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The ancient Romans used the Latin word virtus (derived from vir, their word for man) to refer to all of the "excellent qualities of men, including physical strength, valorous conduct, and moral rectitude". The French words vertu and virtu came from this Latin root. The word virtue "was borrowed into English in the 13th century". [1]
Although "virtus" and "virtue" are related concepts, virtus for the Roman did not necessarily emphasize the behavior that the associations of the present-day English term "virtue" suggest. Virtus was to be found in "outstanding deeds" (egregia facinora), and brave deeds were the accomplishments that brought gloria ("a reputation").
In the Italian language, the term virtù is historically related to the Greek concept of aretḗ, the Latin virtus, and Medieval Catholic virtues, e.g. the seven virtues. Thus, Machiavelli's use of the term is linked to the concept of virtue ethics .
In Aristotle's work, phronesis is the intellectual virtue that helps turn one's moral instincts into practical action. [ 4 ] [ 10 ] He writes that moral virtues help any person to achieve the end, and that phronesis is what it takes to discover the means to gain that end. [ 4 ]
word for word and letter by letter: verbi divini minister: servant of the Divine Word: A phrase denoting a priest. Cf. "Verbum Dei" infra. verbi gratia (v. gr. or v. g.) for example: Literally, "for the sake of a word". Verbum Dei: Word of God: See religious text. Verbum Domini lucerna pedibus nostris: The word of the Lord [is] a light for our feet
The theological virtues are those named by Paul the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 13: "And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love." [5] The third virtue is also commonly referred to as "charity", as this is how the influential King James Bible translated the Greek word agape.
Aeneas, depicted here with Venus, was considered the embodiment of gravitas, pietas, dignitas, and virtus. [4]Gravitas was one of the virtues that allowed citizens, particularly statesmen, to embody the concept of romanitas, [5] which denotes what it meant to be Roman and how Romans regarded themselves, eventually evolving into a national character. [6]
The root of the word is the same as aristos, the word which shows superlative ability and superiority, and aristos was constantly used in the plural to denote the nobility. [5] By the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, arete as applied to men had developed to include quieter virtues, such as dikaiosyne and sophrosyne (self-restraint).