By DONALD DeMARCO
The word “virtue” is derived from the Latin vir, meaning man. It was once believed that virtue was virility (or manliness) and nothing more. Virtue, then, was the sole province of the male and was most clearly evident when men displayed courage on the battlefield. Virtue did not apply to women not only because of their sex, but, by and large, because they did not go to war.
Plutarch (c. AD 46 to AD 120) disagreed with the prevailing notion that only men could be virtuous. In his book, Mulierum Virtutem (The Virtues of Women), he sought to demonstrate that virtue applies equally to women as well as to men. If virtue belonged to those who displayed courage under difficult and dangerous circumstances, Plutarch reasoned, then they were as virtuous as men. And surely women face personal challenges that have nothing to do with war.
His proof consisted in presenting 27 historical or semi-historical accounts of various women whose habitats ranged from Salmantia in central Spain to the Persian royal city of Pasargadae. The one and only virtue he exemplified was courage. However, he ascribed virtue to women who committed acts of violence, including murder.
He tells the story of Chiomara who avenged the soldier who sexually violated her by having him decapitated and then triumphantly throwing his severed head at her husband’s feet. Plutarch, unfortunately, was identifying virtue with vice, though vices that were impressive and proudly assertive.
In the fourteenth century, Boccaccio authored De Claris Mulieribus (Concerning Famous Women). Like Plutarch, he identified female virtues with traits that are specifically male. He also contended that nature did not make women the equal of men and therefore, they had to work harder than men in order to be, using Boccacio’s term, “manly.”
In the year 2005, Barbara Coloroso produced a book entitled, Just Because It’s Not Wrong Doesn’t Make It Right. While she fully acknowledges that men and women are equally disposed to virtue, she does not understand the nature of virtue. This misunderstanding is exemplified by the questions she asks: “Do we emphasize the virtues of liberty and autonomy?” Neither liberty nor autonomy is a virtue. They are dispositions or opportunities. We need virtues to use our liberty and autonomy rightly. When she asks: “What happens when two virtues clash or contradict each other?” and “Do we value justice over mercy,” she loses sight of the basis and unifying factor of all virtues.
Barbara Coloroso speaks for many today who profess a belief in virtues but fail to see their unifying basis. Thus, they separate compassion from generosity in order to rationalize abortion, mercy from justice in order to spare people the demands of justice, and loyalty from courage in order to appease those in power. Virtues need each other in order to be truly virtuous. Justice cries out for mercy, chastity demands temperance, and courage requires wisdom. The more virtues a person has, the more complete he is as a human being.
Because virtues need each other, they need a common basis. St. Paul in Corinthians 13 shows that a broad array of virtues are all rooted in love: “Love is patient [patience] and kind [kindness]; love is not jealous [generosity] or rude [courtesy]. Love does not insist on its own way [humility]; it is not irritable [temperance] or resentful [graciousness]; it does not rejoice in wrong [compassion], but rejoices in the right [justice]. Love bears all things [courage], believes all things [faith], hopes all things [hope], endures all things [meekness].”
St. Paul is addressing everyone. Love is universal. It is also the basis for every virtue. Each virtue derives its virtuousness insofar as it is rooted in love. God can love us without using an intermediary. He loves us directly. We human beings, however, cannot express our love for another without using the intermediary of virtue. A fireman must use a hose in order to extinguish a fire. He cannot apply the water directly. We know how loving we are to another person by the virtues we employ in order to express that love.
St. Paul is offering us important and realistic advice. He is telling us that virtues harmonize with each other and are sourced in love. Courtesy alone is not enough. It is fulfilled through generosity. And both courtesy and generosity are rooted in love. Likewise, compassion is perfected through justice and determination is moderated by temperance. All virtues are blessed by wisdom and wisdom is balanced by humility.
Christians are commanded to love. Therefore, because love needs virtue in order to express itself, they are also commanded to be virtuous. Without virtue, love remains unexpressed. With virtue, love moves the world.
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