In the Christian church, there are four cardinal virtues. These are prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice. These were derived initially from Plato's scheme and were adapted by Saint Ambrose, Augustine of Hippo, and Thomas Aquinas. The term Christian means belonging to Christ and is derived from the Greek noun Χριστός Khristós which means anointed one, which is itself a translation of the Hebrew word Moshiach (Hebrew: משיח, also written Messiah), (and in Arabic it is pronounced Maseeh مسيح). Christian is primarily an adjective, describing an object associated... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... Fortitude, or Strength, sometimes also called Courage, is one of the Four Cardinal Virtues of the Catholic Church. ... Justice is one of the four cardinal virtues. ... Statue of a philosopher, presumably Plato, in Delphi. ... Saint Ambrose, Latin Sanctus Ambrosius, Italian SantAmbrogio (circa 340 - April 4, 397), bishop of Milan, was one of the most eminent fathers of the Christian church in the 4th century. ... St. ... St Thomas Aquinas Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 – March 7, 1274) was an Italian Catholic philosopher and theologian in the scholastic tradition. ...

These "cardinal" virtues are not the same as the trinity of "theological virtues" of faith, hope, and charity. Together, they comprise what is known as the Heavenly Virtues or sometimes the Seven Cardinal Virtues.

History of the Virtues

While history suggests that the first four date back to Greek philosophers and were applicable to all people seeking to live moral lives, the theological virtues appear to be specific to Christians as written by Paul in The New Testament. The term Christian means belonging to Christ and is derived from the Greek noun Χριστός Khristós which means anointed one, which is itself a translation of the Hebrew word Moshiach (Hebrew: משיח, also written Messiah), (and in Arabic it is pronounced Maseeh مسيح). Christian is primarily an adjective, describing an object associated... The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Scriptures, is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ...

In Genesis, Chapter 28 Jacob describes his vision of a ladder or stairway leading to heaven. In oral tradition, the three principle rungs on the ladder were denominated Faith, Hope and Love. (The King James Version of the Bible uses "charity," but "charity" was derived from caritas, or "love.") These three are mentioned in Chapter 13 of First Corinthians: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Because of this reference, the seven attributes are sometimes grouped as four cardinal virtues (prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice) and three heavenly graces (faith, hope, charity). This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... The holy jewish scripture: The Torah. ...

The cardinal virtues are distinguished from the capital virtues. The capital virtues are often paired with the much more widely known capital (or "deadly") sins. The capital virtues are: humility, liberality, brotherly love, meekness, chastity, temperance, and diligence. The capital sins, sometimes called the "seven deadly sins," are pride, avarice (greed), envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth. The seven capital virtues oppose the seven capital sins and are not to be confused with the cardinal virtues of Catholic lore. ... The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, suggest a classification of vices and were enumerated in their present form by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. ...

External Links

• Cardinal Virtues (secondexodus.com)
• Capital Virtues (secondexodus.com)
• Seven Virtues (atheism.com)