St Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Philosopher, c. 354 – 430

“Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.” 

De Moribus Eccl. 1, 25, 46:PL, 32, 1330-1331

The earliest known portrait of Saint Augustine
in a 6th-century fresco, Lateran, Rome.

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 an uncorrupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude). It obeys only [God] (and this is justice), and it is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence). 

Unknown Authorship, Attributed to Egyptian Prince, Moses. c. 1571 - 1271 B.C. ?

c. 1571 - 1271 B.C. ? Attributed to Moses.

Leviticus
19 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

“ ‘Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lordyour God.

“ ‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.

“ ‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up. If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.

“ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.

“ ‘Do not steal.
“ ‘Do not lie.
“ ‘Do not deceive one another.
“ ‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
“ ‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.
“ ‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.
“ ‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.
“ ‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
“ ‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
“ ‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.
“ ‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
“ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

“ ‘Keep my decrees.

“ ‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.
“ ‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.
“ ‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

“ ‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord. With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.

“ ‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.

“ ‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.
“ ‘Do not practice divination or seek omens.
“ ‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
“ ‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.
“ ‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.

“ ‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

“ ‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

“ ‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.

“ ‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

“ ‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.

“ ‘Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the Lord.’ ”

Unknown Authorship, Attributed to Solomon King of Israel. c. ???

Solomon writing Proverbs (Gustave Doré)

c. 970 - 931 B.C. ? Attributed to Solomon.

Proverbs
14:15  The prudent man looks where he is going.

000 - 300 A.D. ? Thought to be written in Solomon's honor.

Wisdom
8:7 If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom's] labors are virtues; for she teaches temperance and prudence, justice and courage.

St. Polycarp of Smyrna (Asia), Greek Apostolic Father and Bishop, c. 80 - 167 A.D.,

Second Letter to the Philippians:

S. Polycarpus, engraving
by Michael Burghers, ca 1685

[3, 1] These things, brethren, concerning righteousness, I write to you not at my own instance, but because you first invited me.  For neither can I nor anyone like me match the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul. When he was among you, face to face with the men of that time, he expounded the word of truth accurately and authoritatively; and when he was absent he wrote letters to you, the study of which will enable you to build yourself up in the faith which was given you:  a faith which is the mother of us all, when hope follows along and the love of God and Christ and neighbor goes before. If anyone be devoted to these, he has fulfilled the commandment of justice: for whoever has love is far from every sin.

St. Isidore of Seville, Spainish Archbishop, c. 560 – 4 April 636 A.D.

St. Isidore, depicted by Murillo

ETYMOLOGIES:

Book I 
Grammar (De grammatica)

i. Discipline and art (De disciplina et arte)
And an art (ars, gen. artis) is so called because it consists of strict (artus) precepts and rules. Others say this word is derived by the Greeks from the word ‘virtue,’ as they termed knowledge. 

v. Grammar (De grammatica)
Others say that the word ‘art’ is derived by the Greeks from ‘virtue,’ which they called knowledge. 

Book II

Rhetoric and dialectic (De rhetorica et dialectica)

xx. Combinations of words (De iuncturis verborum)
Antitheses (antitheton) are called ‘oppositions’ (contrapositum) in Latin. When these are set in oppo- sition they make for beauty of expression, and among the ornaments of speech they remain the most lovely, as Cicero (Catiline Oration 2.25): “On this side shame does battle; on that, impudence; here modesty, there debauchery; here faith, there deceit; here piety, there wickedness; here steadiness, there rage; here decency, there foulness; here restraint, there lust; here in short equity, temperance, courage, wisdom, all the virtues struggle with iniquity, dissipation, cowardice, foolhardi- ness – with all the vices. Finally wealth struggles against poverty, right thinking against depravity, sanity against madness – in sum, good hope against desperation in every circumstance.” In strife and battle of this kind the book of Ecclesiasticus used the ornament of this type of locution, saying (cf. 33:15): “Good is set against evil, and life against death; so also is the sinner against a just man. And so look upon all the works of the most High. Two and two, and one against another.” 

xxiv. The definition of philosophy (De definitione philosophize)
5. Socrates first established ethics for the correcting and settling of conduct, and directed his whole effort toward disputation about living well. He divided ethics into the four virtues of the soul, namely prudence, justice, for- titude, and temperance. 6. Prudence (prudentia) has to do with how the bad is distinguished from the good in affairs. Fortitude (fortitudo), how adversity may be borne with equanimity. Temperance (temperantia), how pas- sion and the desire for things may be reined in. Justice (iustitia), how to each is distributed his own by right judging. 

That philosophy is called moral (moralis) through which we seek a decent conduct of life, and set up principles aiming toward virtue. 

Book VII

God, angels, and saints (De deo, angelis et sanctis)

v. Angels (De angelis)
4. Holy Scripture witnesses moreover that there are nine orders of angels, that is Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominations, Virtues, Principalities, Powers, Cherubim, and Seraphim (angelus, archangelus, thronus, dominatio, virtus, principatus, potestas, cherub, seraph). As to why these names are given to their offices, I shall go through them with explanations. 

16. Further, Thrones and Dominations and Principali- ties and Powers and Virtues are understood to be orders and ranks of angels, in which orders the apostle Paul includes the whole heavenly company (Ephesians 1:21, Colossians 1:16, etc.). 

17. Angelic Virtues are named as the specific ministries through which signs and miracles are made in the world, and because of this they are called Virtues (Virtutes).

Book VIII

The Church and sects (De ecclesia et sects)

v. Christian heresies (De haeresibus Christianorum)

10. Ophites (Ophita) are so called from the serpent, for the Greek word Àfiv means “serpent.” They worship the serpent, saying that it introduced the knowledge of virtue into paradise.

17. The Melchizedechians (Melchisedechianus) are so called because they reckon that Melchizedech, the priest of God, was not a human being, but a Virtue (i.e. a member of the angelic order of Virtues) of God. 

vi. Pagan philosophers (De philosophis gentium)
8. The Stoics (Stoicus) are so called from a place. There was a portico in Athens that they called the (“painted portico”) in which were painted the deeds of wise people and the histories of great men. In this por- tico, wise people used to philosophize, and consequently they were called Stoics, for in Greek, a portico is called stoic. Zeno first established this sect. 

9. They deny that anyone may be made happy without virtue. They assert that all sin is uniform, saying, “He who has stolen chaff will be as culpable as one who has stolen gold; he who kills a diver-bird as much as one who kills a horse – for it is not the nature of the animal (animal), but the inten- tion (animus), that constitutes the crime.” 10. They also say that the soul perishes with the body, the soul also.6 They deny the virtue of temperance. 

xi. Gods of the heathens (De diis gentium)
9. Satan (Satanas) means “adversary,” or “transgres- sor” in Latin. He is indeed the adversary who is the enemy of truth, and he always strives to go against the virtues of the holy. 

Book IX
Languages, nations, reigns, the military, citizens, family relationships

(De linguis, gentibus, regnis, militia, civibus, affinitatibus)

iii. Reigns and terms for military matters (De regnis militiaeque vocabulis)

5. The royal virtues are these two especially: justice and mercy – but mercy is more praised in kings, because justice in itself is harsh. 

Book X 
Vocabulary (De vocabulis)

M. 

67. Magnanimous (magnanimis), because one has a ‘great spirit’ (magnus animus) and great virtue. Its opposite is pusillanimous (pusillanimis). Magnificent (magnifi- cus), a term derived from ‘doing great things’ (magna facere). 

Synod of Bishops, 1965 A.D. - Present

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1985-1992 A.D.,
see for full text

ARTICLE 7: The Virtues

1803. A virtue is an habit 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.

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.

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; . . . 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 judgement of conscience. The prudent  man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgement. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without the 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 is called the "virtue of religion". Justice towards men disposes one to respect the rights of each and establish in human relationships, the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by  habitual right thinking, and the uprightness of his conduct towards neighbor.

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 good cause.

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 desire within the limits of what is honorable. The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites towards what is good and maintains a healthy discretion. 

St. Paul, Apostle of Jesus Christ, 5-67 A.D

Paul Writing His Epistles, 

painting probably by Valentin de Boulogne, 17th century

Philippians 4:8

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.


Ephesians 1:17-23

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation, in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what the hope is of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power towards us, who believe according to the operation of the might of his power, which he wrought in Christ, raising him up from the dead, and setting him on his right hand in the heavenly places. Above all principality, and power, and virtue, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And he hath subjected all things under his feet, and hath made him head over all the church, which is his body, and the fulness of him who is filled all in all.