Faith, as the first of virtues and existing in the intellect, as said by Aquinas, directly develops the intellectual virtues. But, according to Bodin, faith directs man to the habits of the moral virtues.
Bringing together the two – Aquinas and Bodin – faith focuses the will and lifts the mind, body, and spirit for the perfection of both our intellectual and moral virtues.
But, what are these virtues developed by faith?
Classical Christian Virtues
First, let’s first consider several faith-based groupings of virtues: The Four Cardinal Virtues, The Three Theological Virtues, and The Seven Heavenly Virtues.
The Four Cardinal Virtues
The four cardinal virtues are: Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice. According to Britannica, “an enumeration of four cardinal virtues is said to go back to Socrates and is certainly to be found in Plato and Aristotle.”
The Three Theological Virtues
To the four cardinal virtues, Christianity added the three theological virtues. These theological virtues, discussed at length by Thomas Aquinas, are: Faith, Hope, and Charity (Love). According to Christian teaching, the theological virtues do not originate from humanity, as do the natural virtues; instead they are imparted by God.
The Seven Heavenly Virtues
Described by Pope Gregory I (the Great) in the 6th century and then elaborated in the 13th century by Thomas Aquinas in his famous Summa Theologica, the seven heavenly virtues are: Humility, Charity, Chastity, Gratitude, Temperance, Patience, and Diligence. Each of these “heavenly virtues” was set in counter to one of the corresponding “Seven Deadly Sins.” These sins are: Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth.
Which Virtues Are Developed By Faith?
Aggregating from the above, the following virtues are related to faith: Charity, Chastity, Diligence, Fortitude, Gratitude, Hope, Humility, Justice, Patience, Prudence, and Temperance.
The Social Virtues Of Faith
Justice is the only social virtue mentioned above. Let’s define justice, with words from Thomas Aquinas, as well.
Justice
“Justice” is defined as “the quality of being just, impartial, or fair.” In some cases, “justice” is defined as “administration of law or equity.” According to Cornell Law School, “justice” is “the ethical, philosophical idea that people are to be treated impartially, fairly, properly, and reasonably by the law and by arbiters of the law, that laws are to ensure that no harm befalls another, and that, where harm is alleged, a remedial action is taken – both the accuser and the accused receive a morally right consequence merited by their actions.” According to John Rawls in ‘A Theory of Justice’, justice is “the first virtue of social institutions”. Plato in ‘The Republic’ also treats justice as an overarching virtue of society. According to ‘The Cardinal Virtues’, “Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. The integral parts of justice are to do good and to avoid evil.”
In the Summa Theologica (II-II, Questions 57-122), Aquinas provides the most extensive treatment of any virtue in his analysis of justice, which he defines as “the constant and perpetual will to give to each his due,” following Ulpian’s classical formulation. Unlike the other cardinal virtues that perfect the individual internally, justice uniquely concerns our relations with others and the establishment of right order in human affairs. Aquinas distinguishes three primary types: commutative justice, which governs exchanges between individuals and requires strict arithmetic equality; distributive justice, which concerns the allocation of common goods according to geometric proportion based on merit or need; and legal or general justice, which directs all virtuous acts toward the common good of society.
Central to his analysis is the concept of “right” (ius) as the object of justice—what is properly due to another—encompassing both natural rights inherent in human nature and positive rights established by human law. Aquinas demonstrates how human positive law must be rooted in natural law to be genuinely just, famously arguing that unjust laws lack the true character of law (“lex iniusta non est lex”). He examines numerous associated virtues that fall under justice’s broad umbrella: religion (giving God His due), piety (honoring parents and country), observance (respect for authority), gratitude, truthfulness, friendship, and liberality (proper use of wealth). His treatment also includes detailed analysis of various forms of injustice—theft, robbery, murder, false witness—and emphasizes the strict obligation of restitution for restoring violated justice. This comprehensive synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy, Roman law, and Christian theology became the foundational text for Catholic social teaching and natural law theory, profoundly influencing Western legal and political thought.
The Moral Virtues Of Faith
The moral virtues developed by faith include: Charity, Chastity, Diligence, Fortitude, Gratitude, Hope, Humility, Patience, and Temperance. Let’s define each, with words from Thomas Aquinas where possible.
Charity
“Charity” according to one source is defined as “generous actions or donations to aid people who are poor, ill, or needy; benevolent feeling, especially toward those in need or in disfavor; leniency in judging others; forbearance.” Charity and altruism, a social virtue listed above, are not the same thing. Altruism is a driver for change in work, in life and in our society. Charity is the expression of altruism for individuals, companies and governments. “Charity in its purest sense means love and encompasses our love for God and our love for our fellow people,” according to David Bethuram in ‘Virtue of charity requires us to speak, act and think with love’.
Aquinas regards charity as the greatest of all virtues, calling it the “form of all virtues” (II-II, Q. 23). He defines charity as friendship with God – a mutual love between God and humans based on God’s communication of His own beatitude. Charity is infused directly by God and cannot be acquired through human effort alone. It directs all other virtues to their ultimate end, which is God. Aquinas explains that charity extends to love of neighbor, as we love others for God’s sake. He argues that the order of charity begins with God, then extends to self, neighbor, and even one’s own body.
Chastity
“Chastity” is defined as “the state of not having sex with anyone, or of only having sex with your husband or wife.” The word “chastity” comes from the Latin word “castus”, meaning “morally pure,” and to some religious believers, chastity is closely related to a sense of purity and wholesomeness. According to ‘The Cardinal Virtues’, “Chastity moderates the desire for sexual pleasures according to the necessities of life as judged by right reason illuminated by faith”, while according to Wikipedia, “Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance.”
For Aquinas, chastity is the virtue that moderates the sexual appetite according to right reason. He treats it as a species of temperance in his Summa Theologiae (II-II, Q. 151). Aquinas argues that chastity doesn’t merely involve abstinence but rather the proper ordering of sexual desire according to one’s state in life. For married persons, chastity involves fidelity and appropriate sexual expression within marriage; for the unmarried, it means abstinence. He emphasizes that chastity is not about suppressing sexuality but directing it toward its proper end – the procreation and education of children within marriage, and the expression of marital love.
Diligence
“Diligence” is defined as “carefulness and persistent effort or work; the belief that work is good in itself.” Diligence describes thoroughness, completeness, and persistence of an action, particularly in matters of faith. As said in Hebrews 6:11–12: “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
Thomas Aquinas didn’t write extensively about diligence as a distinct cardinal virtue in the way later Christian tradition would frame it. Instead, he discussed related concepts that would later be synthesized into the virtue of diligence. For example, in II-II, Q. 137, he discusses perseverance as maintaining good works despite difficulties over time, which is certainly connected to diligence.
Fortitude
“Fortitude” is defined as “strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage.” In another case, “fortitude” is defined as “courage over a long period.” According to Brian Cosby in ‘What Is Fortitude?’, fortitude is “that strength to courageously endure adversity, which the Lord graciously supplies by His Spirit and through the promises of His Word.” According to ‘The Cardinal Virtues’, “Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptation and to overcome obstacles in the moral life.”
In the Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas extensively analyzes fortitude as one of the four cardinal virtues (II-II, Q. 123-140), defining it as the virtue that enables one to face difficulties and dangers—especially the fear of death—for the sake of the good by removing obstacles that would withdraw the will from following reason. He argues that fortitude’s principal act is endurance (sustinere) rather than attack, as withstanding hardships requires greater strength than confronting them, and identifies martyrdom as its supreme expression since it involves enduring death to witness the faith. The virtue primarily moderates fear and daring, preventing both cowardice and rashness, and includes integral parts (confidence, magnificence, patience, perseverance) as well as related virtues like magnanimity (pursuing great honors appropriately) and magnificence (undertaking great works). While acknowledging fortitude’s association with military courage, Aquinas emphasizes that true fortitude must be oriented toward the common good and justice rather than mere physical bravery, and shows how this classical virtue is perfected by grace and directed toward eternal goods, making his treatment one of the most influential philosophical analyses of courage in Western thought.
Gratitude
“Gratitude” is defined as “readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness; the feeling or quality of being “grateful”, which is defined as “showing or expressing thanks, especially to another person”. According to Tiffany Sauber Millacci, Ph.D. in ‘What is Gratitude and Why Is It So Important?’, “Gratitude is an emotion similar to appreciation. The American Psychological Association (n.d.) more specifically defines this phenomenon as a sense of happiness and thankfulness in response to a fortunate happenstance or tangible gift.”
In the Summa Theologica (II-II, Q. 106-107), Aquinas analyzes gratitude (gratia) as a special virtue connected to justice that involves returning thanks for benefits received through three degrees: recognizing the benefit (cognition), expressing thanks (thanksgiving), and repaying according to one’s means (recompense). Unlike strict justice which involves legal obligation, gratitude responds to freely given benefits through a “debt of honor” (debitum morale), following a hierarchy where we owe gratitude first to God as the source of all benefits, then to parents, then to others according to benefits received and our relationships. Aquinas emphasizes that gratitude to God differs fundamentally from human gratitude since we cannot repay Him equally—our gratitude consists primarily in recognizing our complete dependence and using His gifts according to His will. He identifies ingratitude as a special sin that can be venial or mortal depending on the degree of contempt involved, often stemming from pride and the failure to recognize one’s dependence on others. His treatment carefully balances gratitude’s spontaneous character with its moral importance, showing how it perfects human relationships while ultimately directing us toward thankfulness to God as the source of all good, making it essential to both natural virtue and the spiritual life.
Hope
Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. It reflects a confident belief or trust that something good will occur, even if the chances seem uncertain or unlikely. As a verb, to hope means to want something to happen or to be true, and to believe that it is possible or likely. In essence, hope is both an emotional state and an action—it involves wishing for a positive outcome and maintaining optimism, even in the face of challenges or uncertainty.
In the Summa Theologica (II-II, Questions 17-22), Aquinas analyzes hope as one of the three theological virtues alongside faith and charity, defining it as the virtue by which we desire and expect eternal life with God, trusting in His promises and relying on His help to attain it. As a movement of the will toward a future good that is arduous but possible, hope has eternal beatitude—the direct vision and enjoyment of God—as its primary object, while its secondary object includes the divine assistance needed to reach this goal. Aquinas emphasizes the distinctly theological character of this virtue: unlike natural hope, it is infused by God through grace rather than acquired by human effort, carries certainty rather than doubt because it relies on God’s omnipotence and promises, and is supernatural in both its object and motive. We hope IN God as our helper FOR God as our ultimate good.
Aquinas carefully situates hope within the structure of the virtuous life, showing that it follows faith (since we must know about God to hope in Him) but precedes charity in the order of generation, though charity remains superior in perfection and “forms” hope by directing it properly. Hope remains throughout our earthly journey (status viatoris) but ceases in heaven when possession replaces expectation. He identifies two principal sins against hope: despair, which abandons hope for salvation and gravely sins by denying God’s mercy, and presumption, which expects salvation without merit or repentance or relies on human powers rather than divine grace. Connected to the Holy Spirit’s gift of filial fear, which helps avoid presumption while maintaining confidence, hope provides the dynamic thrust of the Christian life, enabling believers to journey toward God despite difficulties, sustained by divine promises and the assurance of God’s assistance in reaching our supernatural end.
Humility
“Humility” is defined as “freedom from pride or arrogance: the quality or state of being humble.” In another case, “humility” is defined as “the quality of not being proud because you are aware of your bad qualities.” According to ‘The Cardinal Virtues’, “Humility inclines one to restrain the inordinate desire for his own excellence, giving him a true evaluation of his state before God.”
Aquinas provides an extensive treatment of humility (II-II, Q. 161), calling it a virtue that restrains the immoderate desire for one’s own excellence. He argues that humility primarily concerns one’s interior disposition before God, recognizing one’s complete dependence on divine grace. Aquinas outlines twelve degrees of humility, adapted from St. Benedict’s Rule. He clarifies that humility doesn’t require thinking falsely lowly of oneself but rather having an accurate assessment of one’s position before God. True humility recognizes both one’s gifts (as coming from God) and one’s limitations and sins. He considers it a potential part of temperance, as it moderates the movement of hope toward difficult goods.
Patience
“Patience” is defined as “the ability to wait, or to continue doing something despite difficulties, or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed”. According to ‘The Cardinal Virtues’, “Patience enables one to bear physical and moral sufferings without sadness of spirit or defection of heart.”
Aquinas treats patience as a virtue annexed to fortitude (II-II, Q. 136). He defines it as the virtue that enables one to bear evils and sorrows without being broken by them. Patience prevents sorrow from overwhelming reason. He distinguishes patience from mere endurance, noting that true patience is motivated by love of God and preserves the good of reason. Aquinas argues that patience is necessary for all virtues since every virtue encounters obstacles that must be endured. He considers it impossible to have perfect patience without charity, as supernatural patience requires divine grace.
Temperance
“Temperance” is defined as “habitual moderation in the indulgence of appetites or passions.” According to ‘The Cardinal Virtues’, “Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. Temperance ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion. The integral parts of temperance are sense of shame and sense of honor.”
Aquinas considers temperance one of the four cardinal virtues, which he discusses extensively (II-II, Q. 141-154). He defines it as the virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. Temperance primarily concerns the pleasures of touch, particularly those related to food, drink, and sex. Aquinas notes that temperance preserves the good of reason against the onslaught of passion. He distinguishes between integral parts (shamefacedness and honesty), subjective parts (abstinence, sobriety, chastity, and purity), and potential parts (continence, humility, meekness, and modesty).
The Intellectual Virtues Of Faith
In the group of intellectual virtues developed by faith, based solely on the above, exists only Prudence. But, to this list, Bodin would add the virtues of Wisdom and Knowledge, as he states that faith, prudence, and knowledge perfect our wisdom. Now, the intellectual virtues developed by faith are: Knowledge, Prudence, and Wisdom. Let’s define each, with words from Thomas Aquinas where possible.
Knowledge
“Knowledge” by definition is “the sum of what is known; the body of truth, information, and principles acquired by humankind”. In Posterior Analytics, we find Aristotle’s definition of scientific knowledge. According to Lucas Angioni in ‘Aristotle’s Definition of Scientific Knowledge’, “The definiens is taken to have only two informative parts: scientific knowledge must be knowledge of the cause and its object must be necessary.” According to Jarosław Olesiak, “Aristotle believes that the object of knowledge must be objectively true and necessary; it must subjectively be seen as necessary; the true cause has to be known; and the necessity of the causal connection must be perceived. The most important criterion for knowledge is objective necessity.” Some philosophers divide knowledge in categories such as explicit knowledge, tacit knowledge, and empirical knowledge.
In the Summa Theologica (II-II, Questions 8-9), Aquinas treats knowledge (scientia) primarily as one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit rather than as a distinct virtue, defining it as a supernatural gift that enables us to judge rightly about created things in relation to God. This gift helps us see creatures as they truly are—as effects of God that can lead us to Him, but also as potential obstacles if loved inordinately—and differs from other intellectual gifts in its specific function: while wisdom judges divine things directly, understanding grasps first principles, and counsel applies knowledge to particular actions, knowledge specifically judges created things through divine reasons. The practical function of this gift enables believers to recognize what pertains to faith and what does not, see through the vanity of earthly things, understand how to use creatures properly in our journey to God, and discern truth from error in matters of faith.
Aquinas connects the gift of knowledge to the third beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn,” because right knowledge of creatures reveals both their limitations and our own misuse of them, leading to godly sorrow that turns us toward God. While he extensively discusses natural intellectual virtues like science (scientia) in other contexts as acquired habits of reasoning, the gift of knowledge is specifically supernatural—it judges by “divine reasons” through a kind of connaturality with divine things given by the Holy Spirit, enabling a form of judgment that transcends natural rational capacity. Rather than treating knowledge as a cardinal or moral virtue that we develop through practice, Aquinas understands it as a divine gift that perfects the intellect’s ability to judge created reality in light of our supernatural end, making it essential for the spiritual life as it prevents both the overvaluation and the improper rejection of created goods.
Prudence
“Prudence” is defined as “the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason; sagacity or shrewdness in the management of affairs; skill and good judgment in the use of resources; caution or circumspection as to danger or risk.” The second intellectual virtue, prudence, concerns “Man as Doer” engaging in “practical thinking”, as said by Mortimer Adler in ‘Aristotle for Everybody’. According to ‘Aristotle’s Intellectual Virtues’, “Human beings not only make choices, they also reason about their choices, and communicate their rationale for planning and deciding on a course of action to others. For Aristotle, the ability to deliberate well intellectually is connected to the habituated application of all the moral virtues. In this way the head and the heart are intertwined in Aristotle’s educational ideal.” According to ‘Is every virtue a moral virtue?’, “Moral virtue cannot exist without prudence, because moral virtue is an elective habit, i.e., a habit that affects a good act of choosing (habitus faciens bonam electionem), and two things are required for a good act of choosing.” Finally, according to ‘The Cardinal Virtues’, “Prudence is the virtue that disposes of practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it. The integral parts of prudence are memory of the past, understanding of the present, docility, shrewdness, reasoning power, foresight, circumspection, and precaution”.
In the Summa Theologica (II-II, Questions 47-56), Aquinas provides an extensive analysis of prudence as the first and most essential of the four cardinal virtues, defining it as “right reason in action” (recta ratio agibilium)—the intellectual virtue that enables us to discern and choose the correct means to achieve good ends in particular circumstances. Unique among the cardinal virtues, prudence perfects the practical intellect while simultaneously directing moral action through three essential acts: counsel (deliberating about means), judgment (evaluating options), and command (the principal act that applies decisions to action). Aquinas identifies numerous components that contribute to perfect prudence, including integral parts necessary for its operation (memory, understanding, docility, shrewdness, reason, foresight, circumspection, and caution), subjective parts that specify its application (individual, family, and political prudence), and potential parts that perfect specific aspects (good counsel, good judgment, and exceptional judgment for unusual cases).
Aquinas famously calls prudence the “charioteer of the virtues” (auriga virtutum) because it directs all other moral virtues—without prudence, one cannot properly exercise justice, fortitude, or temperance, since these require knowing what is just, brave, or temperate in concrete situations. This highlights prudence’s essential role as the bridge between universal moral principles and particular actions, making it indispensable for navigating the complexity of real life. Aquinas carefully distinguishes true prudence from mere cleverness or cunning: while evil people can be clever in achieving their goals, genuine prudence must be directed toward truly good ends, making it impossible to be both prudent and vicious.
Furthermore, Aquinas distinguishes between natural and supernatural prudence: natural prudence is acquired through experience and practice, gradually developing our ability to make good practical judgments, while supernatural prudence is infused by God through grace and directs us specifically toward our supernatural end of union with Him. This infused prudence is perfected by the gift of counsel, through which the Holy Spirit provides divine guidance in practical matters. This comprehensive treatment establishes prudence not merely as practical wisdom but as the architectonic virtue that makes all other virtuous action possible, ensuring that good intentions translate into right actions suited to particular circumstances.
Wisdom
“Wisdom” is defined as “ability to discern inner qualities and relationships, good sense”. In another source, “wisdom” is defined as “knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight.” According to Got Questions, however, “wisdom and knowledge are related but not synonymous. Wisdom is ‘the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting.’ Knowledge, on the other hand, is ‘information gained through experience, reasoning, or acquaintance.’ Knowledge can exist without wisdom, but not the other way around.” In agreement with the previous definition of wisdom, Cambridge states that “wisdom” is “the ability to use your knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments.” Finally, ‘Aristotle’s Intellectual Virtues’ states that, “Philosophic wisdom is attained when a person combines a mastery of intuition and scientific knowledge in the highest or most godlike matters.”
In the Summa Theologica, Aquinas provides a comprehensive analysis of wisdom (sapientia) that encompasses both its natural and supernatural dimensions. As an intellectual virtue (I-II, Q. 57; II-II, Q. 45), wisdom stands as the highest form of human knowledge, judging and ordering all things according to the highest causes. It combines understanding of first principles with knowledge of conclusions, culminating naturally in metaphysics—the science that considers being as being and ultimately God as the first cause of all reality. Aquinas carefully distinguishes wisdom from other intellectual virtues: while science knows things through their proper causes, understanding grasps first principles, and prudence directs action, wisdom alone judges all things by reference to the highest cause, giving it an architectonic role in human knowledge.
As a gift of the Holy Spirit (II-II, Q. 45), supernatural wisdom transcends merely intellectual achievement to become a form of experiential knowledge. This divine gift enables believers to judge both divine things and human affairs through what Aquinas calls “connaturality”—a kind of sympathy or affinity with divine things that comes from charity. Because we judge rightly about what we love, this wisdom born of love provides not just conceptual knowledge but a kind of “taste” (sapor, hence sapientia) for divine things. This experiential dimension means that simple believers who love God deeply may possess greater wisdom about divine matters than learned theologians who lack charity.
The practical effects of wisdom extend beyond contemplation into daily life. Aquinas connects the gift of wisdom to the seventh beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” because wisdom brings peace by ordering all things properly in relation to God. It enables right judgment not only about divine mysteries but about all creatures in their relation to the divine, providing a unified vision of reality. Aquinas identifies folly (stultitia) as wisdom’s opposite—a spiritual dullness regarding divine things often caused by excessive immersion in earthly pleasures that clouds one’s judgment about ultimate realities.
Throughout his works, Aquinas also explores how Christ possesses wisdom in its fullness: divine wisdom as the Word of God, the highest possible created wisdom in his human intellect, and perfect infused wisdom through the grace of union. This Christological dimension shows wisdom not as abstract knowledge but as ultimately personal—fully realized in the one who is himself “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24). This comprehensive treatment establishes wisdom as both the natural culmination of human inquiry and, in its supernatural form, a transformative gift that enables intimate knowledge of God through the union of love.
Final Thoughts
Faith emerges from this analysis not merely as one virtue among many, but as the foundational force that elevates and perfects all human virtues. Through faith, our intellectual capacities are sharpened with supernatural wisdom and knowledge that transcend natural reason, while prudence gains divine guidance to navigate life’s complexities. The moral virtues—from the humble recognition of our dependence on God to the patient endurance of trials—are transformed from mere human excellences into channels of divine grace. Even justice, that most social of virtues, is elevated beyond fairness between individuals to encompass our right relationship with God and the common good of all humanity.
What becomes clear through Aquinas’s systematic treatment is that these virtues form an interconnected whole rather than isolated excellences. Charity serves as the form of all virtues, directing them toward their ultimate end in God, while prudence acts as their charioteer, ensuring their proper application in concrete circumstances. Hope provides the dynamic thrust forward, fortitude the strength to persevere, and temperance the balance to maintain the journey. Each virtue supports and requires the others—humility opens us to receive grace, gratitude acknowledges it, patience endures through difficulties, while wisdom judges all things in light of their divine source and destination.
The transformation of classical virtues through the lens of faith reveals Christianity’s unique contribution to moral philosophy: virtues are not merely human achievements but participations in divine life. While the ancient philosophers correctly identified many of these excellences through natural reason, faith illuminates their supernatural dimension and ultimate purpose. The virtues developed by faith thus represent not just moral improvement, but a fundamental reorientation of the human person toward God—a journey from natural goodness to supernatural holiness, from human wisdom to divine understanding, from earthly justice to eternal charity. In this light, the cultivation of virtue becomes not merely self-improvement – but cooperation with grace in the restoration of the divine image within us.
Thanks for reading!