happiness. Our new notion of justice is the true profit. Not money but natural justice is true profit. This Justice is always more profitable than anything else, any alternative to Justice, any injustice. Justice is more profitable than injustice. Perhaps we should write all this up, put down our new discoveries in a book for the world, a new book for a new age. How exciting! Unless – unless it may have been done before? How would you know whether it has or not? Youve scorned the past. Are you quite sure what it is youve scorned? Lets just take one sample drilling from the soil of the past. Lets look at the first and oldest philosophical ethic and politic in our civilization, Platos Republic. Lets test old Plato by our new wisdom and see how he scores. Might he have anticipated any of our ideas? The reader who has read The Republic can anticipate the next step.

The students were truly amazed to find that all eight of the ideas they had just discovered were precisely the main points of this bewhiskered old classic: no double standard; justice as harmony; wisdom as understanding; courage as nonphysical; moderation versus materialism; the fit between the three virtues and the three parts of the soul; the fact that justice leads to happiness for individuals and societies, that "justice is more profitable than injustice"; and overall the use of rational discovery and persuasion rather than force. After reading all this in The Republic they wanted to read more "old stuff". So we read Platos Gorgias, Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics, Augustines Confessions, and even parts of Aquinas Summa Theologiae. They found Aquinas treatise on happiness (Summa I-II, question 2, "On Those Things in Which Happiness Consists") a particularly "relevant" reading, for they could classify all their friends and all their favorite characters in fiction as pursuing one or another of the candidates for happiness that Aquinas listed, explored – and refuted. A healthy soul Why are these old philosophers so up-to-date?

Because they took their bearings not from the date – nothing is so surely and quickly dated as the up-to-date – but from the unchanging essence of man, the inherent structure of the soul. Plato was the first to discover and map this, the first to give us a psychograph. The four cardinal virtues – justice, wisdom, courage, and moderation – are relevant to man in every age because they are relevant to man himself, not to the age. They fit our nature and our natures needs. The human body has a structure that is inherent, not socially changeable, and the laws of its health are equally inherent and unchangeable, objective. The same is true of the soul. Virtue is simply health of soul. Justice, the overall virtue, is the harmony of the soul, as health is the harmony of the body. Justice is not just paying your debts, not just an external relationship between two or more people, but also and first of all the internal relationship within each individual among the parts of the soul. The harmony is hierarchical, not egalitarian. When World follows Man, when within Man Body follows Soul, when within Soul Appetites follow Will and Will follows Reason (Wisdom), we have justice.

When the hierarchy is inverted, we have injustice. Will leading Reason is rationalization and propaganda; Appetites leading Will is greed; Body leading Soul is animalism; World leading Man is unfreedom. Justice is individual before it is social. Robinson Crusoe alone on his desert island before Friday shows up can still be just or unjust. We are just or unjust to ourselves before we are just or unjust to others. Justice is rightness, righteousness. Justice is beauty of soul, soul-art, soul-music. But does the soul have a structure like the body? Isnt it simply consciousness, like light, with no inherent shape or color or size, receiving all its structure and form from its objects? The things light illuminates have determinate structures, but light itself does not (at least, not that sort of structure – e.g., light has no color). Isnt the soul like light? No, it is not. It is like the world; it has a structure. We can talk about it and derive an ethic from it. For instance, we can discover that it has three distinct faculties or abilities or powers.

We discover this, as Plato first argued, from the experience of inner conflict; when our desires move us to do one thing, our reason informs us not to do that thing, and something else in us sides with either reason or desire and decides the issue. (Plato had only the most rudimentary notion of this other thing, which is really the will. He seemed to identify it with what the medieval Scholastics called "irascible appetite", or the capacity for righteous anger.) From Plato to Freud, common sense, philosophy, and psychology have found themselves talking about some version of this tripartite-soul idea, with virtue as its health. This is natural, like a heavy body falling to its natural place, or a wanderer returning home. Misunderstandings Some of the more common misunderstandings about the four cardinal virtues, in general and in particular, are the following: They are relative to Plato, or the Greek mind, or pre-Christian paganism. Asserting their importance and universality implicitly teaches that they are salvational, that you get to heaven by practicing them.

(This is, logically speaking, a very silly confusion, but I have often found evangelicals and fundamentalists thinking this way.) They constitute only one subjective preference among many, like a taste in foods rather than like the principles of anatomy. They rest on an outdated, simplistic psychology. (Psychology has grown, but on these foundations.) Wisdom means only intelligence rather than understanding – the confusion between cleverness and insight, calculation and contemplation. Wisdom is one-sided, starry-eyed, unworldly, and impractical. Wisdom is only a subjective habit of mind rather than an insight into objectively existing things. Courage means only "taking dares", or foolhardiness. Courage is a specialty for soldiers rather than a necessary aspect of every virtue. Courage is a hard, old-fashioned, no-longer-needed virtue. (Read Alexander Solzhenitsyns 1978 Harvard commencement address on that one. – also offered by CERC) Moderation means suppression or repression. Moderation is cowardly rather than passionate. Moderation is dull. (Read G. K.

Chestertons Orthodoxy and The Man Who Was Thursday to refute that cliché.) Justice is a mathematical, impersonal, calculating thing rather than something intuitive like musical harmony. Justice is only external and social. Justice is necessary but unattractive, like a medicine or a law. There are many more misunderstandings, of course, but it would take a whole book and the demolition of the foundations of the modern mind to explore them all. A common Christian misunderstanding One of the misunderstandings, however, is so important for Christians that it needs special emphasis. That is the one, common in many quarters of modern post-Reformation Christendom, that sees these virtues as a sheer gift of God and not also as hard human work, that sees righteousness as automatically coming with the territory, or part of the package deal of accepting Christ as Lord. But isnt it true that righteousness, a righteousness far surpassing the four cardinal virtues, becomes available to us when we are joined to Christ? It certainly is. And isnt this a supernatural righteousness, a fruit of the Holy Spirit himself? Absolutely. But supernatural virtue is not subnatural virtue. It does not dispense with natural human foundations and with our responsibility to be active, not passive, in cultivation of virtuous habits.

A man with a violin case under his arm stood in Times Square looking lost. He asked a policeman, "How can I get to Carnegie Hall?" The policeman answered, "Practice, man, practice." There is no other short cut to sanctity either. Gods word says that "faith without works is dead". The works of virtue are the fruit of faith, that is, of a live faith. Being saintly is our response to being saved. We cannot do either without God, but he will not do either without us. He respects our freedom. He makes his power and his grace available to us once we are joined to Christ. But if we simply sit back and let that spiritual capital accumulate in our heavenly bank account without making withdrawals and using it, we are exactly like the wicked and slothful servant who hid his masters money rather than investing it, in Jesus parable of the talents (see Mt 25:14-30). The answer to the faith-and-works issue is essentially a simple one, in fact, startingly simple. It is that faith works.

The whole complex question of reconciling Pauls words on faith and James words on works, and of resolving the dispute that sparked the Reformation, the dispute about justification by faith, is answered at its core at a single stroke: the very same "living water" of Gods own Spirit, Gods own life in our soul, is received by faith and lived out by virtuous works. (See Figure 5.) The water of the Sea of Galilee comes from the same source as the water of the Dead Sea: the Jordan River. But the Sea of Galilee stays fresh because it has an outlet for the water it receives. The Dead Sea lives up to its name because it does not. The same thing happens to the "living waters" from God as to the fresh waters of the Jordan. When we bottle them up inside ourselves, they become stagnant. Stagnant faith stinks, like stagnant water. And the world has sensitive nostrils. Our foundation These four cardinal virtues are not the only virtues, but they are the cardes, the "hinges", on which all the other virtues turn. They are the necessary foundation and precondition for all others.

If a person is not courageous, for instance, he will not overcome the difficulties inherent in the practice of any virtue. If he is not wise, he will not understand what he is doing, and his virtue will sink to the level of blind animal instinct. There are many more virtues than these – there is always more – for "there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy." But never less. This is the foundation. This must be built, or rebuilt, first. Social and educational experiments must be built on this foundation, or on none. If we are to rebuild our civilization, or if we are to build a new one, we need to build on foundations whose posts reach down into our own being, at least. Ultimately, they must be anchored in God; but we are the image of God. Acknowledgement Kreeft, Peter. "Justice, Wisdom, Courage, and Moderation: The Four Cardinal Virtues" Chapter four in Back to Virtue (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986), 59-70. Reprinted by permission of Ignatius Press. All rights reserved.

Back to Virtue- ISBN 0-89870-442-7. The Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance The Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance Special Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called "cardinal"; all the others are grouped around them. They are: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. "If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom's] labors are virtues; for she teaches temperance and prudence, justice, and courage." These virtues are praised under other names in many passages of Scripture. Prudence Prudence disposes the practical reason to discern, in every circumstance, our true good and to choose the right means for achieving it. Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it; "the prudent man looks where he is going." "Keep sane and sober for your prayers." Prudence is "right reason in action," writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle. It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation.

It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid. A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed. This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man "takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin." In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits. Justice Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor.

Justice toward God is called the "virtue of religion." Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor. "You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor." "Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. The Ten Commandments state what is required in the love of God and love of neighbor. The first three concern love of God, and the other seven love of neighbor. As charity comprises the two commandments to which the Lord related the whole Law and the prophets . . . so the Ten Commandments were themselves given on two tablets. Three were written on one tablet and seven on the other. To transgress one commandment is to infringe all the others. The 10 commandments are: 1. "You Shall Worship the Lord Your God and Him Only Shall You Serve" 2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 3.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. In it you shall not do any work 4. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 5. You shall not kill. 6. You shall not commit adultery. 7. You shall not steal 8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor 9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife 10. You shall not covet . . . anything that is your neighbor's Temperance Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable.

The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: "Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart." Temperance is often praised in the Old Testament: "Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites." In the New Testament it is called "moderation" or "sobriety." We ought "to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world." One fasts or applies physical discipline to "chastise one's own soul," to "humble oneself in the sight of his own God," to "turn one's face toward God, "to "dispose oneself to prayer," to "understand" more intimately the things which are divine, or to prepare oneself for the encounter with God. The necessity of the mortification of the flesh also stands clearly revealed if we consider the fragility of our nature, in which, since Adam's sin, flesh and spirit have contrasting desires. This exercise of bodily mortification-far removed from any form of stoicism does not imply a condemnation of the flesh which sons of God deign to assume.

On the contrary, mortification aims at the "liberation" of man, who often finds himself, because of concupiscence, almost chained by his own senses. Through "corporal fasting" man regains strength and the "wound inflicted on the dignity of our nature by intemperance is cured by the medicine of a salutary abstinence." The duty of doing penance is motivated above all by participation in the sufferings of Christ-the necessity of an asceticism, which chastises the body and brings it into subjection is affirmed with special insistence by the example of Christ Himself. Fortitude Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause.

"The Lord is my strength and my song." "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one's heart, with all one's soul and with all one's efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and uncorrupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude). It obeys only [God] (and this is justice), and is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence). Human virtues acquired by education, by deliberate acts and by a perseverance ever-renewed in repeated efforts are purified and elevated by divine grace. With God's help, they forge character and give facility in the practice of the good. The virtuous man is happy to practice them. It is not easy for man, wounded by sin, to maintain moral balance. Christ's gift of salvation offers us the grace necessary to persevere in the pursuit of the virtues.

Everyone should always ask for this grace of light and strength, frequent the sacraments, cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and follow his calls to love what is good and shun evil Above is from Catechism The Virtues There are four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence Fortitude Temperance Prudence is our ability to determine true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of obtaining it. Prudence is right reason in action. It guides the judgment of conscience. It guides the other virtues and gives us the ability to apply moral principles to achieve good and avoid evil. Justice is the firm moral desire to give God and neighbor their just due. Justice toward God is called the Virtue of Religion. Justice toward men requires us to respect the rights of others and to establish relationships with them that promotes the common good. The just person is distinguished by habitual right thinking and uprightness toward one's neighbor at all times. As the Bible has says: Col 4:1 - "Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you have a master in heaven." This applies to all individuals in their treatment towards others. Your place in eternity (Heaven/Purgatory or Hell) will be determined in how well you learn this virtue.

Fortitude is the moral virtue that gives one the inner strength and firmness in difficulties to continue the pursuit of the common good. It gives us the strength to resist temptations and to over-come obstacles in one's moral life. It enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face persecution. It gives one the ability to sacrifice one's life in defending a just cause, as so many Saints and religious have done, which spreads the faith. Temperance is the moral virtue that provides balance in the attraction of worldly goods and pleasures. By control over one's instincts, you can keep desires within honorable limits. A temperate person directs his desires, which come from the heart and not from earthly temptations, toward what is good. To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one's heart and with all one's soul and with all one's effort. ( Catechism of the Catholic Church ) The Theological Virtues Faith is the theological virtue by which one believes in God and all that He has revealed to us, by what He has said and through His Holy Church. By faith, one must totally and freely commit their entire self to God. Those with true faith prove this through works of charity.

Service and witnessing to Christ and to the One True Church are necessary for salvation. Hope is the theological virtue in which we totally desire the Kingdom of Heaven and an eternal life of happiness with God. We know that this will be our gift by loving, honoring and serving God. Heaven is obtainable, not by our own strength, but by the help and grace of the Holy Spirit. Hope keeps one from discouragement and sustains us during times of abandonment. Buoyed up by hope, we are preserved from selfishness and led to happiness. Christian hope begins with Jesus preaching the Beatitudes. This is the weapon that protects us in the struggle for salvation. Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. Jesus makes charity the new commandment, the fullness of The Law. It is the foundation of the other virtues. It is the bond of perfection. If I have not charity, I have nothing and I gain nothing. With charity, I have life and inspiration. God's loving gifts are Faith, Hope and Charity. The greatest of these is Charity. The fruits of charity are joy, peace and mercy. It is friendship and communion.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Wisdom What are the Four Cardinal Virtues? - Fallible Blogma Fallible Blogma In messy pursuit of the true, the good and the beautiful What are the Four Cardinal Virtues? 7 comments What are they? Why are they “cardinal”? Where do they come from? Who decided on them? And why should I care? In the great movie, Gladiator, the whiny son of the emperor is complaining to his dad… “You wrote to me once, listing the four chief virtues: Wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperance. As I read the list, I knew I had none of them. But I have other virtues, father. Ambition. That can be a virtue when it drives us to excel. Resourcefulness, courage, perhaps not on the battlefield, but… there are many forms of courage. Devotion, to my family and to you. But none of my virtues were on your list. Even then it was as if you didn’t want me for your son.” – Commodus Well, Commodus, there’s a reason your virtues weren’t on his list. The four cardinal virtues are: 1. Prudence (Wisdom) 4.

Temperance (Note: Tolerance is not one of them.) They are “cardinal” because they are pivotal and foundational. The word cardo means hinge. Therefore, the cardinal virtues are the principal point on which all other moral virtues turn and come from. These four cardinal virtues have been derived from various sources and are no doubt found in many different forms and terms within the Old Testament of the Bible. Socrates (469-399 BC) mentions them in various forms too. But it was Plato that first enumerated the system from which the four cardinal virtues would spring. And it was – most notably – St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and later St. Thomas Aquinas who would further refer, support, and expound upon them within Christianity helping to make them cornerstones of Western Philosophy.

These should be important to us because, as the Catechism says, “They make possible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life.” Here’s a little more wisdom from the Catechism on the Four Cardinal Virtues (CCC 1804-1809): Human virtues are firm attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and faith. They make possible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life. The virtuous man is he who freely practices the good. The moral virtues are acquired by human effort. They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts; they dispose all the powers of the human being for communion with divine love. The cardinal virtues Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called “cardinal”; all the others are grouped around them. They are: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. “If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom’s] labors are virtues; for she teaches temperance and prudence, justice, and courage.” These virtues are praised under other names in many passages of Scripture.

Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it; “the prudent man looks where he is going.” “Keep sane and sober for your prayers.” Prudence is “right reason in action,” writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle. It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation. It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid. Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the “virtue of religion.” Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good.

The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor. “You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.” “Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.” Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. “The Lord is my strength and my song.” “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable.

The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: “Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart.” Temperance is often praised in the Old Testament: “Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites.” In the New Testament it is called “moderation” or “sobriety.” We ought “to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world.” “To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one’s heart, with all one’s soul and with all one’s efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and uncorrupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude).

It obeys only [God] (and this is justice), and is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence).” Catechism of the Catholic Church - The virtues MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT CHAPTER ONE THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON ARTICLE 7 THE VIRTUES 1803 "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."62 A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions. The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God.63 I. THE HUMAN VIRTUES 1804 Human virtues are firm attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and faith.

They make possible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life. The virtuous man is he who freely practices the good. The moral virtues are acquired by human effort. They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts; they dispose all the powers of the human being for communion with divine love. The cardinal virtues 1805 Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called "cardinal"; all the others are grouped around them. They are: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. "If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom's] labors are virtues; for she teaches temperance and prudence, justice, and courage."64 These virtues are praised under other names in many passages of Scripture. 1806 Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it; "the prudent man looks where he is going."65 "Keep sane and sober for your prayers."66 Prudence is "right reason in action," writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle.67 It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation.

It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid. 1807 Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the "virtue of religion." Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor.

"You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor."68 "Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven."69 1808 Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. "The Lord is my strength and my song."70 "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."71 1809 Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable.

The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: "Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart."72 Temperance is often praised in the Old Testament: "Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites."73 In the New Testament it is called "moderation" or "sobriety." We ought "to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world."74 To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one's heart, with all one's soul and with all one's efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and uncorrupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude). It obeys only [God] (and this is justice), and is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence).75 The virtues and grace 1810 Human virtues acquired by education, by deliberate acts and by a perseverance ever-renewed in repeated efforts are purified and elevated by divine grace.

With God's help, they forge character and give facility in the practice of the good. The virtuous man is happy to practice them. 1811 It is not easy for man, wounded by sin, to maintain moral balance. Christ's gift of salvation offers us the grace necessary to persevere in the pursuit of the virtues. Everyone should always ask for this grace of light and strength, frequent the sacraments, cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and follow his calls to love what is good and shun evil. II. THE THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES 1812 The human virtues are rooted in the theological virtues, which adapt man's faculties for participation in the divine nature:76 for the theological virtues relate directly to God. They dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive, and object. 1813 The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life.

They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. There are three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.77 * Faith 1814 Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith "man freely commits his entire self to God."78 For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God's will. "The righteous shall live by faith." Living faith "work[s] through charity."79 1815 The gift of faith remains in one who has not sinned against it.80 But "faith apart from works is dead":81 when it is deprived of hope and love, faith does not fully unite the believer to Christ and does not make him a living member of his Body.

1816 The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it: "All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks."82 Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: "So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."83 Hope 1817 Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful."84 "The Holy Spirit . . .

he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life."85 1818 The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men's activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity. 1819 Christian hope takes up and fulfills the hope of the chosen people which has its origin and model in the hope of Abraham, who was blessed abundantly by the promises of God fulfilled in Isaac, and who was purified by the test of the sacrifice.86 "Hoping against hope, he believed, and thus became the father of many nations."87 1820 Christian hope unfolds from the beginning of Jesus' preaching in the proclamation of the beatitudes.

The beatitudes raise our hope toward heaven as the new Promised Land; they trace the path that leads through the trials that await the disciples of Jesus. But through the merits of Jesus Christ and of his Passion, God keeps us in the "hope that does not disappoint."88 Hope is the "sure and steadfast anchor of the soul . . . that enters . . . where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf."89 Hope is also a weapon that protects us in the struggle of salvation: "Let us . . . put on the breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation."90 It affords us joy even under trial: "Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation."91 Hope is expressed and nourished in prayer, especially in the Our Father, the summary of everything that hope leads us to desire.

1821 We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will.92 In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere "to the end"93 and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. In hope, the Church prays for "all men to be saved."94 She longs to be united with Christ, her Bridegroom, in the glory of heaven: Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end.95 Charity 1822 Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

1823 Jesus makes charity the new commandment.96 By loving his own "to the end,"97 he makes manifest the Father's love which he receives. By loving one another, the disciples imitate the love of Jesus which they themselves receive. Whence Jesus says: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love." And again: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."98 1824 Fruit of the Spirit and fullness of the Law, charity keeps the commandments of God and his Christ: "Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love."99 1825 Christ died out of love for us, while we were still "enemies."100 The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself.101 The Apostle Paul has given an incomparable depiction of charity: "charity is patient and kind, charity is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.

Charity does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."102 1826 "If I . . . have not charity," says the Apostle, "I am nothing." Whatever my privilege, service, or even virtue, "if I . . . have not charity, I gain nothing."103 Charity is superior to all the virtues. It is the first of the theological virtues: "So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity."104 1827 The practice of all the virtues is animated and inspired by charity, which "binds everything together in perfect harmony";105 it is the form of the virtues; it articulates and orders them among themselves; it is the source and the goal of their Christian practice. Charity upholds and purifies our human ability to love, and raises it to the supernatural perfection of divine love. 1828 The practice of the moral life animated by charity gives to the Christian the spiritual freedom of the children of God.

He no longer stands before God as a slave, in servile fear, or as a mercenary looking for wages, but as a son responding to the love of him who "first loved us":106 If we turn away from evil out of fear of punishment, we are in the position of slaves. If we pursue the enticement of wages, . . . we resemble mercenaries. Finally if we obey for the sake of the good itself and out of love for him who commands . . . we are in the position of children.107 1829 The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion: Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works. There is the goal; that is why we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest.108 III. THE GIFTS AND FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 1830 The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit. 1831 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David.109 They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.110 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God . . . If children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.111 1832 The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: "charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity."112 IN BRIEF 1833 Virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good.

1834 The human virtues are stable dispositions of the intellect and the will that govern our acts, order our passions, and guide our conduct in accordance with reason and faith. They can be grouped around the four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. 1835 Prudence disposes the practical reason to discern, in every circumstance, our true good and to choose the right means for achieving it. 1836 Justice consists in the firm and constant will to give God and neighbor their due. 1837 Fortitude ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. 1838 Temperance moderates the attraction of the pleasures of the senses and provides balance in the use of created goods. 1839 The moral virtues grow through education, deliberate acts, and perseverance in struggle. Divine grace purifies and elevates them. 1840 The theological virtues dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have God for their origin, their motive, and their object - God known by faith, God hoped in and loved for his own sake. 1841 There are three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.

They inform all the moral virtues and give life to them. 1842 By faith, we believe in God and believe all that he has revealed to us and that Holy Church proposes for our belief. 1843 By hope we desire, and with steadfast trust await from God, eternal life and the graces to merit it. 1844 By charity, we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God. Charity, the form of all the virtues, "binds everything together in perfect harmony" (Col 3:14). 1845 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon Christians are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. 62 Phil 4:8. 63 St. Gregory of Nyssa, De beatitudinibus, 1:PG 44,1200D. 64 Wis 8:7. The Four Cardinal Virtues (And What They Mean) Prudence: The First Cardinal Virtue St. Thomas Aquinas ranked prudence as the first cardinal virtue, because it is concerned with the intellect.

Aristotle defined prudence as recta ratio agibilium, "right reason applied to practice." It is the virtue that allows us to judge correctly what is right and what is wrong in any given situation. When we mistake the evil for the good, we are not exercising prudence—in fact, we are showing our lack of it. Because it is so easy to fall into error, prudence requires us to seek the counsel of others, particularly those we know to be sound judges of morality. Disregarding the advice or warnings of others whose judgment does not coincide with ours is a sign of imprudence. More » Scales of Justice. Walt Seng/Photolibrary/Getty Images Justice: The Second Cardinal Virtue Justice, according to Saint Thomas, is the second cardinal virtue, because it is concerned with the will. As Fr. John A. Hardon notes in his Modern Catholic Dictionary, it is "the constant and permanent determination to give everyone his or her rightful due." We say that "justice is blind," because it should not matter what we think of a particular person. If we owe him a debt, we must repay exactly what we owe. Justice is connected to the idea of rights.

While we often use justice in a negative sense ("He got what he deserved"), justice in its proper sense is positive. Injustice occurs when we as individuals or by law deprive someone of that which he is owed. Legal rights can never outweigh natural ones. More » Fortitude: The Third Cardinal Virtue The third cardinal virtue, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, is fortitude. While this virtue is commonly called courage, it is different from what much of what we think of as courage today. Fortitude allows us to overcome fear and to remain steady in our will in the face of obstacles, but it is always reasoned and reasonable; the person exercising fortitude does not seek danger for danger's sake. Prudence and justice are the virtues through which we decide what needs to be done; fortitude gives us the strength to do it. Fortitude is the only one of the cardinal virtues that is also a gift of the Holy Spirit , allowing us to rise above our natural fears in defense of the Christian faith. More » Temperance: The Fourth Cardinal Virtue Temperance, Saint Thomas declared, is the fourth and final cardinal virtue.

While fortitude is concerned with the restraint of fear so that we can act, temperance is the restraint of our desires or passions. Food, drink, and sex are all necessary for our survival, individually and as a species; yet a disordered desire for any of these goods can have disastrous consequences, physical and moral. Temperance is the virtue that attempts to keep us from excess, and, as such, requires the balancing of legitimate goods against our inordinate desire for them. Our legitimate use of such goods may be different at different times; temperance is the "golden mean" that helps us determine how far we can act on our desires. More » The Cardinal Virtues The Cardinal Virtues Home Page Once we have received the gift of sanctifying grace we may not simply "sit back" and believe that we are saved. God calls each one of us to prove our love for him by growing in prayer and good works. A most important way of showing our love is by living the virtues. A virtue is a permanent power that we have by which we learn to do good and avoid evil. Faith, hope, and charity are supernatural virtues given to us by God. There are other virtues that we must acquire by practice.

The four main ones are prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. They are called the cardinal virtues because all of our good actions depend or "hinge" upon them. ("Cardinal" comes from a Latin word meaning "a hinge"). These four powers are the foundation of a good life. By practicing them we become virtuous and are strengthened to do great things out of love for God and neighbor. The Virtue of Prudence Prudence is the ability to make the right choices in life. Many times we find ourselves in very difficult situations. We are not sure what Christ would do if he were in our shoes. Well, prudence shows us the way; it "tells" us what to do in order to be faithful to Jesus. Saint Maria Goretti was a twelve year old farm girl who lived near Rome. One summer day, in July 1903, she was murdered by a teenage boy. This young man had wanted Maria to commit a sin against purity with him; he held a knife against her, ready to kill her if she refused. Prudence told Maria that the right thing to do was to scream for help while trying to get away from the attacker.

She knew that death was a very real possibility, but she also knew that mortal sin was even worse. No one heard Maria's screams as she was being stabbed. She died the next morning after having forgiven and prayed for her attacker. Today, Maria is honored throughout the world as a martyr of purity. Prudence showed her the right way - the way that leads to Heaven. The Virtue of Justice Justice is the virtue which helps us to live honestly by respecting the rights of others. The just person gives to everyone what he deserves. To God he gives worship; to his co-workers, respect, to his friends, charity and loyalty. Jesus spoke to us about justice when he said: "Treat others the way you would have them treat you" (Mt 7:12). The unjust person thinks only about his own needs and desires. Pontius Pilate, the leader of the Romans in Palestine, was unjust to Our Lord. When Jesus was brought before him in trial he knew that Christ was innocent. But he also knew that the leaders of the Jews wanted Jesus dead and that it would ruin his political career if he went against their wishes. Thinking only about himself, Pilate condemned Our Lord to Crucifixion.

He followed the wrong desires of the crowd instead of sticking up for the truth. The virtue of Temperance Temperance is the power to control ourselves. We usually think of it only as having to do with food or drink, but temperance helps us in every situation. Saint Dominic Savio was an Italian teenager who lived in the middle of the 1800s. He went to a Catholic high school where he soon became the most popular boy in his class. Everyone wanted to be with Dominic because he was so cheerful and good-hearted. After he died at fifteen years of age from a painful illness, a great secret was discovered about Dominic: he had promised God that he would never commit even one mortal sin! Dominic's confessor told the other boys that he had kept his promise, and these friends wondered how Dominic had done it. They all knew from experience how difficult it was to do good and avoid sin. They found out from their friend's confessor (who was a saint himself: John Bosco) that Dominic was able to keep his promise because of temperance. He never overate, never overslept, never overdid anything. By keeping control over his physical needs Dominic had learned to control his selfish desires too.

The Virtue of Fortitude Fortitude is the virtue that helps us to face every difficulty or danger with inner peace and courage. It allows us to carry out our duties even if doing so might require great sacrifice and suffering. All of the holy martyrs of the Church showed fortitude when they chose to remain loyal to Jesus, even though this meant being thrown to the lions or being killed in other terrible ways. Fortitude did not make it easy or take away their fears, but it strengthened them to do what was right no matter what. There is one young martyr we should all know about. His name was Saint Pancras, and he was only fourteen when he died in the year 304 A.D. Pancras was a very handsome boy and so strong that he always beat the other teenagers in wrestling matches. One day, he won a match against a young pagan boy who was very vain and conceited. To get even, this boy revealed to the Emperor that Pancras was a Catholic. This was forbidden by Roman law. Well, the Emperor had been a good friend of Pancras' dead father and he wanted to spare the boy. He tried to get him to change his mind.

"Just offer some prayers to our gods," the Emperor said, "and I will give you power in the Empire." But Pancras, even though afraid of being killed, refused to deny Jesus. He replied, "By Baptism I am a son of God. I can never give up Jesus Christ, not even for an empire!" So Pancras was condemned to death. What a courageous teenager he was, as he was led through the streets like a criminal. He did not cry out while the soldiers whipped him, nor did he change his mind as he heard the crowds joke about him. Instead he thought about Jesus being led through the streets of Jerusalem to his Crucifixion. Before he was killed by the sword, Pancras said this prayer which showed his inner peace and fortitude: Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the suffering I am about to receive. I accept it with joy, knowing that my death will bring me to Heaven to be with you for ever. My God, save those who are about to kill me! We do not have to be martyrs to practice such fortitude! We all have to be strong as we try to live as Christians in a world that does not think much of our holy way of life.

We all have to remain loyal to Jesus when friends want us to go out drinking or do other wrongs things. And each one of us can have the same peace and joy that filled Saint Pancras by loving Jesus more than anything else. Practice Makes Perfect We will all face times in our lives when we will need to be prudent, just, self-controlled, and courageous. So we need to practice these virtues now or else they will not be there when we need them! A priest can show you ways to do this; simply ask him the next time you go to Confession. By living the virtuous life we will be happy. Jesus assured us of this happiness in his Sermon on the Mount when he promised it to those who live the Christian life. That life is summed up in the eight beatitudes. The Beatitudes 1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 2. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. 3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

6. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. 7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Used with the permission of The Ignatius Press 800-799-5534 The Seven Virtues The Seven Virtues Explanations > Values > The Seven Virtues When Pope Gregory defined the seven deadly sins that we should avoid, he also included a counter-balancing set of values that we should espouse and adopt. These are: Faith is belief in the right things (including the virtues!). Hope is taking a positive future view, that good will prevail. Charity is concern for, and active helping of, others. Fortitude is never giving up. Justice is being fair and equitable with others. Prudence is care of and moderation with money. Temperance is moderation of needed things and abstinence from things which are not needed. The first three of these are known as the Spiritual Virtues, whilst the last four are called the Chief or Natural Virtues.

The Natural Virtues had already been defined by Greek philosophers, whilst the Spiritual Virtues are a slight variation on St. Paul's trio of Love, Hope and Faith (due to variation in translation from the original: Charity and Love arguably have a high level of overlap). There are also a number of other sets of virtues, including: The Seven Contrary Virtues which are specific opposites to the Seven Deadly Sins: Humility against pride, Kindness against envy, Abstinence against gluttony, Chastity against lust, Patience against anger, Liberality against greed, and Diligence against sloth. The Theological Virtues: Love, Hope and Faith, as defined by St. Paul (who placed love as the greatest of them all). The four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Courage and Justice. The Seven Heavenly Virtues: Faith, Hope, Charity, Fortitude, Justice, Temperance, Prudence. The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy are a medieval list of things you can do to help others: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, give shelter to strangers, clothe the naked, visit the sick, minister to prisoners, and bury the dead.

The Seven Bushido Virtues: Right decisions, Valor, Benevolence, Respect, Honesty, Honor, and Loyalty. So what? If you follow the virtues, you will be seen as a good person who is to be trusted. If you assume and act as if others follow the virtues, then they are more likely to do so. You can also be seen as being bold and daring if you break the virtues. Many modern groups (most notably youth) deliberately form their own identity by going against the values of others, so be aware of the other person's real values. Prudence: Mother of All Virtues Prudence: Mother of All Virtues FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS I keep hearing about the importance of virtue and being virtuous, but no one explains what virtue is. Why dont you do a column about this? St. Paul, in his Letter to the Philippians, captured the idea of virtue and the living of a virtuous life: "My brothers, your thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, pure, admirable, decent, virtuous or worthy of praise" (4:8).

With this in mind, the classic definition of virtue is a habit or firm disposition that inclines a person to do good and to avoid evil. Characterized by stability, a virtuous person not only strives to be a good person, but also seeks what is good and chooses to act in a good way. Aristotle defined virtue as "that which makes both a person and what he does good." Dr. Joseph Pieper, one of the great Thomist theologians and an expert on virtue, provided this explanation: "The doctrine of virtue ... has things to say about this person; it speaks both of the kind of being which is his when he enters the world, as a consequence of his createdness and the kind of being he ought to strive toward and attain to by being prudent, just, temperate and brave. The doctrine of virtue is one form of the doctrine of obligation, but one by nature free of regimentation and restriction" (The Four Cardinal Virtues). On one hand, an individual can acquire human virtues through his own effort under the guidance of reason. Through education, by deliberately choosing to do what is good, and through perseverence, a person acquires and strengthens virtue.

On the other hand, with the help of divine grace from God, the individual finds greater strength and facility to practice these virtues. Through these grace-assisted virtues, which we would now call moral virtues, he gains self-mastery of his weakened nature due to original sin. In sum, these virtues help to forge that Christian character and to motivate a person to become God-like, in the best sense of the term. There are four primary moral virtues, which are called the cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. The word cardinal derives from the Latin cardo, meaning "hinge." Consequently, these four virtues are called "cardinal" because all other virtues are categorized under them and hinge upon them. The Book of Wisdom of the Old Testament states, "For [wisdom] teaches temperance and prudence, justice and fortitude, and nothing in life is more useful for men than these" (8:7). Prudence, the "mother" of all of the virtues, is the virtue by which a person recognizes his moral duty and the good means to accomplish it. Actually, prudence is part of the definition of goodness. A person can be prudent and good only simultaneously. No other virtue can contradict what is prudent.

Therefore, what is prudent is substantially what is good, and prudence is the measure of justice, temperance and fortitude. A prudent person looks at the concrete reality of a situation with a clear, honest objectivity; references and applies the moral truths (e.g the Ten Commandments or the teachings of the Church); makes a moral judgment; and then commands an action. Moreover, prudence also seeks to accomplish the action in a good way doing what is good in a good way. Clearly, prudence is essential for the formation and operation of ones conscience. To be a prudent person, one must know Gods truth, just as to have a good conscience, one must know Gods truth. One cannot do what is good if one does not know the principles of truth and goodness. To prudently examine a situation and then to determine a course of action, one must keep in mind three aspects of prudence: memoria, docilitas and solertia. Memoria simply means having a "true-to-being" memory which contains real things and events as they really are now and were in the past. Everyone must learn from his past experiences.

Remembering what is to be done or avoided from past experiences helps to alert us to the occasions and causes of sin, to prevent us from making the same mistakes twice and to inspire us to do what is good. Be on guard: the falsification or denial of recollection is a grave impediment to exercising prudence. Docilitas means that a person must have docility, an open-mindedness, which makes the person receptive to the advice and counsel of other people. A person should always seek and heed the wise counsel of those who are older, more experienced and more knowledgeable. Finally, the exercise of prudence involves solertia, which is sagacity. Here a person has a clear vision of the situation at hand, foresees the goal and consequences of an action, considers the special circumstances involved and overcomes the temptation of injustice, cowardice, or intemperance. With solertia, a person acts in a timely manner but with due reflection and consideration to decide what is good and how to do the good. With a well-formed conscience attuned to Gods truth, and with the proper exercise of memoria, docilitas and solertia, a person will act prudently.

Contrary vices to prudence include precipitance (acting impulsively), inconstancy (changing resolutions too quickly), negligence and losing sight of ones supernatural destiny, namely eternal life. Perhaps the last vice is most prevalent today: too many people act without regard to their eternal judgment and without setting their sights on Heaven. The prudent person seeks to always do what is good in the eyes of God so as one day to be joined to His everlasting goodness in Heaven. After all, Jesus asked, "What profit would a man show if he were to gain the whole world and destroy himself in the process?" (Mt 16:26). Given this introduction to the cardinal virtues and to the virtue of prudence, next week we will continue the discussion on the virtues of justice, fortitude and temperance. Acknowledgement

Question: There are four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Justice and which other?
Answer: Fortitude