Cardinal and Theological Virtues

By Jacques Patin – Balet comique de la Royne, faict aux nopces de Monsieur le Duc de Joyeuse & madamoyselle de Vaudemont sa sœur. Par Baltasar de Beaujoyeulx, valet de chambre du Roy, & de la Royne sa mere Page…

By Jacques Patin – Balet comique de la Royne, faict aux nopces de Monsieur le Duc de Joyeuse & madamoyselle de Vaudemont sa sœur. Par Baltasar de Beaujoyeulx, valet de chambre du Roy, & de la Royne sa mere Page 40 verso at Gallica., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6226128

“Virtue is the moral strength of the will in obeying the dictates of duty”. ~ Immanuel Kant

Last Update: May 28 2021

Introduction

ψ Throughout history man has been grappling with the idea of good and evil.  These ideas have been played out in their myths, legends, and daily communications to one another.  The idea of Virtue and Sins stems from the Original Sin, which in the Western world is Disobedience to the Law.  According to the Bible, God created a special Garden for Adam the first man to live in.  He then placed Eve, the first woman in the Garden for a mate.  As the story goes, God gave Adam a strict directive not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge Good and Evil.   Eve, the partner was beguiled by the Serpent and encouraged Adam to eat.  When God found out about the disobedience, he cast Adam and Eve out of Eden.  And so placed Adam and Eve on the path of struggle, pain, and eventual death.  It is thought that the reason we all have the same struggles is due the Disobedience to the Law, the Original Sin.  Thus, sin is not following the Law.

We know what a Sin is but what is a Virtue?

What is Virtue and Adherence to the Law?

Last time we discussed what constitutes sin and discovered it is not adhering to the laws.  We look at Virtue as being the opposite of Sin.  Virtue, then is a trait of character and the  quality of mental and emotional being that is “morally good” and valued as a foundation of principle for all living beings. It is considered “an excellence” in mental state which has its roots at the bedrock of all civilized cultures throughout history.  Thus, it is a standard that has been observed in the natural and supernatural world as a conduct that is self-perpetuating and assists in maintain a civil society that has an evolutionary future.  And when a culture’s virtue had degraded, it marked the end of that civilization.  Roman society is a brilliant example of a morally collapsed society.  It didn’t start that way.

The Latin word virtus stemmed from vir, meaning man, suggesting that all men possess are of virtue. They outlined a man’s qualities of physical strength, maleness, and moral conduct all as part of the Vir(tue).  The Spartans were examples of this virtuous code.  The word “spartan” means self-restrained, simple, frugal, and austere. The word laconic, which means pithy and concise, is derived from the Spartans, who prized brevity of speech. All healthy male Spartan citizens participated in the compulsory state-sponsored education system, the Agoge, which emphasized obedience, endurance, courage, and self-control.

Maat and Her Virtues in Egypt

In ancient Egypt the Goddess Maat personified the ideals of order, morality, balance, truth, law, and justice as a heavenly code as well as a human code. While the role of the deities was to create the celestial heaves and stars Maat’s role was to regulate all matter of celestial motions controlling directly the actions of mortal man and the deities. Her power wasn’t absolute. As Isfet, also known as Asfet was the counterpart responsible for undoing the order and balance of Maat in the levels of disharmonious, troublesome, difficult, and finally evil. There is a battle in Heaven and Earth that reflects their dualism and conflict.

And in the Egyptian human affairs all are subjected to the pull from the from the pharaoh to each adult and child Egyptian citizen. Each citizen had a choice between serving Maat or Isfet. And to serve Isfet meant that they espoused lies, injustice, and chaos. When each person wins their own personal war with Isfet, it would mean that the fruits that result from Maat’s virtues would mean that Egypt would maintain peace, success, and prosperity through Ma’at.

Maat created the doctrine of Maat which represented in the declarations to Rekhti-merti-f-ent-Maat which was listed in the Papyrus of Ani. These represent 42 virtues which we do not have time to go into today but will look at another in another article and will be found in the Deity Section of the website and Psionic Program. Let us go back to the Virtues and specifically the Cardinal Virtues but before we do we’ll just touch on the Asians and their notion of De (Chinese 德) meaning inherent character, inner power, integrity, moral character, virtue, quality, merit and virtuous deeds. Their view is that by exhibiting De (Te) your inherent character would move from the inner world of your power to moral character that others would see as virtue and it would gain you merit. Thus, from the lowest peasant to the highest official and Sovereign it would be expected and appreciated and those quality would gain one a good life.

Now back to the Cardinal Virtues.

The 4 Cardinal Virtues

The Cardinal Virtues, also called Heavenly virtues (because they lead one’s soul to glory), were first conceived qualities or states of the mind and character. It is found not only in classical philosophy but also in Christian theology as part of the New and Old Testament Bibles and the Jewish Book of Wisdom found in the Septigint.
There are Four Cardinal Virtues, and they represent Symbolic items as a means to assist the memory of early Christians. They are Justice, Fortitude, Temperance, and Prudence and they form the virtue theory of ethics. They are considered cardinal as the word cardinal comes fom the Latin word cardo which means hinge. These virtues are thought as the core qualities of a Virtuous life which leads to peace, prosperity, and good company.

Classification and Outline of the Virtues

The fruits of Wisdom in themes:

1. With Prudence I must spend time to “seeing ahead with sagacity”. Then I have the ability to govern and discipline myself by the use of reason in all areas of my life. I Prudence am called the Auriga virtutum of the Virtues as I guide and carry all other virtues.
2. When I am Prudent then may Justice regulates me in my dealings with others. I make Justice the parent of my ritual of religion, piety, and I always am in gratitude for everything that Justice provides to me.
3. The fruits of my previous Justice have given me Fortitude so that I may bravely endure all that which is necessary for myself and others until the present Justice may reward me. I exert Patience and perseverance until then.
4. While I am in Patience and Perseverance, I allow Temperance to moderate my every thought and action using reason. The desires and pleasures of the sensuous appetite will not lure me off my path while I wait for my Justice. I will use my conscience, humility, and meekness of spirit and soul to curb my appetites.

Creation of the 7 Virtues 

For a period philosophers and Christian theologians twisted around their fingers the Four Cardinal Virtues playing with them and teasing out of them a taxonomy of virtue combining morals with ethics. It was Thomas Aquinas (/əˈkwaɪnəs/; Italian: Tommaso d’Aquino, lit. ’Thomas of Aquino’; who lived in 1225 – 1274 as an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church who came up with an interconnectedness of wisdom and moral virtue. He developed three Theological virtues which would later combine with the 4 Cardinal Virtues. The three Theological Virtues are moral states that are associated with Christian philosophy and the belief that when a man places God as his object, a part of God is infused into the man’s Soul as a gift of the Spirit, and in this manner the Divine grace that is bestowed upon the individual include the three virtues, faith, hope, and charity. It is believed that these virtues are enhanced by study of the Sacred scriptures through Divine revelation.

He saw the relationship between the virtues in that without the first virtue Prudence the others would never be realized. He felt that there was a Unity of the Virtues. He believed that one’s actions and how the persons perform the action must be in a good place of heart with mind. He stated that morals ensure that the actions are good for the person and good for the whole and the rightness of the actions being wise is paramount. Morals thus are married to the Wisdom in following out the acts.

The 4 Cardinal Virtues then blended their meanings and became the 7 Cardinal Virtues. They are Chastity, Charity, Diligence, Temperance, Patience, Kindness, and Humility. OYGBIV reverse. Empowered with these virtues a person can ensure that they Wise Morality. Thomas Aquinas states that “All virtues have as their final scope to dispose man to acts conducive to his true happiness. He meant that the happiness, however, of which man is capable is twofold, namely, natural, which is attainable by man’s natural powers, and supernatural, which exceeds the capacity of unaided human nature. Since, therefore, merely natural principles of human action are inadequate to a supernatural end, it is necessary that man be endowed with supernatural powers to enable him to attain his final destiny. Now these supernatural principles are nothing else than the theological virtues.”

The Combination of the 7 Virtues with the 7 Deadly Sins with the 7 Cardinal Virtues

(We have added the Latin Name, the Further Explanation, Corresponding Sin and Latin Name for the Sin)

Why Should We Possess Virtue? Part 1

It was Marcus Aurelia that said once “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”  During 170 to 180 he wrote a series of personal books that became Meditations.  Marcus Aurelia wrote these to and for himself as guidance and self-improvement for him to always be a great man.  The books offer advice and suggestions on how he as an Emperor could live a virtuous and stoic life.  It was his thought that only virtue is good, only vice is bad, and the things which we normally busy ourselves with are all indifferent to our happiness (for our lives are not made good or bad by our having or lacking them).  Therefore, it is not your “stuff” that makes you virtuous, but how you use you stuff.  It is who you are, and how you behave when you have stuff.  Does your body, mind, family, friends, life stuff encourage you to be a better human being?  Is it one that is living with Chastity, Charity, Diligence, Temperance, Patience, Kindness, and Humility?

Why Should We Possess Virtue? Part 2

As mentioned in the previous article entitled the “7 Deadly Sins and 7 Cardinal Virtues” found at https://www.psioniccircles.com/stage/7-deadly-sins-7-cardinal-virtues/ the seed of sin is inherent in most people and it only needs a little fertilizer and sunlight and then darkness to grow into a massive problem for the individual as well as for all who encounter the person.   The problem grows into a State problem and a National program over time and as was mentioned earlier virtually all great societies perished with the 7 deadly sins.  In contrast, when they espoused the 7 Virtues they flourished, as man always grows best with good nurture.

Most of the capital sins are perverse or corrupt versions of love.  Love is defined as a like or enjoyment of something leading to a great interest and pleasure in something creating to an intense feeling or deep affection.  It is the desire to immerse oneself into the object with little regards for one’s own safety and security.  It almost always leads to destruction of the personal self.

Remember, lust, greed and gluttony are all excessive, or disordered passion for things.  They can be balanced and healed by Chastity, Charity, and Temperance.   Wrath, envy, and pride are perverted mental and emotional states that are directed toward harm for the self and harm for others.  They can be balanced and healed by Patience, Kindness, and Humility.  The sin of sloth, as a deficiency of love, unity, justice.  Within the seven capital sins they are the seven pathways of Eternal Death.  A life that espouses the 7 Virtues is the only defense against eternal death.  We hope you remember this.

Thank you for Reading!

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