Mere Morality and the Cardinal Virtues in CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity: Prudence, Temperance, and Justice

How did CS Lewis describe the Cardinal Virtues of Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Fortitude in his Mere Christianity?

Why is Prudence a virtue?

Can Justice also be translated as Morality?

Why was the Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude understood to be Courage in the ancient world?

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https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/mere-morality-and-the-cardinal-virtues-in-cs-lewis-mere-christianity-prudence-temperance-and-justice/

We also review:
• How Cardinal Virtues were discussed by Plato in his Republic, Stoic Philosophers, Aristotle, and St Thomas Aquinas.
• How CS Lewis refuses to join in the debates between the Catholic Church and Protestant Churches.
• The two-fold Love of God and love of neighbor.

2. How did CS Lewis describe the Cardinal Virtues of
Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Fortitude in his
Mere Christianity?
Why is Prudence a virtue?
Can Justice also be translated as Morality?
Why was the Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude understood
to be Courage in the ancient world?

3. Previously, we reflected on how Christians in England
and Europe faced the fascist and Nazi threats during
World War II, and how these experiences influenced
the decrees of Vatican II. We also reflected on
whether CS Lewis used St Augustine and the other
Church Fathers as sources.

4. https://youtu.be/x-9FeH9Gyng https://youtu.be/udJQzmqst34
https://youtu.be/ksWomcEg8C0 https://youtu.be/c71ygBqvPoY

5. Please, we welcome interesting questions in the
comments. Let us learn and reflect together!
At the end of our talk, we will discuss the sources
used for this video.
Please feel free to follow along in the PowerPoint
script we uploaded to SlideShare, which includes
illustrations. Our sister blog includes footnotes, both
include our Amazon book links.

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YouTube Channel (click to subscribe):
Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History
© Copyright 2024 Become a patron:
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Was CS Lewis a Closet Catholic?
CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity
Good Friday, Easter, and Trinity
Facing the Nazi Menace
Preparing the Way for Vatican II
Morality and Cardinal Virtues
Forgiveness, Envy, and Pride
Faith, Hope, and Love: Virtues
Romance, Marriage, and Divorce
Is Christianity Hard or Easy?
Summary of Mere Christianity
https://youtu.be/x-9FeH9Gyng
https://youtu.be/udJQzmqst34
https://youtu.be/ksWomcEg8C0
https://youtu.be/c71ygBqvPoY
https://youtu.be/Djbzmeb2nc0
https://youtu.be/fZcOip3WGe8
https://youtu.be/avesW8whRSQ
https://youtu.be/Pmu6hzU5RaQ
https://youtu.be/jZuWmInLh7s

7. To find the source of any direct
quotes in this blog, please type in
the phrase to the search box in
my blog to see the referenced
footnote.
YouTube Description has links for:
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•Blog
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8. CS Lewis was arguing against the notion that right
and wrong is relative; but how can that be, since
Nazism is so evidently evil?

9. CS Lewis proclaims, “We are forced
to believe in a real Right and Wrong,”
this is a Law of Nature shared by all
cultures.
CS Lewis teaches us: “The moment
you say that one set of moral ideas
can be better than another, you are,
in fact, measuring them both by a
standard, saying that one of them
conforms to that standard more
nearly than the other.”
The good Samaritan, after Delacroix, by Van Gogh, 1890

10. CS Lewis has many
aphorisms:
“Christians must fair,
unselfish, and display
decent behavior
towards their
neighbor.”
“God puts a little of
His love into us and
that is how we love
one another.”
The Good Samaritan, by Balthasar van Cortbemde, 1647

11. CS Lewis has “two bits of evidence that the
Somebody,” whom we worship as the
Almighty God, truly exists. “One is the
universe he made.” “The other bit of evidence
is that Moral Law which He has put into our
minds. And this is a better bit of evidence
than the other because it is inside
information.” In the Judeo-Christian
traditions, “we conclude that the Being
behind the universe is intensely interested in
right conduct: in fair play, unselfishness,
courage, good faith, honesty and
truthfulness.”
The Good Samaritan, by Aimé Morot, 1880

12. CS Lewis continues:
“Christianity tells people to
repent and promises them
forgiveness.” It says nothing
“to people who do not know
they have done anything to
repent of and who do not
feel that they need any
forgiveness.”
The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Julie Ribault, 1800's

13. Why doesn’t CS Lewis explicitly discuss the two-fold Love of God and love
of neighbor at the end of Book 1? St Augustine is my favorite Catholic
saint because, in every major work, he explicitly repeats this core belief.
Our saint teaches us that all Scripture must be interpreted in light of this
two-fold love, and when the literal reading of the Scriptures appears to
violate this two-fold love, then it should be interpreted allegorically. This
principle can be extended to our relations to our neighbors, that we
should think the best of our neighbor, so we can bring out the best in our
neighbor, and that everything we think, say, or do should be beneficial to
all concerned.

14. https://youtu.be/uQCnAJMPoos

15. If you lose sight of this foundation of Christianity, you
risk becoming judgmental, you risk losing your
compassion. One telling criticism that many agnostic
liberals level against evangelical Christianity is that
not only does it embraces cruelty rather compassion,
but that “Cruelty is the Point.”

16. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/
2018/10/the-cruelty-is-the-point/572104/

17. CS Lewis begins the third book of Mere
Christianity: “There is a story about a
schoolboy who was asked what he thought
God was like. He replied that, as far as he
could make out, God was ‘the sort of
person who is always snooping around to
see if anyone is enjoying himself and then
trying to stop it.’” Is that what morality is:
“something that stops you from having a
good time?”
What Is Morality?

18. Here CS Lewis is sharing his prior childish misconception of Christianity, a
misconception that deceived him to turn his back on the faith and profess
atheism for a time in his youth. Jesus does not seek to eliminate joy from
our lives, Jesus scolded his disciples when they sought to keep the little
children from Him, for children bring joy! But children also bring chaos.
But such attitudes mirror how far society has receded from monastic
ascetic ideals, monasteries that stressed the seriousness of the spiritual
life, the seriousness that focuses on the daily spiritual disciplines that
improve our soul. Many of the original monasteries in the Egyptian
desert banned women and children, women had their own convents. To
this day, women and children visiting the monasteries on Mount Athos in
Greece are required to leave the peninsula at dusk.

19. Suffer the
Little Children
to Come Unto
Me, by Jacob
Jordaens,
1615

20. https://youtu.be/Fco0W3bt5GA

21. Should Christians joke? The Greek Orthodox Saint
Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain of Mount Athos,
compiler of the Greek Philokalia, argues that
Christians should not joke. We must remember that
in his lifetime, he may have felt the need to
emphasize Christian seriousness to the severe
Muslim masters who were ruling Greece at the time.

22. https://youtu.be/WAroedUiytY

23. But yet there is a spiritual danger when Christians laugh and joke.
In the years before the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic
Erasmus criticized the corruption of the Catholic Church using
biting satire. Though his criticisms were legitimate, the troubling
question is whether his use of satire helped prepare the way for
the rebelliousness of the Protestant Reformation. Erasmus may
have been jesting, but Martin Luther, in most of his major works,
would interrupt pages of brilliant theology by calling the pope
names, often crude and vile invectives.

24. https://youtu.be/FYuIbYlIx5U

25. The Cardinal Virtues
Disputation of the Sacrament, by Raphael, 1510Cardinal Virtues: Ladies are Fortitude, Temperance, Prudence, and Justice, by Raphael, 1511

26. The cardinal virtues are Prudence, Temperance,
Justice, and Fortitude. This list of virtues was first
introduced in Plato’s Republic, and was then adopted
by the Stoic philosophers and Aristotle, whose
Nicomachean Ethics inspired commentaries by St
Thomas Aquinas.

27. What is prudence? CS Lewis teaches us:
“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 whether you are a fool.”
What is Prudence?
Allegory of Prudence, by Simon Vouet, 1645

28. CS Lewis continues, “Jesus
wants us to have 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.”
Jesus Christ with the children, by Carl Bloch, ldate 1800's

29. Perhaps CS Lewis is suggesting that Christians should
be purposely naïve. We can be wary of those who
have taken advantage us in the past, to preserve our
fortune and dignity; but on the other hand, we
should think the best of our family, friends, and
acquaintances, so we can bring out the best in them,
even though they might have disappointed us or
even hurt us in the past.

30. Christ
Gathering
the Little
Children
Around
Him, by
Jean-
Guillaume
Carlier,
1670

31. CS Lewis is referring to this charming
passage in Matthew:
“The disciples came to Jesus, saying,
‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven?’ And calling to him a child, he
put him in the midst of them, and said,
‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and
become like children, you will never
enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever
humbles himself like this child, he is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’”
Jesus Christ with the children, by Rembrandt, 1620

32. CS Lewis teaches us: “Temperance is one
of those words that has changed its
meaning. It now usually means
teetotalism.” But in times past,
temperance referred to “all pleasures;
and it meant not abstaining but going the
right length and no further.”
CS Lewis notes that “a man who makes
his golf or his motorcycle the center 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.”
Allegory of Temperance, by Marco Liberi, 1600's
What is Temperance?

33. CS Lewis may be telling us that he has not had to put up with any drunks in his
immediate family. But certainly, the drunkard and the drug addict, who was not
prevalent in CS Lewis’ day, are more threatening to their families and acquaintances
than those who are obsessively devoted to their hobbies and vanities.
We are puzzled why CS Lewis did not mention the ancient Greek philosophy that all
things should be practiced in moderation. Many people ask: Should Christians watch
secular movies and listen to secular music? Certainly not when they directly conflict
with Christian values. But surely we are not sinning when we look forward to
enjoying the movies and family time on the weekends.
This tension was also felt by the ancient Greeks, in the tension between Stoicism
and Epicureanism, who say that we should enjoy the pleasures of life in moderation.

34. Allegories of Prudence and Temperance, by Carpoforo Tencalla, 1673

35. https://youtu.be/49Qv3Be86Jw

36. Many wise monks of Mount Athos realized the
spiritual danger of brooding, of the radical denial of
pleasure. The sixth century St John Climacus in his
Ladder of Divine Ascent teaches us that despondency
itself can be a sin.

37. https://youtu.be/pFwC2nDf1CQ

38. Is Justice the Same Virtue as Morality?
Allegory of Justice, by Bernardino Mei, 1656, by Marcello Bacciarelli, 1793

39. What does the Greek word commonly translated as Justice in
English really mean? In his translation of Plato’s Republic, Robin
Waterfield shares that the Greek word that is customarily
translated as justice in English he prefers to translate as morality.
The English word of Justice implies that it is something done in
the courthouse, whereas the original meaning was more
synonymous with loving your neighbor, particularly with those
neighbors who are acquaintances or strangers. So justice here is
the same as loving your neighbors, seen and unseen, including
those you have never met.

40. Allegories of Justice and Fortitude, by Carpoforo Tencalla, 1673

41. CS Lewis agrees, reminding
us: “Justice means much
more than the sort of thing
that goes on in law courts. It
is the old name for
everything we now call
fairness; it includes honesty,
give and take, truthfulness,
keeping promises, and all
that side of life.”
Allegory of Justice, by Gaetano Gandolfi, 1760

42. Is Fortitude the Same Virtue as Courage?
Allegory of Fortitude and Temperance, by Pietro Perugino, around 1500
CS Lewis teaches us
that fortitude
includes two 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 word.”

43. Fortitude is replaced by courage in the ancient Greek
lists. Courage was a primary virtue by Plato and
Aristotle because the ancient Greek culture, like most
ancient cultures, was a warrior culture. Every male
citizen was expected to serve in the army because in
the ancient world when the enemy defeated your
city, often your property was seized, your military age
men were slaughtered, and your women and children
were enslaved.

44. https://youtu.be/7QAZ_s6zw4Ehttps://youtu.be/bGHHD7XTvr0
https://youtu.be/O67cmVRvBtA https://youtu.be/poyvJajCXnE

45. CS Lewis asks, Are these
cardinal virtues who we are,
or are they what we do?
Certainly, our actions do
influence our inner life, as
much as our inner life
influences our actions. This
duality is seen in the vision
seen by Cornelius before he
approached Peter in Acts:
“Your prayers and your
almsgiving have ascended as a
memorial before God.”
Vision of Cornelius the Centurion, by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, 1664

46. CS Lewis reflects on three wrong ideas of modern man from a
Protestant perspective, to which we add the Catholic
perspective.
•“We might think that, provided you did the right thing, it did
not matter how or why you did it.” Although if you do the
right thing, it may become a habit, improving your soul.
•“We might think that God wanted simply obedience to a set
of rules: whereas He really wants people of a particular sort.”
What sort of people? Those who are obedient.
•“We might think that the virtues are necessary only for this
present life, that in the world to come we could stop being
just because there is nothing to quarrel about and stop being
brave because there is no danger.” All Christians agree that
virtues improve our soul, leading us to perform good works.
Peter Baptizing the Centurion
Cornelius, by Francesco Trevisani, 1709

47. Next, CS Lewis ponders on Forgiveness, Pride, and
Envy, and the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope, and
Charity, or Love, and other moral issues, including
romance and Christian marriage.

48. https://youtu.be/Djbzmeb2nc0
https://youtu.be/fZcOip3WGe8https://youtu.be/avesW8whRSQ
https://youtu.be/Pmu6hzU5RaQ

49. CS Lewis ponders whether Christianity is Hard, or
Easy. Previously, we reflected on CS Lewis’ Great
Divorce, on Hell and Heaven, and Viktor Frankl’s
Man’s Search for Meaning, written after he survived
his time in the Auschwitz work camps of World War
II.

50. https://youtu.be/wuqwy3GyO_4
https://youtu.be/O-YtC9qGWPI
https://youtu.be/jZuWmInLh7s

51. Discussing the Sources

52. CS Lewis sought to make the core theological
Christian doctrines and teachings comprehensible for
ordinary Christians, and he succeeded. For a detailed
review and discussion of our sources, please view our
initial video of Mere Christianity and the Nazi
Menace.

53. https://youtu.be/x-9FeH9Gyng

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YouTube Channel (click to subscribe):
Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History
© Copyright 2024 Become a patron:
https://www.patreon.com/seekingvirtueandwisdom
https://www.youtube.com/@ReflectionsMPH/?sub_confirmation=1
Was CS Lewis a Closet Catholic?
CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity
Good Friday, Easter, and Trinity
Facing the Nazi Menace
Preparing the Way for Vatican II
Morality and Cardinal Virtues
Forgiveness, Envy, and Pride
Faith, Hope, and Love: Virtues
Romance, Marriage, and Divorce
Is Christianity Hard or Easy?
Summary of Mere Christianity
https://youtu.be/x-9FeH9Gyng
https://youtu.be/udJQzmqst34
https://youtu.be/ksWomcEg8C0
https://youtu.be/c71ygBqvPoY
https://youtu.be/Djbzmeb2nc0
https://youtu.be/fZcOip3WGe8
https://youtu.be/avesW8whRSQ
https://youtu.be/Pmu6hzU5RaQ
https://youtu.be/jZuWmInLh7s

55. To find the source of any direct
quotes in this blog, please type in
the phrase to the search box in
my blog to see the referenced
footnote.
YouTube Description has links for:
•Script PDF file
•Blog
•Amazon Bookstore
© Copyright 2024
Blog and YouTube Description
include links for Amazon books
and lectures mentioned, please
support our channel with these
affiliate commissions.
Blog:https://wp.me/pachSU-1bo

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https://www.meetup.com/Reflections/

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58. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqDkfFbWhXOnzdjp__YZtg/