The Four Cardinal Virtues

Insofar as the four cardinal virtues-prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance-are remembered today, it is in a distorted and partial fashion. Yet the resulting void is at the root of the evils of the "dis-society" in which we live: totalitarianism, unbridled capitalism, social alienation, consumerism, hedonism, and the unchallenged reign of technology. To return to sanity, we need prudence, the virtue directing all the others and indispensable for the determination of appropriate personal and societal actions; justice, particularly essential for the pursuit of the common good; fortitude, required for fidelity to commitments and the sacrifices these entail; and temperance, applying to all moderation in conduct, not just regarding food and drink. Without the recovery of these virtues, the collapse of what remains of our civilization cannot be prevented. The Belgian philosopher Marcel De Corte is a prophetic voice heralding the coming chaos, basing his analyses on Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas. His prognosis for the future, however, does not leave us without hope.