VIRTUES

Virtue is a social construct relative to the culture of reference, embodying the disposition of the soul towards the good, the capacity of a person to excel in something, to perform a certain act in an optimal manner, to be virtuous as a "perfect way of being".

In Christian thought, in addition to the human virtues, the exercise of the supernatural virtues is possible: the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, which must in some way be reconciled with those of ancient ethics. St. Thomas retained the validity of the Aristotelian "cardinal" virtues, but considered them inferior to the theological ones, while St. Augustine considered false the human virtues of the pagans, who disguise under the name of virtue what in reality is the exercise of "splendid" vices, but still negative because they are caused by pride and the search for ephemeral human glory. The only great virtue is charity, the love of God, the exercise of which, however much they may do, does not depend on men but on the divine will that infuses it in the chosen spirits, that is, on the infusion in man of the indispensable divine grace. This concept would reappear in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation and in 17th century Jansenism.

The four cardinal virtues (Prudence, Justice, Temperance, Fortitude) and the three theological virtues (Charity, Faith, Hope) have different origins. The former form a system dating back to Greek and Roman antiquity, developed in particular by Plato and Cicero and transmitted to the Middle Ages by St Ambrose. The latter, on the other hand, are a specifically Christian creation. As a sign of this difference in origin, the cardinal and theological virtues were at first often represented separately and only from the 12th century onwards were they in fact merged into a set of seven virtues.

• Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern in every circumstance our true good and to choose the appropriate means to achieve it.
• Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give to God and neighbour what is their due.
• Fortitude is the moral virtue that, in difficulties, ensures firmness and constancy in the pursuit of good. It strengthens the decision to resist temptation and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to overcome fear, even of death, and to face trial and persecution.
• Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and enables balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's dominance over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of honesty. The temperate person directs his sensitive appetites to the good, maintains sound discretion, and does not follow his own instincts and strength by indulging the desires of his heart.
• Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbour as ourselves for God's sake.
• Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and all that he has said and revealed to us, and that the Church proposes for us to believe, because he is the truth itself. Through faith "man freely abandons himself entirely to God".
• Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in the promises of Christ and relying not on our own strength but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Here is the portrait of Temperance

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Some of the Virtues