What are the seven virtues?
Seven virtues
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines virtue as "a habitual and firm disposition to do the good."[1] Traditionally, the seven Christian virtues or heavenly virtues combine the four classical cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and courage (or fortitude) with the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. These were adopted by the Church Fathers as the seven virtues.
Virtue ethics
Discussion of what were known as the Four Cardinal Virtues – wisdom, justice, fortitude, and temperance – can be found in Plato's "Republic". The virtues also figure prominently in Aristotle's moral theory (see below). Virtue theory was inserted into the study of history by moralistic historians such as Livy, Plutarch, and Tacitus. The Greek idea of the virtues was passed on in Roman philosophy through Cicero and later incorporated into Christian moral theology by St. Ambrose of Milan. During the scholastic period, the most comprehensive consideration of the virtues from a theological perspective was provided by St. Thomas Aquinas in his "Summa Theologiae" and his "Commentaries on the Nicomachean Ethics".