Classical Christian Series 2 (Cardinal Virtues)

The Virtues are moral muscles, and this means that there are some particularly foundational muscle groups that every human—as a moral being—should know something about. If knowing that virtues are moral muscles is half the battle, then being able to name key muscles, what they do, and how to strengthen them is the other half.

 

The Cardinal Virtues are the four foundational virtues, upon which nearly all other virtues are built. Cardinal comes from the Latin word for hinge. In other words, these four virtues are the hinge on which all other moral actions depend.

 

The first thing worth noting about the cardinal virtues before naming and defining them is that God—in his wisdom and grace—has endowed all humans with these cardinal virtues, and with the ability to act in a way that strengthens or weakens them over time. There are other virtues that are the result of a special gift of grace (the theological virtues), but the cardinal virtues—and the ability to help them grow stronger or weaker—remains a gift of grace to all humans. 

 

Below are the four cardinal virtues, a short definition of each, and a suggested exercise for strengthening them. Following this list are a few observations about the Cardinal virtues in general that may prove helpful as we all seek to use this language as a community in the years ahead. 

 

Temperance is the strength to say “no” - to hold back, or refrain from acting even when your passions are pulling you towards acting. This muscle allows us to restrain our desires. 

 

The very best exercise to strengthen your moral “no” muscle is fasting. Saying “no” when it matters very little—to meat, or a meal, or sweets—will strengthen your “no” muscle for when saying “no” matters a great deal.

 

Fortitude is the other side of our temperance muscle; it is the ability to say “yes”, or to act, even when we don’t want to. This muscle allows us to do the right thing even when it is dangerous, isolating, or difficult. 

 

Our fortitude muscle is strengthened in many ways, but here are two: (1) by doing uncomfortable things, big or small, and (2) by meeting heroes in literature and history. Admiring someone for saying “yes” even when that “yes” came with consequences strengthens our own resolve to do likewise.

 

We can have a strong Temperance muscle and a developed sense of Fortitude, but neither of those muscles, by themselves, help us know whether we should say “yes” or “no” in a given moment. We already have countless forces pulling us towards yes or no, but it is the Prudence muscle that allows us to determine which is actually right. 

 

The primary way we grow strong in Prudence is through reading and meditating on the Scriptures, and by following the example of those who have spent their own lives doing so.

 

You can know the right thing to do (Prudence), and have the ability to act or restrain (fortitude and temperance), but that does not automatically mean that you will follow through with the right action. Human beings—perhaps above all else—are driven by our desires. We do what we want.

 

Enter Justice: the strength to want to do the right thing.

 

Regularly digesting the Scriptures certainly helps build this Justice muscle, but so does encountering injustice in literature, history, or your own life. Seeing what happens when humans do not desire the right thing—and the wake of destruction it leaves behind—is itself an exercise in strengthening our own sense of Justice.

 

 

These four muscles are designed to work in harmony. We can know the right thing to do, but not want to do it. Or we can know it is right, that it requires an action (“yes”) in the face of fear, and we can even want to act, but we may lack the courage to do so. Focusing on our core, upper body, and lower body in tandem is—I am told—the best way to grow physically strong and healthy. Likewise, seeking to develop all four of these Cardinal Virtues in tandem leads to a more fully developed moral person.

 

As we grow in our understanding of virtues, we grow in our ability to diagnose deficiencies in our own lives and the lives of those we love. I am hopeful that embracing this shared understanding of the virtues—among our school’s students, teachers, and parents—will make our conversations about behavior, growth, and development more fruitful and grace-filled in the years to come.

 

As parents and teachers, it is most often weak temperance muscles that drive us crazy. We do well to prescribe exercises for temperance at home and in the school.

 

We can get mad at how weak a particular muscle is in our students, or we can help them grow stronger. A bad coach belittles his players for being tired at the end of a match; a good coach sacrifices important practice time to make students run laps.

 

Next up: the three Theological Virtues. In the meantime, chew on these things, and begin to (gently) incorporate this language into your own thinking and talking about behavior—your own and that of your student!