Virtue
From Conservapedia
A virtue is an action, personality type, or character trait universally accepted to be wholesome and ideal in nature. Examples of virtues are: Honesty, Respect, Trustworthiness, Empathy and Chivalry. A virtuous person is one of high moral standards.
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Christianity
St Paul identified the three greatest virtues as faith, hope and love[1] (or charity - the word caritas can be translated either way). In Christian tradition, these are often known as the three theological virtues, and listed alongside four other cardinal virtues:
- justice
- fortitude (or moral courage)
- temperance
- prudence (or wisdom)[2].
There is no express biblical basis for the cardinal virtues, although they can be found in the apocrypha in Wisdom 8:7[3]. Together with the three theological virtues, this gives a total of seven virtues to match the Seven Deadly Sins; contrasting portrayals of the sins and virtues are common in religious art.
Before the twentieth century, a common meaning of "virtue" was as a euphemism for virginity. This usage is common in the writings of Shakespeare and many other pre-modern authors.
Opposition to virtue
- Wojtyla says that many people devalue the virtues in order to excuse themselves from having to live by a higher standard. Since they don't want to make the effort to change, they treat the virtues lightheartedly or even openly attack them in order to justify their own lack of moral character. "Resentment . . . not only distorts the features of the good but devalues that which rightly deserves respect so that man need not struggle to raise himself to the level of the true good, but can 'light-heartedly' recognize as good only what suits him, what is convenient and comfortable to him" (p. 144).[4]
References
- ↑ 1 Corinthians 13:13
- ↑ The Four Virtues
- ↑ Book of Wisdom, Chapter 8
- ↑ Resenting Chastity
