virtus

The origins of the word {{lang|la|virtus}} can be traced back to the Latin word {{lang|la|vir}}, "man". The common list of attributes associated with {{lang|la|virtus}} were considered to be particularly masculine strengths. From the early to the later days of the Roman Empire, there appears to have been a development in how the concept was understood.

Originally {{lang|la|virtus}} described specifically martial courage, but it eventually grew to be used to describe a range of Roman virtues. It was often divided into different qualities including {{lang|la|prudentia}} (practical wisdom), {{lang|la|iustitia}} (justice), {{lang|la|temperantia}} (temperance, self-control), and {{lang|la|fortitudo}} (courage). This division of virtue as a whole into cardinal virtues is an ongoing project of positive psychology or, in philosophy, virtue ethics, following a tradition originating in Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. It implies a link between {{lang|la|virtus}} and the Greek concept of {{transliteration|grc|arete}}.

At one time {{lang|la|virtus}} extended to include a wide range of meanings that covered one general ethical ideal.{{sfnp|McDonnell|2006|p=128}} The use of the word grew and shifted to fit evolving ideas of what manliness meant.{{sfnp|McDonnell|2006|p=141}} Once, {{lang|la|virtus}} meant primarily that a man was a brave warrior, but it came also to mean that he was a good man, someone who did the right thing. During the time of the decline of the Roman elite, the Roman upper class no longer thought of themselves as unmanly if they did not serve in the military.{{sfnp|McDonnell|2006|p=257}}

File:Dea Virtus.jpg

{{lang|la|Virtus}} came from an aristocratic tradition in which it described a specific type of public conduct. It was mainly applicable to those in the {{lang|la|cursus honorum}}, certainly by the late republic at least. It was not a "private" virtue in the way that modern people might consider it. Valor, courage, and manliness were not things to be pursued in the private sphere of the individual or the individual's private concerns. There could be no virtue in exploiting one's manliness in the pursuit of personal wealth, for example. {{lang|la|Virtus}} was exercised in the pursuit of {{lang|la|gloria}} for the benefit of the {{lang|la|res publica}} resulting in the winning of eternal {{lang|la|memoria}}. According to D.C. Earl, "Outside the service of the {{lang|la|res publica}} there can be no {{lang|la|magistratus}} and therefore, strictly speaking, no {{lang|la|gloria}}, no {{lang|la|nobilitas}}, no {{lang|la|virtus}}".{{harvp|Earl|1966|p=27}}

The nobility of {{lang|la|virtus}} lay not only in one's personal {{lang|la|acta}} but also those of one's ancestors. However Cicero, a {{lang|la|novus homo}}, asserted that {{lang|la|virtus}} was a virtue particularly suited to the new man just as {{lang|la|nobilitas}} was suited to the noble. Cicero argued that just as young men from noble families won the favor of the people so too should the {{lang|la|novus homo}} earn the favor of the people with his {{lang|la|virtus}}. He asserted that {{lang|la|virtus}}, and not one's family history, should decide a man's worthiness. Because {{lang|la|virtus}} is something that a man earns himself, not something that is given to him by his family, it is a better measure of a man's ability. Cicero's goal was not to impugn the noble class but widen it to include men who had earned their positions by merit.{{harvp|Earl|1966|pp=47–49}}

The term {{lang|la|virtus}} was used quite significantly by the historian Sallust, a contemporary of Cicero. Sallust asserted that {{lang|la|virtus}} did not rightfully belong to the {{lang|la|nobilitas}} as a result of their family background but specifically to the {{lang|la|novus homo}} through the exercise of {{lang|la|ingenium}} (talent, also means sharpness of mind, sagacity, foresight, and character). For Sallust and Cicero alike, {{lang|la|virtus}} comes from winning glory through illustrious deeds ({{lang|la|egregia facinora}}) and the observance of right conduct through {{lang|la|bonae artes}}.{{harvp|Earl|1966|p=}}{{page needed|date=January 2021}}

{{lang|la|Virtus}} was not universally applicable—typically only adult male Roman citizens could be thought of as possessing {{lang|la|virtus}}.

{{lang|la|Virtus}} was rarely attributed to women, likely because of its association with {{lang|la|vir}}. The highest regarded female virtue was {{lang|la|pudicitia}}: "modesty" or "chastity". Cicero, however, attributes {{lang|la|virtus}} to women several times. He uses it once to describe Caecilia Metella when she helps a man who is being chased by assassins.{{refn|group=Note|There were several women called Caecilia Metella. Freese identifies her as the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Balearicus.{{sfnp|Cicero|1930|p=255}} Balearicus had two daughters of that name. The elder was a Vestal Virgin and a priestess of Juno Sospita. The younger was possibly the wife of Appius Claudius Pulcher. Kaplan says that the Caecilia Metella who sheltered Roscius was "very probably [...] also a priestess of Juno Sospita".{{cite journal |title=Sulla's 'Watergate' |first=Arthur |last=Kaplan |journal=The Classical Outlook |year=1976 |page=101}} Dyck identifies her as the wife of Pulcher.{{sfnp|Cicero|2010|page=96}} Brill's New Pauly says that she was the wife of Pulcher, but has no entry for her elder sister. The identification is in doubt, and is likely to remain so.}} Twice more he uses it when describing his daughter, Tullia, portraying her in his letters as brave in his absence.{{multiref2|1={{citation|author=Cicero|title=Epistulae ad Familiares|at=14.11}}

|2={{citation|author=Cicero|title=Epistulae ad Atticum|at=10.8}}

}} He uses it again to describe his first wife Terentia during his exile.{{citation|author=Cicero|title=Epistulae ad Familiares|at=14.1}}

Livy in Book 2 attributes it to Cloelia.{{citation|author=Livy|title=Ab urbe condita|at=II}}

{{lang|la|Virtus}} was not a term commonly used to describe children. Since {{lang|la|virtus}} was primarily attributed to a full-grown man who had served in the military, children were not particularly suited to obtain this particular virtue.

While a slave was able to be {{lang|la|homo}} ("man") he was not considered a {{lang|la|vir}}. Slaves were often referred to as {{lang|la|puer}} (Latin for boy) to denote that they were not citizens.{{sfnp|McDonnell|2006|p=160}} Since a slave could not be a {{lang|la|vir}} it follows that they could not have the quality of {{lang|la|virtus}}. Once a slave was manumitted, he was able to become a {{lang|la|vir}} and also classified as a freedman, but this did not allow him to have {{lang|la|virtus}}. A good slave or freedman was said to have {{lang|la|fides}}, but no {{lang|la|virtus}}.{{sfnp|McDonnell|2006|p=160}}

Foreigners in the Roman world could be attributed with {{lang|la|virtus}}, for example, if they fought bravely. {{lang|la|Virtus}} could also be lost in battle. {{lang|la|Virtus}} could even be a qualification for citizenship, as in the case of Spanish cavalry men granted citizenship by Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo in {{BCE|89}} for their {{lang|la|virtus}} in battle.{{sfnp|McDonnell|2006|pp=160–161}}

{{lang|la|Virtus}} applies exclusively to a man's behaviour in the public sphere; that is, to the application of duty to the {{lang|la|res publica}} in the {{lang|la|cursus honorum}}. His private business was no place to earn {{lang|la|virtus}}, even when it involved courage, feats of arms, or other associated qualities performed for the public good.

While in many cultures it is considered "manly" to father and provide for a family, family life was considered in the Roman world to be part of the private sphere, in which there was no place for {{lang|la|virtus}}. Most uses of {{lang|la|virtus}} to describe any part of private life are ambiguous and refer to another similar quality.{{sfnp|McDonnell|2006|pp=168–172}} In the Roman world the oldest living patriarch of the family was called the {{lang|la|pater familias}}. This title implied that he could make all legal and binding decisions for the family; he also owned all its money, land, and other property. His wife, daughters, sons, and his sons' families were all under his {{lang|la|potestas}}. The only time a son was seen as separate from his father's control in the eyes of other Romans was when he assumed his public identity as a citizen. He could earn his {{lang|la|virtus}} by serving in the military, and thus he could only demonstrate manliness outside of the family setting. This is another reason that {{lang|la|virtus}} is not often used to describe Roman private life.{{sfnp|McDonnell|2006|p=180}}

{{lang|la|Virtus}} was a crucial component for a political career. Its broad definition led to it being used to describe a number of qualities that the Roman people idealized in their leaders.

In everyday life a typical Roman, especially a young boy, would have been inculcated with the idea of {{lang|la|virtus}}. Since military service was a part of the lives of most Roman men, military training would have started fairly early. Young boys would have learned how to wield weapons and military tactics starting at home with their fathers and older male relatives and later in school. Also a young boy would have heard numerous stories about past heroes, battles, and wars. Some of these stories would have told of the {{lang|la|virtus}} of past heroes, and even family members. Publicly it was easy to see the rewards of {{lang|la|virtus}}. Public triumphs were held for victorious generals and rewards were given to brave fighters. This propaganda encouraged young boys coming into their manhood to be brave fighters and earn {{lang|la|virtus}}. It was the duty of every generation of men to maintain the {{lang|la|dignitas}} which his family had already earned and to enlarge it. Pressure to live up to the standards of one's ancestors was great. In achieving {{lang|la|virtus}} one could also achieve {{lang|la|gloria}}. By gaining {{lang|la|virtus}} and {{lang|la|gloria}} one could hope to aspire to high political office and great renown.

File:0289 - Museo archeologico di Milano - Virtus in bronzo secc. I-III d.C. - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 13 Mar 2012.jpg

Cicero suggested that {{lang|la|virtus}} was real manhood and that it boiled down to "Ever to excel." He declared that "The whole glory of virtue [{{lang|la|virtus}}] resides in activity." A Roman political man would only need to show scars in defense of the Republic to prove his worth.

Romans established their status through activity, creating a pecking order of honour. This involved {{lang|la|agon}}—a test, trial, or ordeal requiring active effort to overcome. This activity was thought to banish certain characteristics of Roman thought that were believed to be negative. Such negative characteristics included being shameless, inactive, isolated, or leisurely and were the absence of {{lang|la|virtus}}; placing {{lang|la|dignitas}} into a static, frozen state. The contest established one's being and constructed the reality of one's {{lang|la|virtus}}. Romans were willing to suffer shame, humiliation, victory, defeat, glory, destruction, success, and failure in pursuit of this.

While young boys were encouraged to earn {{lang|la|virtus}}, there were limits on showing {{lang|la|virtus}} in public.{{original research inline|date=July 2012}} {{lang|la|Virtus}} was often associated with being aggressive{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} and this could be dangerous in the public sphere and the political world. Displays of violent {{lang|la|virtus}} were controlled through several methods. Men seeking to hold political office typically had to follow the {{lang|la|cursus honorum}}. Many political offices had an age minimum which ensured that the men filling the positions had the proper amount of experience in the military and in government. Thus, even if a man proved himself capable of filling a position or was able to persuade people that he was capable, he would not necessarily be able to hold the position until he had reached a certain age. Minimum age also ensured an equal basis for candidates in elections for public offices, because by the time most men went into public office they would have retired from military service. Furthermore, before any Roman soldier could partake in single combat, he had to gain permission from his general. This was meant to keep soldiers from putting themselves in unnecessary danger in order to gain {{lang|la|virtus}}.

Politically, {{lang|la|virtus}} also tended to be a concept of morality. In contrast to its representation of manliness—as seen in aggression and the ruthless acquisition of money, land, and power—the lighter, more idealistic political meaning almost took on the extended meaning of {{lang|la|pietas}}, as a man who was morally upright and concerned with the matters of the state.{{harvp|Earl|1967|pp=20–22}}

Plautus in Amphitruo contrasted {{lang|la|virtus}} and {{lang|la|ambitio}}. {{lang|la|Virtus}} is seen as a positive attribute, while though {{lang|la|ambitio}} itself is not necessarily a negative attribute it is often associated with negative methods such as bribery. Plautus said that just as great generals and armies win victory by {{lang|la|virtus}}, so should political candidates. {{lang|la|Ambitio}} "is the wrong method of reaching a good end." Part of {{lang|la|virtus}}, in the political sphere, was to deal justly in every aspect of one's life, especially in political and state matters.{{harvp|Earl|1967|pp=32–34}}

According to Brett and Kate McKay, {{clarify|reason=what does it mean for an identity to exist in a paradigm?|text=the Roman identity exists in a paradigm|date=August 2023}}; Rome was a contest culture and honor culture. Romans believed "your identity was neither fixed nor permanent, your worth was a moving target, and you had to always be actively engaged in proving yourself."{{cite web |last1=McKay |last2=McKay |first1=Brett |first2=Kate |title=Does Stoicism Extinguish the Fire of Life? |url=https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/does-stoicism-extinguish-the-fire-of-life/ |website=Art of Manliness |access-date=22 May 2019 |date=2018-10-28}}

{{unreferenced section|date=September 2023}}

Although "{{lang|la|virtus}}" and "virtue" are related concepts, {{lang|la|virtus}} for the Roman did not necessarily emphasize the behavior that the associations of the present-day English term "virtue" suggest. {{lang|la|Virtus}} was to be found in "outstanding deeds" ({{lang|la|egregia facinora}}), and brave deeds were the accomplishments that brought {{lang|la|gloria}} ("a reputation"). This {{lang|la|gloria}} was attached to two ideas: {{lang|la|fama}} ("what people think of you") and {{lang|la|dignitas}} ("one's standing in the community"). The struggle for {{lang|la|virtus}} in Rome was above all a struggle for public office ({{lang|la|honos}}): it was through military achievement, which would in turn cultivate a reputation and votes, that a man could best show his {{lang|la|virtus}}. It was the duty of every aristocrat and would-be aristocrat to maintain the {{lang|la|dignitas}} that his family had already achieved and to extend it to the greatest possible degree, through political offices and military victories. This system resulted in a strong built-in impetus in Roman society to engage in military expansion and conquest.

While in many cultures the virtue of manliness is seen as being partly sexual,{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} in the Roman world the word {{lang|la|virtus}} did not necessitate sexuality. Similar words deriving from the same stem often have sexual connotations, such as the word for man itself ({{lang|la|vir}}) and the concept of "virility" ({{lang|la|virilitas}}).{{sfnp|McDonnell|2006|pp=166–168}} Nonetheless, poems such as Catullus 16 and the Carmina Priapea,{{harvp|Young|2015|pages=183–208}} as well as speeches such as Cicero's In Verrem, demonstrate that manliness and {{lang|la|pudicitia}}, or sexual propriety, were linked.{{sfnp|Richlin|2006|pp=338-339}}

M. Claudius Marcellus, during the battle of Clastidium in {{BCE|222}}, dedicated a temple to Honos and Virtus. This was one of the first times that Virtus had been recognized as divine. The connection with Honos would have been obvious to most Romans, as demonstrations of {{lang|la|virtus}} led to election to public office, and both were considered {{lang|la|honos}}. The cult of Honos was already a long-standing tradition in Rome. The marriage of the two deities ensured that Virtus would also get proper respect from the Romans. But the pontiffs objected that one temple could not properly house two gods because there would be no way of knowing to which god to sacrifice should a miracle happen in the temple.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

During the reign of Augustus, the Senate voted that a golden shield be inscribed with Augustus' attributes and displayed in the Curia Iulia, these virtues including {{lang|la|virtus}}, {{lang|la|clementia}}, {{lang|la|iustitia}}, and {{lang|la|pietas}}. These political catchwords continued to be used as propaganda by later emperors.

The comic poet Plautus made use of {{lang|la|virtus}} in his play Trinummus, which concerned family {{lang|la|virtus}}, honor, public office, and obligations to the state. He also offered commentary on the concept of {{lang|la|virtus}} in Amphitruo (see {{Section link|2=In public|nopage=y}} above).{{harvp|Earl|1967|pp=25–26}}

Cicero said, "[only] {{lang|la|virtus}} usually wards off a cruel and dishonorable death, and {{lang|la|virtus}} is the badge of the Roman race and breed. Cling fast to [{{lang|la|virtus}}], I beg you men of Rome, as a heritage that your ancestors bequeathed to you. All else is false and doubtful, ephemeral and changeful: only {{lang|la|virtus}} stands firmly fixed, its roots run deep, it can never be shaken by any violence, never moved from its place."{{cite book |last=McDonnell |first=Myles |year=2006a |title=Roman Manliness: Virtus and the Roman Republic |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-82788-1 |chapter=Introduction – Manliness and Virtus |chapter-url=https://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/27881/excerpt/9780521827881_excerpt.pdf |access-date=September 4, 2019}}

{{Commons category|Virtus}}

• Virtue § Roman virtues – contains a list of Roman virtues
• {{transliteration|grc|Arete}}
• Justice
• {{lang|la|Clementia}}
• Courage
• {{lang|la|Gravitas}}
• {{lang|la|Pietas}}
• Prudence
• {{transliteration|sa|Virya}}

{{reflist|group=Note}}

{{Reflist|24em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |author=Cicero |year=1930 |title=Pro Quinctio. Pro Roscio Amerino. Pro Roscio Comoedo. On the Agrarian Law |translator=J. H. Freese |series=Loeb Classical Library |volume=240 |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=Harvard University Press}}
• {{cite book |last=Barton |first=Carlin A. |year=2001 |title=Roman Honor: The Fire in the Bones |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, CA |isbn=978-0520225251}}
• {{cite book |author=Cicero |editor-first=Andrew R. |editor-last=Dyck |year=2010 |title=Cicero: 'Pro Sexto Roscio' |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521882248}}
• {{cite book |last=Earl |first=Donald |year=1966 |title=The Political Thought Of Sallust |url=https://archive.org/details/politicalthought0000earl |url-access=registration |publisher=Hakkert |location=Amsterdam}}
• {{cite book |last=Earl |first=Donald |year=1967 |title=The Moral and Political Traditions of Rome |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca, NY}}
• {{cite book |last=McDonnell |first=Myles |year=2006 |title=Roman Manliness: Virtus and the Roman Republic |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-11893-4}}
• {{cite book |last=Richlin |first=Amy |author-link=Amy Richlin |year=2006 |chapter=Sexuality in the Roman Empire |editor1-last=Powell |editor1-first=David |title=A Companion to the Roman Empire |publisher=Blackwell |pages=327–353}}
• {{cite journal |last=Young |first=Elizabeth |year=2015 |title=The Touch of the Cinnaedus: Unmanly Sensations in the Carmina Priapea |journal=Classical Antiquity |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=183–208|doi=10.1525/CA.2015.34.1.183}}

{{refend}}

{{Ancient Rome topics}}

{{Virtues}}

Category:Latin political words and phrases

Category:Ancient Roman virtues