THE CONCEPT OF VIRTUE

What does the term virtue mean?
Before Socrates, they praised the power and wealth of the Persians king. However, the ancestor of European philosophy just said:«And how much wisdom and virtue does he have? Only she, as far as I know, does a man blissful. ” The Christian life is a virtuous life. All the manuals of asceticism, the doctrine of perfection, speak of virtues. from four-part Theological Summit of St. Thomas Aquinas is one volume devoted to the doctrine of virtues. And yet in the Scriptures the word virtue is almost non-existent,or in another sense. In the New Testament we meet him only four times, once at St. Paul (Hp 4, 8) and three times in the letters of St. Peter (1 Pt 2, 9; 2 Pt 1,3; 1,5). To the tongue Christians, however, the word penetrated very soon. It belonged to the dictionary of common speech at the end of antiquity. But words too they have their history. The Slovak word virtue is related to the word honor. Latin virtue is from the word vir, so man originally means masculinity, qualities that we admire in men. Greek andreia, bravery, has the same etymology. However, virtue is generally called arete in Greek, something that likes, that excels is astonishing. It is understandable that primitive nations they most admired and honored the strength, the bravery of war. It means virtue in Homer. In Latin translations in the Old Testament, the word virtue simply means power. However, Jewish writers do not forget to remind at every opportunity that only Yahweh is strong and that all power man comes from God (. Ps 45). However, intellectual Greeks almost began to admire more dexterity and mental ability than physical strength. Word virtue has been transferred to the realm of spirit. But the spirit excels in two ways: knowledge and goodness, morality. Therefore, Aristotle divided the virtues into two: the intellectual and moral. However, this division did not take much. Stoics, from whom s he also received many Christian ants, for you arethey no longer valued knowledge so much. Between knowledge and action, theory  , there is often a big difference. You are then we should weigh according to good conduct. That’s the word practical and moral significance, as it h as in modern languages.Scripture still emphasizes good deeds action. Scripture, therefore, encourages us to live a virtuous life. The Alexandrian Jewish has already reached this conclusion philosopher Philon. He therefore confused the expressions of Scripture with Stoicism morality. “Only virtue,” as he says, “will free us from all evil.” For virtue, as the Stoics say, is the power of the spirit, who overcomes o bstacles, over uncontrollable passions.Here, however, the devout Jew Philon realized, at least in part, that the Scriptures differed from Stoic morality. It is not the power of man that leads to the victory of  good, it is rather the power of God. This is further emphasized in the New Testament more often. Christ’s fight against Pharisaism illuminates this. No one becomes a saint by his own power. The only one God is holy and just. It penetrates through baptism and grace God’s holiness and power into man, too, he also becomes holy and righteous to a limited extent. This difference between pagan, secular morality and the message of the gospel, Christians were well aware of. Perhaps that is why they were initially careful in their use of the word.It reminded them of conceited moral self-sufficiency.As this distrust subsided over time, Clement of Alexandriahe replaced the biblical expression of justice with the philosophical notion of virtue, which he defines as “the inclination of the soul corresponding to reason (rational action) for life”. To feelthere is also the dryness and clumsiness of abstract school speech.It was necessary to be more accessible for a practical Christian life definition, as we read it in St. Basil: “Virtue is the use of the things that God has given us, with a good conscience and according to God’s command.” Vice is, on the contrary,misuse of God’s gifts. Yet we do not speak to every good deed virtue. Virtue is something always, the ability of the soul to do good,
whenever the opportunity arises. She was accepted acquaintance Aristotle’s definition that virtue is the habit of good conduct is “the habit of free will.” We will learn through practice ride a horse, sing in a choir, speak a foreign language.So we can also learn to speak politely, truthfully, spend money sparingly, work for ourselves and for others. It is, of course, supposed to be God’s help from the beginning. Therefore, the time before the so-called the moral virtue was built by the “divine” virtues, the “acquired” virtues are preceded by the “cast”. However, these are all later concepts that prove that the word virtue has gained a firm foothold in Christian language and became identical with the perfection of the gospel.” Among all human things,” writes St. Cassian, “Nothing can be considered real good unless virtue. » Aphorisms about  virtues shchooling in European antiquity did not forget to encourage young people to live virtuously. It was happening also in the form of short principles. Some are known.