Mere Christianity - Book Three - The "Cardinal Virtues"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Three

 

CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOUR

 

 

 

2. The "Cardinal Virtues"

     The previous  section  was  originally composed to be given  as a short
talk on the air.

     If you are allowed to talk for only ten minutes, pretty well everything
else has to be sacrificed to brevity.  one of my  chief reasons for dividing
morality up  into three parts  (with  my  picture  of the ships  sailing  in
convoy) was that this seemed the shortest way of covering the ground. Here I
want to give some idea of another way in which the subject has been  divided
by old writers, which  was too long to use in  my talk, but which is a  very
good one.

     According to this longer scheme there are seven "virtues." Four of them
are  called   "Cardinal"   virtues,  and  the  remaining  three  are  called
"Theological"  virtues. The "Cardinal" ones  are those  which all  civilised
people  recognise:  the  "Theological"  are those which,  as  a  rule,  only
Christians know  about. I shall deal with the Theological ones  later on: at
present I am talking about the  four  Cardinal virtues. (The word "cardinal"
has nothing  to  do with  "Cardinals"  in the Roman Church. It comes  from a
Latin  word meaning  "the hinge  of  a door." These were  called  "cardinal"
virtues  because they are, as  we should say, "pivotal.") They are PRUDENCE,
TEMPERANCE, JUSTICE, and FORTITUDE.

     Prudence means practical common sense, taking  the trouble to think out
what you are doing and what is likely  to  come  of it. Nowadays most people
hardly think of  Prudence as one of the "virtues." In  fact,  because Christ
said  we  could  only  get into  His  world  by  being like  children,  many
Christians have the idea that, provided you are  "good," it  does not matter
being  a fool. But  that is a  misunderstanding.  In the  first  place, most
children show  plenty of  "prudence" about doing  the things they are really
interested in,  and think them out quite sensibly. In  the second place,  as
St, Paul points out,  Christ  never meant that we were to remain children in
intelligence: on  the contrary, He told  us to  be not  only "as harmless as
doves," but  also "as  wise as  serpents." He wants a  child's heart,  but a
grown-up's head. He  wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and
teachable, as good children are; but He also wants every bit of intelligence
we have to  be alert  at its job, and in first-class fighting trim. The fact
that you are  giving money to a charity does not mean that you need  not try
to find out  whether that charity  is a fraud or not. The fact that what you
are thinking about is  God  Himself (for example, when you are praying) does
not mean that you can be  content with the  same babyish ideas which you had
when you were a  five-year-old. It is, of  course,  quite true that God will
not love you any the less, or have less use for you,  if you happen to  have
been born with a  very second-rate brain. He  has room for people  with very
little sense, but He wants every one to use what sense they have. The proper
motto is not "Be good, sweet maid, and let who can be clever," but "Be good,
sweet maid, and don't forget that this involves being as clever as you can."
God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers. If you
are thinking  of becoming  a  Christian,  I warn you  you  are embarking  on
something which is going to  take the whole  of you,  brains and  all.  But,
fortunately, it works the other  way round. Anyone who is honestly trying to
be  a Christian will soon find his intelligence being sharpened: one  of the
reasons  why  it  needs no  special education  to  be a  Christian  is  that
Christianity is an education itself. That is why an uneducated believer like
Bunyan was able to write a book that has astonished the whole world.

     Temperance is, unfortunately,  one of those words that has  changed its
meaning. It now usually means teetotalism. But in the  days when the  second
Cardinal virtue was christened  "Temperance," it meant nothing  of the sort.
Temperance  referred not specially  to  drink, but to all  pleasures; and it
meant not  abstaining,  but going  the right length and no  further. It is a
mistake  to   think   that   Christians  ought  all  to   be   teetotallers;
Mohammedanism, not Christianity, is  the teetotal religion. Of course it may
be the duty of a  particular Christian, or of any Christian, at a particular
time, to abstain from strong drink, either because he is the sort of man who
cannot  drink at all without drinking  too much, or because he wants to give
the  money  to the poor, or because he is  with  people  who are inclined to
drunkenness and must not encourage them by drinking himself.  But  the whole
point is that he  is abstaining, for a good reason,  from something which he
does not condemn and which he likes to see other people enjoying. one of the
marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself
without wanting every one else to give it up. That is not the Christian way.
An  individual  Christian  may see  fit to give up all sorts of  things  for
special reasons-marriage, or meat, or beer, or the cinema; but the moment he
starts saying the things are  bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at
other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning.

     one great piece of mischief has been done by the  modern restriction of
the word Temperance to the question of drink. It helps people to forget that
you can be just as intemperate about lots of other  things. A  man who makes
his golf or his motor-bicycle the centre of his life, or a woman who devotes
all  her  thoughts  to  clothes  or  bridge  or  her dog,  is  being just as
"intemperate"  as  someone who gets  drunk every evening. Of course, it does
not  show on the  outside so easily: bridge-mania  or golf-mania do not make
you  fall down in  the middle  of the  road.  But God  is  not  deceived  by
externals.

     Justice means  much  more than  the  sort of thing that goes on in  law
courts. It is the  old name for everything we should now call "fairness"; it
includes honesty,  give  and take, truthfulness, keeping  promises, and  all
that  side  of life. And  Fortitude includes  both kinds of courage-the kind
that faces danger as well as the kind that "sticks it" under pain. "Guts" is
perhaps  the nearest modern English. You will  notice, of  course, that  you
cannot practise any of the other virtues very long without bringing this one
into play.

     There is one further point about the virtues  that ought to be noticed.
There is a difference between doing some particular just or temperate action
and being a just or temperate man. Someone who is not  a good  tennis player
may now and then make a good shot. What you mean by a good player is the man
whose eye and  muscles and nerves have been so trained by making innumerable
good shots  that they can now  be  relied  on. They have  a  certain tone or
quality  which  is  there  even   when  he  is   not  playing,   just  as  a
mathematician's mind  has a certain habit  and outlook  which is there  even
when he is not doing mathematics. In the same way a man  who  perseveres  in
doing just actions gets in the end a certain quality of character. Now it is
that quality rather than the particular actions  which we mean when  we talk
of "virtue."

     This  distinction is important for the following reason. If we  thought
only of the particular actions we might encourage three wrong ideas.

     (1) We might think that,  provided you did the right thing,  it did not
matter how or why you  did  it-whether you did it  willingly or unwillingly,
sulkily  or cheerfully, through fear of public opinion  or for its own sake.
But the truth is that right actions done for the wrong reason do not help to
build the internal quality or character  called  a "virtue," and  it is this
quality or  character  that  really matters.  (If the bad tennis player hits
very  hard, not  because he  sees that a very hard  stroke is required,  but
because he has lost his temper, his stroke might possibly, by luck, help him
to  win that  particular game; but  it will not be  helping him  to become a
reliable player.)

     (2)  We might think that God wanted simply obedience to a set of rules:
whereas He really wants people of a particular sort.

     (3)  We might think  that the "virtues" were  necessary  only for  this
present life-that in the other world we could stop being  just because there
is nothing to quarrel about and stop being brave because there is no danger.
Now  it is quite true that  there will probably be no  occasion  for just or
courageous acts in the  next  world,  but  there will  be every occasion for
being the sort of people that we can become only as the result of doing such
acts  here.  The  point is  not that God will refuse  you admission  to  His
eternal world if you  have not got certain qualities of character: the point
is  that if  people have not got at least the beginnings of  those qualities
inside them, then no possible external conditions could make  a "Heaven" for
them-that is,  could make them happy  with the deep, strong, unshakable kind
of happiness God intends for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lewis discusses what he calls the cardinal virtues.

1. Lewis says that according to old writers, there are seven virtues. Four of the virtues are called cardinal and the other three are theological. What are the four cardinal virtues?
2. Does being child-like mean that a Christian can be foolish?
3. Does temperance apply only to drinking? Does it mean complete abstinence?
4. What word does Lewis use to describe justice?
5. Fortitude is described in two ways, what are they? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 'Cardinal Virtues' are Prudence, Temperence, Justice and Fortitude. These are all vertues that most civilized people will recognize and acknowledge. Most of the words have changed meanings over the years, but the meanings are still important. We'll interpret them to modern language as well as we can as we discuss them.

• Prudence "Prudence means practical common sense, taking the trouble to think out what you are doing and what is likely to come of it."
  • Many Christians misapply this virtue starting at "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14), and stopping there. This is very often taken as a license to be naive and foolish about the world.
  • Most children show plenty of prudence, questioning everything. Secondly,
    

    "as St Paul points out, Christ never meant that we were to remain children in intelligence: on the contrary. He told us to be not only 'as harmless as doves.' but also 'as wise as serpents'.He wants a child's heart, but a grown-up's head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable, as good children are; but He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, and in first-class fighting trim.

    • giving money to a charity? check it out! Is it a fraud?
    • thinking about God? Is that good enough? Are you still thinking childish thoughts about a childish concept of God?
    • "It is, of course, quite true that God will not love you any the less, or have less use for you, if you happen to have been born with a very second-rate brain. He has room for people with very little sense, but He wants every one to use what sense they have."

The proper motto is ... 'Be good, sweet maid, and don't forget that this involves being as clever as you can.' God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers. If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all. But, fortunately, it works the other way round. Anyone who is honestly trying to be a Christian will soon find his intelligence being sharpened: one of the reasons why it needs no special education to be a Christian is that Christianity is an education itself.

• Temperance ... "Temperance [refers] ... to all pleasures; and it [means] not abstaining, but going the right length and no further."
  • Temperance is often used in our culture to refer to total avoidance of alcohol, but that's not what it means.

  • Mohammedanism, not Christianity, is the teetotal religion.

  • But the whole point is that he is abstaining, for a good reason, from something which he does not condemn and which he likes to see other people enjoying. one of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting every one else to give it up. That is not the Christian way. An individual Christian may see fit to give up all sorts of things for special reasons--marriage, or meat, or beer, or the cinema; but the moment he starts saying the things are bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning.

  • This is an example of judging, that is not our job, it is God's.

  • A man who makes his golf or his motor-bicycle the centre of his life, or a woman who devotes all her thoughts to clothes or bridge or her dog, is being just as 'intemperate' as someone who gets drunk every evening. Of course, it does not show on the outside so easily: bridge-mania or golf-mania do not make you fall down in the middle of the road. But God is not deceived by externals.

• Justice "is the old name for everything we should now call 'fairness'; it includes honesty, give and take, truthfulness, keeping promises, and all that side of life."
• Fortitude "includes both kinds of courage--the kind that faces danger as well as the kind that 'sticks it' under pain. 'Guts' is perhaps the nearest modern English. You will notice, of course, that you cannot practise any of the other virtues very long without bringing this one into play."
• "There is a difference between doing some particular just or temperate action and being a just or temperate man."
  • It is in the practicing of these virtues that the virtues, over time and with work and practice, become embedded in our character. God is more interested in our character than in our actions, but he made us in such a way that the practicing of actions that we shape our characters.
  • It is important to keep in mind that our intent is as important as our actions:
    

    We might think that, provided you did the right thing, it did not matter how or why you did it--whether you did it willingly or unwillingly, sulkily or cheerfully, through fear of public opinion or for its own sake. But the truth is that right actions done for the wrong reason do not help to build the internal quality or character called a 'virtue,' and it is this quality or character that really matters.

  • We might get confused that God wants only strict obedience, and not a certain kind of people.
  • Are virtues only important in this life? Think of the implications our character might have in the future life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://lib.ru/LEWISCL/mere_engl.txt 

http://www.opendiscipleship.org/Mere_Christianity_leaders_notes

http://www.gordy-stith.com/Mere%20Christianity/mere_christianity_study_guide.htm