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). 

St. Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor, Philosopher, Priest, c. 8 January 1225 – 7 March 1274

An altarpiece in Ascoli Piceno, Italy,
by Carlo Crivelli (15th century)

Summa Theologicae

 I, 25, 2
"Now it is evident from what we have said about the passions (FS, Q[25], AA[2],4) that love is the first affection of the appetitive power, and that desire and joy follow from it. Hence the same virtuous habit inclines us to love and desire the beloved good, and to rejoice in it. But in as much as love is the first of these acts, that virtue takes its name, not from joy, nor from desire, but from love, and is called charity. Hence joy is not a virtue distinct from charity, but an act, or effect, of charity: for which reason it is numbered among the Fruits (Gal. 5:22)."

 I, 52, 1
"Diligence seems to be the same as solicitude, because the more we love[diligimus] a thing the more solicitous are we about it. Hence diligence, no less than solicitude, is required for every virtue, in so far as due acts of reason are requisite for every virtue." 

II, 35, 1
"Sloth is sluggishness of the mind which neglects to begin good... [it] is evil in its effect, if it so oppresses man as to draw him away entirely from good deeds." 

II, 47, 2
"[Prudence is] right reason in action."

~~~~


"Gluttony denotes, not any desire of eating and drinking, but an inordinate desire... leaving the order of reason, wherein the good of moral virtue consists."

Six ways to commit gluttony:

• Praepropere - eating too soon.
• Laute - eating too expensively.
• Nimis - eating too much.
• Ardenter - eating too eagerly.
• Studiose - eating too daintily (picky).
• Forente - eating wildly.

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. 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).