Pasteur's faith was an genuine as his science. In his panegyric of
Littré, whose fauteuil he took, he said:
Happy the man who bears within him a divinity, an ideal of beauty and
obeys it; and ideal of art, and ideal of science, an ideal of country,
and ideal of the virtues of the Gospel.
These words are graven above his tomb in the Institut Pasteur. In his
address Pasteur said further "These are the living springs of great
thoughts and great actions. Everything grows clear in the reflections
from the Infinite". Some of his letters to his children breathe profound
simple piety. He declared "The more I know, the more nearly is my faith
that of the Breton peasant. Could I but know all I would have the faith
of a Breton peasant woman." What he could not above all understand is
the failure of scientists to recognize the demonstration of the
existence of the Creator that there is in the world around us. He died
with his rosary in his hand, after listening to the life of St. Vincent
de Paul which he had asked to have read to him, because he thought that
his work like that of St. Vincent would do much to save suffering
children.
"She teacheth temperance, and prudence, and justice, and fortitude"
Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance
These four, prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance
when rightly meditated upon in view of any situation involving
a dilemma or decision to be made provide an avenue of thought
for the beleaguered intellect. Prudence aims to look ahead and
may do so through the portals of the moral virtues. For justice
provides a sample of possible actions. Act in such away to be
fair. And fortitude also may give some idea of the correct,
most forthright, most courageous way to go in a given situation.
Temperance also provides the middle way in all of these.
Thus the four cardinal virutes are interconnected and offer a
prismatic lens as it were through which to consider a situation.
From Summa Theologica on Hope:
the theological virtues
On the contrary, Gregory says (Moral. i, 33) that the three daughters of Job signify
these three virtues, faith, hope and charity. Therefore hope is a virtue.
faith
hope
charity
Pertinent words of St. Thomas Aquinas found in Summa Theologica
Since the true is the good of the intellect,
but not of the appetitive power, it follows that all virtues
which perfect the intellect, exclude the false altogether,
because it belongs to the nature of a virtue to bear relation
to the good alone.
On the other hand those virtues which perfect the appetitive
faculty, do not entirely exclude the false, for it is possible to
act in accordance with justice or temperance, while having
a false opinion about what one is doing. Therefore, as faith
perfects the intellect, whereas hope and charity perfect the
appetitive part, the comparison between them fails.
Art is a virtue, an intellectual virtue; and is to to be regarded as a facility to do or make or put into practice that which is at first intellectual. Hence it is ranked with Prudence as one of the "intellectual virtues"
Prudence is one of the four moral or
cardinal virtues.
It is right reason applied to practice. It is also one of the two
intellectual virtues.
This is an intellectual virtue thought to modify not the will but
rather the intellect in its practical decisions. However Prudence
informs the moral virtues and therefore
modfies the will indirectly making it a moral virtue.
Interestingly Prudence is supported by Justice Fortitude
and Temperance. And in turn informs or modifies them,
making it a sort of Queen of the Moral Virtues, hinges as it
does so on right thinking, that is, reason and intellect.
Justice is one of
the four moral or cardinal virtues.
It is concerned with fairness and the act of giving each his due.
It is of course one of the
moral virtues and is therefore modified by
prudence
along with Fortitude
and Temperance.Interestingly five virtues annex to justice
Justice perfects the will and is the most important cardinal virtue.
Fortitude is one of
the four moral or cardinal virtues.
It is also one of the moral virtues and is therefore modified by
prudence
along with Justice
and Temperance. Four virtues annex to fortitude
Justice perfects the will and is the most important cardinal virtue.
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kindgom of Heaven
Blessed are the meek for they shall possess the land.
Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for justice
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtaine mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers
for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice sake
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The fivevirtues annexed to Justice are as follows:
religion
piety
gratitude
liberality - moderation of excessive affection for wealth
affability - yes, we owe each person an agreeable disposition
A HREF = "#cardinal">back to "the cardinal virtues"
The fourvirtues annexed to Fortitude are as follows:
