On Virtues

[Cjmate 1270]

 

I. What is the Good?

 

All action and deed, and so each inquiry and pursuit, seeks to obtain some sort of good. It is for the good that men are driven, and of which all things aim. Of goods and ends, there are many; Knowledge, art, food, shelter, and family are all ends that we may desire. Yet there must be a total end, and I will argue this to be happiness. If a man is content in his stability, that is he has the shelter and food required to sustain himself, does he settle there? No, it seems he wants something more. He may be driven toward other pursuits, such as the acquisition of land or money; he may desire children or grandchildren. There must be a final self-sufficient good, of which is composed of all lesser goods: happiness.

 

Consider medicine. When I seek to obtain minas and purchase medicine from my apothecary, is the medicine my goal? No. The medicine is a means to my health, and thus my well-being. But what is the purpose of my well-being? What does well-being accomplish? It makes me happy, and I am content. Medicine is merely an external, causal good. Well-being is not the only thing which causes happiness, so what category does it fall under? It seems as though the peasant which parts with some coin during mass, and the soldier that follows his lord into battle generates some happiness. Well-being, generosity, and courage cause happiness; therefore, it seems that our happiness stems from virtues. 

 

Let us examine a virtue, so we may better understand the leap from external pleasures to internal. Consider the Damen: The Damen indulges in pleasures, eating a great many pie and carnal pleasure. He goes home sick, exhausted and sad. He fathers many unwanted, uncared for children; and this makes him unhappy. His overindulgence must go against a virtue, which we call moderation. But what of the pious confessor who never indulges in food. He lives off of bread and water, never caring for food, the company of women, or art. He seems like a bore! Yet there is the noble peasant that eats his fill, no more; he takes company in his wife, but he does not indulge too much. When he goes to market, he enjoys the pottery that the potters make, but he does not buy more than he can afford. The peasant seems truly happy out of all three! His soul is well balanced, and he lives well. We tend to only speak of deficiencies of virtue, but it seems like the confessor is an unhappy man; or at least, he is not what we expect of all people, surely. There would be no children otherwise. The Damen is deficient in the virtue of moderation, and the confessor has an excess of moderation; in the middle, we find the noble peasant is happiest. 

 

II. Types of Virtue

 

Our language may not have words for some excesses in virtues, but we may consider them nonetheless. Examine each. We can easily see the deficiencies, but the excesses are often overlooked. Would we will people to exist who excessive in each virtue? An overly patient general may never make a decision, and overly kind people may appear clingy and cause people to become uncomfortable.

 

• Courage: Excess- Fool hardy, Deficiency- Cowardly. 
• Temperance: Excess- Too temperate, Deficiency- Gluttony. 
• Charitable: Excess- Wastrel, Deficiency- Greedy
• Diligence: Excess- Over-exertion, Deficiency- Slothful
• Patient: Excess- Too patient, Deficiency- Reckless/Wrothful
• Kindness: Excess- Glad-Handing, Deficiency- Envious/Uncaring
• Humility: Excess- Too humble, Deficiency- Proud/Conceited

 

III. Application

 

A criticism of scholarly work is that we babble on, giving no application or worldly value; but we me apply virtues in our everyday life. Consider an action of moral worth, then apply the virtue that corresponds to it and check it for balance. We will not be precise, but in doing so we may produce good moral choice. I will give examples:

 

1. You have been granted a charter for land by your liege lord to settle land. You do so, but you squander it and allow the fields to become tarnished with debris and excessive, unwanted buildings. The virtue in this case is hospitality, but it may also be justice. You have been unjust in tarnishing what has been given as it could have been used productively for the benefit and well-being of others. You have also been an inhospitable resident, ruining your host's property which was entrusted. 
2.  You are in charge of distributing food and water. You give everyone a complete equal share. This is an example of the virtue of justice; however, it is one of excess. Not everyone needs completely equal food and water. A pregnant woman may need more than what seems her equal share, and a balance of justice would shift things to where she had what she needed. A just person does what is right for the circumstance. 
3. You are afraid of dying in battle to a point that you break formation, leaving your comrades exposed. This is an example of the virtue of courage, and this case is a deficiency. A breach of courage is a breach of trust with comrades, another virtue; however, in breaking formation death may be hastened.

 

 

-Zlatomir Therving

 

[Heff 2460]

Svatobor nods, reading the thesis thoroughly, "This is quite interesting!"