List Of Virtues

Virtues are quintessence of the human character. In catholic catechism there is list of seven most important virtues which belong to two subcategories. Four of these virtues are commonly referred as Cardinal virtue and the other three are as Theological virtues. According to the religious belief these seven virtues go up against the list of seven deadly sins. This list of virtues includes Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience, Kindness and Humility.

The origin of these seven virtues is a classic poem written by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius. The list of these seven heavenly virtues is given below along with a brief explanation.

1. Chastity: It is the first virtue of the list which mean sexual purity or behaviors of a certain individual which are acceptable to the ethical principles and custom of the religion or culture he/she belongs to. Chaste people have the possession of clean thought, words and actions. This virtue helps the individual to be loyal not only with him but also with his family, friends and over all to the whole humanity. Any individual can gain this virtue through education and betterment which will assist him to attain the purity of thought and to embrace moral integrity. Not only that, chastity will give you the power of refraining antagonism, lure and corruption.

2. Temperance: It is one of the cardinal virtues which means the moderation in thought, feeling and action. Temperance is one of the fundamental values that can be seen constantly across eras and cultures. Years after years this virtue has been studied and practiced by philosophers and religious intellectuals. This virtue deals with the desire for physical and spiritual pleasures or on the other words the pleasure of touch, smell, test and sound. For example the pleasure you can get by smelling a flower or by seeing beautiful scenery. The needs of life create the rule of reasons; therefore, the measure of temperance is the order of reason which will help you to control over excess.

3. Charity: In the list of virtues after temperance comes Charity. Do not misinterpret the term with the modern use of the word as benevolent giving. As in the list virtue charity means generosity, the unconditional love and kindness for others. As it glorifies and reflects the nature of God, charity is the said to be the ultimate perfection of human courage. The caritas love is essential for deliverance and with it no one can be mislaid. This virtue includes two parts, love of God and love of man. Love of men comprised of both love of oneself and love of one’s surroundings.

4. Diligence: On the list of virtues diligence is one of the most important virtues. The word diligence means the quality put in to achieve one's goal. The achievement is generally done with conviction, persistence and dedication. It also refers to take utmost care or determination in paying proper awareness to a particular task or any kind of goals that needs to be accomplished. It often refers as monitoring one’s own activities when on one else is around him/her.

5. Patience: Wars and conflicts between races, religions are nothing new. From the very beginning of the human civilization these things were always existed, thus patience has become an unavoidable virtue in this list. Patience can solve many problems such as discriminations in a society and clashes between races very easily and peacefully. This great virtue will give an individual the ability of mercy and would help to avoid aggressions, animosities and sufferings of human society. So as whole it can be said that patience will make pursuing peace a lot easier.

6. Kindness: The sixth position of the list of virtues is occupied by Kindness. Each and every individual of human society are acquainted with this virtue which is also well known as values. This importance of this virtue is every evident in every religion, philosophy and psychology. Kindness means being kind towards other by being compassionate, friendly and generous.

7. Humility: The last but not the least, virtue of this list is humility- meaning a quality of being humble, respectful, courteously obedient, etc. It helps an individual to avoid being egotistical, scornful, offensive or self-biasing. It teaches how to pursue modesty in human characteristic. Every religion including Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Sikhism always encouraged people to practice this virtue.

Although this list of virtues was made hundreds of years ago, they still possess the importance regardless of country, society and religion. As people are getting more civilized the more sophisticated conflicts are rising around the world. By practicing these virtues we can solve the problems of our personal lives as well as the whole world and would be able to make this world a better place.

Picture- Mike Bailey-Gates