Seven Heavenly Virtues

The Seven Heavenly Virtues or Seven Christian Virtues are a set of positive qualities, found primarily in Catholic Christianity, that Christians are taught to strive for. They are arranged by combining the four classical cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, and courage/fortitude) with the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. However, over time the seven virtues changed slightly in name and connotation, in order to more directly parallel and go against the Seven Deadly Sins.

Initial Four Cardinal Virtues
"The fruits of Wisdom '... are virtues; For she teaches moderation and prudence, justice and fortitude, and nothing in life is more useful for men than these.' - The Book of Wisdom 8:7"

The Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato, regarded temperance, wisdom, justice, and courage as the four most desirable character traits.


 * 1) Prudence from prudentia (meaning "seeing ahead, sagacity") is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. It is called the Auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues) as it guides the other virtues.
 * 2) Justice is the virtue which regulates man in his dealings with others. Connected to justice are the virtues of religion, piety, and gratitude.
 * 3) Fortitude which Thomas Aquinas ranks third after prudence and justice and equates with brave endurance. Patience and perseverance are virtues related to fortitude.
 * 4) Temperance is the virtue which moderates in accordance with reason the desires and pleasures of the sensuous appetite. Related to temperance are the virtues of continence, humility, and meekness.

Later Three Theological Virtues
The traditional understanding of the differences in the natures of Cardinal and Theological virtues, is that the latter are not fully accessible to humans in their natural state without assistance from God. These "supernatural" virtues bestowed by God towards man's true happiness are faith, hope, and charity.

Compiled Into a List of Seven
A list of seven virtues that oppose the seven deadly sins appeared later in an epic poem titled Psychomachia, or Battle/Contest of the Soul. Written by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, a Christian governor who died around 410 AD, it entails the battle between good virtues and evil vices. The enormous popularity of this work in the Middle Ages helped to spread the concept of holy virtue throughout Europe.

After Pope Gregory released his list of seven deadly sins in 590 AD, the seven virtues became identified as chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility. Practicing them is said to protect one against temptation from the seven deadly sins.

These seven virtues do not correspond to the seven heavenly virtues arrived at by combining the cardinal and theological virtues. Furthermore, efforts in the Middle Ages to set the seven heavenly virtues in direct opposition to the seven capital sins are both uncommon and beset with difficulties. "[T]reatises exclusively concentrating on both septenaries are actually quite rare." and "examples of late medieval catalogues of virtues and vices which extend or upset the double heptad can be easily multiplied."

Definitions
"'Virtue is the moral strength of the will in obeying the dictates of duty'. - Immanual Kant"

The moral virtues are attitudes, and good habits that govern one's actions, passions, and conduct according to reason; and are acquired by human effort.[2] Despite changes over time, the Seven Heavenly Virtues have settled into the following:

Charity
Many times when charity is mentioned in English-language bibles, it refers to "love of God", which is a spiritual love that is extended from God to man and then reflected by man, who is made in the image of God, back to God. Charity has two parts: love of God and love of man, which includes both love of one's neighbor and one's self. As other theological virtues, Charity is divinely infused into the soul; it resides in the will.

Charity is held to be the ultimate perfection of the human spirit, because it is said to both glorify and reflect the nature of God. Confusion can arise from the multiple meanings of the English word "love". According to Aquinas, charity is an absolute requirement for happiness, which he holds as man's last goal.

Chastity
The words "chaste" and "chastity" stem from the Latin adjective castus ("pure"). The words entered the English language around the middle of the 13th century. Chastity is defined as refraining from any sexual conduct or romantic relationships, and refers to the regulation of sexual desires. Chastity is usually defined within the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization or religion, however, the term is often closely associated (and can be used interchangeably) with sexual abstinence, especially in the context of premarital and extramarital sex.

Diligence
Diligent behavior is indicative of a work ethic – a belief that work is good in itself. Diligence is carefulness and persistent effort or work. Diligence, in Christianity, is the effort to do one's part, while keeping faith and reliance in God. In other words, diligence and faith are two sides of a mystery. One does not know how, despite one's effort, it all works out. But diligence, when combined with faith, assures spiritual success. Diligence as one of seven virtues describes thoroughness, completeness, and persistence of an action, particularly in matters of faith.

Gratitude or Kindness
Gratitude (from the Latin word gratus ‘pleasing, thankful’) is a feeling of appreciation (or other similar positive feelings) as a response by the recipient of an act or gift of kindness, generosity, or charity. Gratitude is not the same as indebtedness which spurs on the need to repay the giver. Martin Luther referred to gratitude as "The basic Christian attitude" and today it is still referred to as "the heart of the gospel." Christians are strongly encouraged to praise and give gratitude to their creator. In Christian gratitude, God is seen as the selfless giver of all good things and because of this, there is a deep sense of gratefulness which enables Christians to share a common bond, shaping all aspects of a follower’s life. Gratitude in Christianity is an acknowledgment of God’s generosity that inspires Christians to shape their own thoughts and actions around such ideals.[6] Instead of simply a sentimental feeling, Christian gratitude is regarded as a virtue that shapes not only emotions and thoughts but also actions and deeds.

Kindness is a behavior marked by ethical characteristics, a pleasant disposition, and concern and consideration for others. It is considered a virtue, and is recognized as a value in many cultures and religions.

Humility
Humility is an outward expression of an appropriate inner, or self regard, and is also similar to meekness. It is different from humiliation which is an imposition, often external, of shame upon a person. In a religious context humility can mean a recognition of self in relation to a deity (i.e. God) or deities, and self-debasement with subsequent submission to said deity as a member of that religion. Outside of a religious context, humility is defined as being "unselved", a liberation from consciousness of self, a form of temperance that is neither having pride (or haughtiness) nor indulging in self-deprecation. Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue which centers on low self-preoccupation, or unwillingness to put oneself forward, so it is in many religious and philosophical traditions, it contrasts with narcissism, hubris and other forms of pride and is an idealistic and rare intrinsic construct that has an extrinsic side.

Patience
Patience is the ability to endure difficult circumstances, persevere through stressful periods, wait through delays without irritation/annoyance, or tolerate provocation without responding in annoyance/anger. Patience is the level of endurance one can have before negativity, and is a commonly associated with steadfastness. In the Christian religion, patience is one of the most valuable virtues of life. Increasing patience is viewed as the work of the Holy Ghost in the Christian who has accepted the gift of salvation. While patience is not one of the traditional biblical three theological virtues nor one of the traditional cardinal virtues, it is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, according to the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians.

Temperance
Temperance is defined as moderation or voluntary self-restraint. It is typically described in terms of what an individual voluntarily refrains from doing. The Old Testament emphasizes temperance as a core virtue, and in the Bible it is synonymous with self-control or discipline. Temperance includes restraint from retaliating by being non-violence and forgiving others, restraint from arrogance in the form of humility and modesty, restraint from excesses such as extravagant luxury or splurging now in the form of prudence, and restraint from excessive anger or craving for something in the form of calmness and self-control. It can also refer to abstinence or moderation of alcohol.

Comparison with Seven Deadly Sins
Historic Christian denominations such as the Catholic Church and Protestant Churches, recognize the Seven Heavenly Virtues as the inverse to each of the Seven Deadly Sins.