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Whither Fortitude

otherstar

Registered User
In two previous posts (Whither Prudence, and Whither Temperance) I laid out a very short summary of Virtue Ethics (VE) and the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence as the mother of all virtues. In this post, and I explored the Virtue of Temperance. Now I’m going to examine the second of virtues listed in the Texas Monitor for the EA Degree: Fortitude. In the Texas Monitor we read:


Fortitude is that noble and steady purpose of the mind, whereby we are enabled to undergo any pain, peril or danger, when prudentially deemed expedient. This virtue should be deeply impressed on the mind of every Mason, as a safeguard against any attack that may be made to extort from him any of those valuable secrets with which he has been so solemnly entrusted upon his first admission into the Lodge.


Notice, in the first sentence, the word “prudently” is used. This supports the case I made that in a very real way, Prudence is the mother of the other virtues. I want to note that Virtue is found in the mean between extremes (at least in classical Virtue theory). A vice is a habit of acting too much, or too little in regard to a particular virtue. For example: a vice related to a lack of fortitude would be cowardice, while an excess of fortitude would be brashness. A man with the virtue of Fortitude would make wise choices that are neither cowardly, nor brash; i.e. that are in the mean between the two.


As men, and Masons, we should act with an appropriate sense of fortitude for the situation. We should stand our ground when that is the prudent thing to do, and we should back off when that is more appropriate (I’m particularly reminded of the MM degree here). Moreover, in our daily lives, going about the business of working and supporting our families and ourselves requires a degree of Fortitude because it entails not giving up when things get tough, when things get hard. Rather than quitting, the man with Fortitude will keep going, and keep doing what is necessary for his own good, and the good of his family. In short, a man with Fortitude will be like the Gambler in the Kenny Rogers song and will “know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, and know when to run.”
 

Bloke

Premium Member
Bro Jeff, I was not expecting much when I clicked in here... but well done on the above.
 
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