Virtually without Virtues

Speaking of virtues, the classical world was obsessed with the definition of the simple and concise moral principles. But it seems to go by the wayside of the modernity. In an argument no one says anymore “good because it is virtuous”. The Byzantine had the difficult task of reinterpreting the Christian virtues in the context of the Greek civilization. There is a short and interesting paper: The Pagan Virtue of Megalopsychia in Byzantine Syria. It lists the four classical virtues going back to Plato and Aristotle: Wisdom, Courage, Temperance, Justice. And the Christian virtues known as the Pauline Triad: Faith, Hope and Charity. There are different lists of the virtues, some include all seven, or slightly different seven, etc. But you don’t need to be a Christian to see that the Pauline Triad is still the dominant American ethos and while the Greek Temperance and Justice are the western cornerstones, Wisdom and Courage are temporarily in the house of ill repute.

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Tagged as: byzantine, history, philosophy