THE goal of all the virtues is to live consistently with nature. Each one enables a human being to achieve this goal in his own way; for a human has from nature inclinations to discover what is appropriate and to stabilize his impulses and to stand firm and to distribute fairly. And each of the virtues does what is consonant with these inclinations and does its own job, thus enabling a human being to live consistently with nature.
ARIUS DIDYMUS.
Quoted in STOBAEUS' ANTHOLOGY. 2.5b3.
Quoted in STOBAEUS' ANTHOLOGY. 2.5b3.
The goal of the virtues is to live consistently with nature. We naturally have inclinations to discover what is appropriate to us (wisdom), to command our impulses (temperance), to stand firm (courage), to care for each other (compassion) and to distribute resources fairly (justice). Thus living virtuously is living according to the best inclinations that nature has given us. - Lessons from the Arius Didymus
ReplyDeleteNatural does not necessarily equate to common. The final two, compassion and justice, are unfortunately trained out of us early, either by rampant consumerism, or radical religious indoctrination. If we look to those few among us who are universally admired for their actions, we can see some examples of what we all are capable of. It is the inborn potential of virtue that is the true path of the human.