Dan on April 6th, 2009 at 12:38 pm:The Christian definition of the Four Virtues, by St. Augustine is as follows:According to St. Augustine, virtue leads to a happy life. Virtue is perfect love of God. The four virtues, for St. Augustine, are taken from four forms of love. The four virtues are the following:Temperance is love giving itself entirely to that which is loved (God). Temperance is love keeping itself entire and incorrupt for God. Let us consider temperance, which promises us a kind of integrity and incorruption in the love by which we are united to God. The office of temperance is in restraining and quieting the passions which make us pant for those things which turn us away from the laws of God and from the enjoyment of His goodness, that is, in a word, from the happy life.Fortitude is love readily bearing all things for the sake of the loved object. Fortitude is love bearing everything for the sake of God. Scriptures present to us a woman of amazing fortitude, and I must at once go on to her case. This woman, along with seven children, allowed the tyrant and executioner to extract her vitals from her body rather than a profane word from her mouth. What patience could be greater than this? And yet why should we be astonished that the love of God, implanted in her inmost heart, bore up against the tyrant, and executioner, and pain, and sex, and natural affection? Had she not heard, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints?” It is because she heard, “A patient man is better than the mightiest?” Proverbs 16:32. She heard, “All that is appointed you receive; and in pain bear it; and in abasement keep your patience: for in fire are gold and silver tried?” Sirach 2:4-5. She heard, “The fire tries the vessels of the potter, and for just men is the trial of tribulation?” Sirach 27:6. These verses she knew, and many other precepts of fortitude written in these books, which alone existed at that time, by the same divine Spirit who writes those precepts in the New Testament.Justice, according to St. Augustine is another virtue. Justice is love serving only the loved object (which is God) and therefore rules rightly. Justice is love serving God only, and therefore ruling all things well. The lover, then, whom we are describing, will get from justice this rule of life, that he must with perfect readiness serve the God whom he loves, who is the highest good, the highest wisdom, and the highest peace. This rule of life, is, as we have shown, confirmed by the authority of both Testaments.It may be thought that there is nothing here about man himself, the lover, but it is impossible for one who loves God not to love himself. For he alone has a proper love for himself, when he demonstrates that he aims diligently to please God, who is the chief and true good; what is to prevent one who loves God from loving himself? And then, among men should there be no bond of mutual love? We can think of no surer step towards the love of God than the love of man to man.Prudence, another virtue according to St. Augustine, is love distinguishing with sagacity between what hinders it and what helps it. The object of the highest love is only God. Prudence is love making a right distinction between what helps love towards God and what might hinder it. Prudence determines what is to be desired and what to be shunned. It is part of prudence (good judgment) to keep an active vigilance against any evil influence, which may creep up on us.To seek the good means to live well. Living well is loving God with all your heart, soul and mind. This love must be incorrupt, which is accomplished through moderation. This love must not give way to opposition, which is accomplished through fortitude; this love must serve no other, which is justice and the love must be watchful or evil things will creep in, which is a part of prudence. These things lead to the perfection of man by which he can succeed in attaining purity of truth.It may be thought that there is nothing here about man himself, the lover. It is impossible for one who loves God not to love himself. He who seeks the true good must love himself as well. What is to prevent one who loves God from loving himself? And then, among men should there be no bond of mutual love? Yes, we can think of no surer step towards the love of God than the love of man to man. The first thing to aim at is that we should be benevolent. We should not bear malice or evil against another person. For man is the nearest neighbor of man.Hear also what Paul says: “The love of our neighbor,” he says, “works no ill.” Romans 13:10 A man may sin against another in two ways, either by injuring him or by not helping him when it is in his power. It is for these things, which no loving man would do, that men are called wicked. “The love of our neighbor works no ill.” We cannot attain the good unless we first desist from working evil. Our love of our neighbor is a sort of cradle of our love to God. As it is said, “the love of our neighbor works no ill,” we may rise from this to these other words, “We know that all things issue in good to them that love God.” Romans 8:28

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