Conferences on the Virtues

By Fr. Bruno Cocuzzi, ocd

Number 12

As promised at the end of the last instruction, in this conference we will begin to consider the Cardinal Virtue of Temperance. But before we do, there was a paragraph in the introduction to the original text of this instruction that I think is well worth including here. It states:

I am aware that these conferences are not strictly Carmelite in character. However, since all good Carmelites must first, foremost, and necessarily be good Catholics, these conferences are aimed at helping us all become good and better Catholics, so that simultaneously we may become good and better Carmelites.

When we were speaking about the virtues in general, we said that their purpose is to moderate and restrain the various appetites in order to prevent them from pursuing their proper objects in a disordered way, that is, not in accord with reason perfected by Faith. To prevent us from immoderate or excessive pursuit of pleasures of sense, such that we would be diverted from pursuing perfection as children of God by adoption, we strive to acquire the virtue of temperance, or better, to dispose ourselves to receive in greater measure and profundity, the infused virtue of temperance. The pleasures of sense, which give us the most trouble, i.e., wherein lie the potential for the greatest disorder, are those of touch and taste. Of course, that does not exclude the others, sight, hearing and smell. These latter three senses are also in need of custody, especially the eyes and the ears, because too often it is what we perceive through those senses that give rise to desires for pleasures of taste and touch. These latter desires could be so intense, on occasion, as to overcome the dictates of reason and Faith.

As the very name suggests, the virtue of temperance signifies a certain temperateness or moderation, or mildness. Thus temperance is defined as the virtue (good habit), which controls the desires for, and the enjoyment of, delights of sense, so that the use and enjoyment of sense gratification will remain in conformity with our status as human beings reborn into the life of grace by Baptism.

The very fact that a special virtue of Temperance exists to bring about moderation in the desire for, and enjoyment of, pleasures of sense, especially those of taste and touch, tells us that, in general, all of us necessarily experience sense pleasure as an integral part of the human condition. Hence my textbook posits a fundamental principle:

The specific ends to which the delights of taste and touch are to be regulated are the necessities of this present life.

The necessities of life in turn be absolute or of convenience. The absolute are those without which the individual person or the species (human race) could not be preserved. Those of convenience are the ones without which, taking into consideration all relevant circumstances, the individual person or the species could not be conveniently preserved. Relevant circumstances include bodily health, office, occupation, state of life, standing in the community, material resources, the needs of others among whom we live, and so on.

Because Temperance regulates both the delights of taste in the use of food and drink, and the pleasures of touch related to human generation, there are two distinct rules which the virtue inclines us to observe:

1. Every human person is to eat and drink neither more nor less than what is necessary to maintain good health of mind and body, so that the individual will be capable (healthy and strong) of fulfilling his/her obligations to God and to human society.

2. The unmarried person must abstain altogether from sexual union, and the married person may engage in sexual union at will, provided it is always with his/her spouse, and in such a way that the sexual union remains open to new life.

It is possible to speak of negative and positive violations of these rules. With regard to the first, one fails negatively to be temperate when the enjoyment of pleasures of taste is the sole or predominant motive in eating and drinking. One fails positively to be temperate when one eats and drinks in such a way as to place health of mind and body in jeopardy. Thus one can fail against temperance both by too little as well as by too much.

With regard to the second rule, the negative violation would be the same, that is, engaging in sexual union solely and predominantly to derive pleasure. One would fail positively whenever the union is accomplished in such a way that it is no longer open to new life.

St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that performing any act solely for the sake of deriving sense pleasure is never an honest (or lawful) motive because it is not in conformity with right reason. That is because God did not create food and drink and the generative faculties for the specific purpose of giving sense pleasure to His human children. Rather, He attached enjoyment to their use as an incentive to, and a reward for, their temperate use. This teaching of St. Thomas does not mean that one cannot be spontaneous and natural in the use of those things that bring pleasure of sense to His human children. It only forbids the deliberate and purposeful attempt to frustrate the proper end or purpose for which God created and intended them.

From this we should understand why Temperance is a Cardinal Virtue. It is concerned with very important aspects of human life. Specifically, it enables one to control those concupiscences that are very difficult to keep in line with reason and Faith. At the same time, we must admit that these are not the most important and most difficult matters pertaining to our super-naturalized human life. Temperance actually ranks fourth in importance among the Cardinal Virtues. It looks exclusively to the personal good of the individual, whereas Justice and Fortitude look to the common good of the society in which the individual lives. Prudence is first in importance. It looks to proper coordination in the exercise of ALL the virtues in the daily life of the human person.

There is an interesting Corollary in my textbook that is worthy of sharing with you. It states that spiritual delights are not in themselves proper objects of the virtue of Temperance. Spiritual delights are those that are savored exclusively by the intellect and the will, which are spiritual faculties of perception. Since, in the plan of God our Creator, the proper object of the intellect is Truth, and the proper object of the will is Goodness, both intellect and will naturally experience enjoyment and pleasure when they are in possession of Truth and Goodness respectively. Also, Truth and Goodness partake of God, so there can never be a limit to how much Truth and Goodness the individual may possess. However, this corollary also states that by happenstance, spiritual delights are proper objects of the virtue of Temperance. Its function then is to prevent the individual from seeking spiritual delights more in created participations in the Truth and Goodness that is God, than in God Himself, the Supreme, Uncreated Truth and Goodness.

The vices opposed to temperance….

Let me quote what my textbook has to say on this subject:

Opposed to temperance by way of defect in [not enough of] sense delight is insensibility or stupor [dullness, numbness]. It is a very rare vice because it turns away from delights of sense in an unwarranted manner, such that it avoid their enjoyment when, where, how, in what measure right reason dictates they should be enjoyed.

Insensibility is a sin or vice because it is contrary to the natural order and to the Creator, who attached delights to acts necessary for human life. That is why right reason enjoins that they be made use of in so far as the acts to which they are attached are necessary to preserve human life and to sustain the faculties to fulfill one’s obligations to oneself or to the specifies. Of itself, it is a venial sin; it becomes mortal however, when, because of it, one omits an act that one is gravely obliged to perform, such as failing to render the conjugal debt, or failing to take food that is necessary to sustain proper health.

It is not a sin to abstain from delights of sense for an honest reason, e.g., for the sake of proper health, as penance, as an aid to contemplative prayer, subject to the proviso that it is done in accord with right reason and without excess, and does not interfere with the proper fulfillment of the duties of one’s state in life.

Opposed to Temperance by way of excess in the enjoyment of sense pleasure is intemperance. This is a vice which causes a person to indulge in pleasures of sense and beyond due measure, that is, when, where, how, or to what extent right reason guided by Faith indicates that a person SHOULD NOT partake of them.

Intemperance is a sin because it is opposed to the very essence of moral virtue because it exceeds the middle ground between too much and too little, where all the moral virtues lie. Intemperance is considered shameful because it concerns delights that we humans experience in common with brute beasts and is thus repugnant to the excellence and dignity of human nature. Another reason is that, in partaking of the pleasures of sense, the chief guide is instinct, and not reason, from which the beauty of virtue derives, and therefore the disordered enjoyment of delights of sense is repugnant to the nobility of mankind.

The parts of Temperance…

It is customary to speak of the Integral, the Subjective and the Potential parts of Temperance.

The integral parts are dispositions of soul without which the virtue of temperance would not be complete. They are: first, a sense of shame, and second, a sense of propriety. The first is a certain laudable fear of the shamefulness of the sins opposed to Temperance. By those sins one is moved to act after the manner of a best, that is, by mechanisms in which the “light of reason” is almost totally lacking. The second is a special love of the dignity and nobility of Temperance based on its role of restraining and controlling the “concupiscences” that we have in common with beasts, as well as on the healthy influence it has in maintaining due proportion in our lives.

The reason the above are called “integral parts” of Temperance is that the entire effect of the virtue is both flight from unbecoming conduct and attainment to what is becomingly appropriate. Thus it is most fitting that in the education of the young, both a sense of shame and a sense of propriety be assiduously cultivated. It is they that are indispensable in the fostering of the virtues of sobriety and chastity in young adults.

The three subjective parts of Temperance are Abstinence, Sobriety and Chastity. As you know, Abstinence has to do with not partaking of savory and nourishing foods and drinks for a certain period of time. Sobriety has to do with that moderation in the use of intoxicating drinks that prevents impairment of reason, judgment, and control of speech and motor functions. Chastity has to do with exercise of the general faculties in perfect accord with the duties of one’s state in life. Closely related to Chastity is Modesty that has to do with decorum in dress and comportment to minimize the possibility of one becoming a temptation to a member of the opposite sex.

These three are called Subjective parts of Temperance because they are three different “kinds” of Temperance, that is, ways in which the virtue is exercised. Opposed to them are the three vices, or subjective parts, of Intemperance, which are gluttony, drunkenness and lust. To the latter, “immodesty”, or better, lewdness is closely allied.

The potential parts of Temperance are all the secondary habits, which are annexed to Temperance because they are concerned with restraint and control of delights that are less difficult to control than those of taste and touch. These include all possible delights, not only those of sense. All of these habits are included under the one name Moderation.

Our own personal experience corroborates the truth that we can seek and find delight in all sorts of things: How we dress, how we carry ourselves, how we move and walk, how we speak, what we choose to hear and see, and all kinds of exterior things, as well as interior things such as ideas, sentiments and states of soul. With regard to all these things the virtue of Moderation regulates the measure of enjoyment we week to derive from them, depending upon such circumstances as age, state in life, talents and abilities, station in life, duties and obligations to the Church and to civil society. Hence there is almost no limit to the number of ways in which the virtue of Moderation can be exercised. The following are examples of the kinds of delights that are “regulated” and kept within proper limits by the virtue of moderation, but which are given special names.

1. Delights deriving from internal movement of the soul:

(a) Enjoyment of the will that derives from the anticipation of some sense delight soon to be experienced in actuality. The virtue of continence regulates this delight.

(b) The satisfaction one experiences in his soul as he gives vent to anger and vindictiveness against an offender. Anger is regulated by the virtue of meekness, and vindictiveness by the virtue of clemency.

(c) The sense of gratification we call “smugness”, which is founded upon the awareness that one possesses excellent or outstanding talents, qualities and abilities. This is controlled and moderated by humility.

2. Delights derived from exterior movements and activities of the body.

(a) The enjoyment associated with being engaged in useful and important activities. This is regulated by “decency in comportment” as one goes about one’s work.

(b) The enjoyment associated with engaging in sporting and recreational activities. Because this enjoyment takes the form of an “excitement” or “high”, the virtue that restrains immoderate delight therein is called “austerity”.

(c) The satisfaction and gratification associated with exterior things, such as attractive personal appearance, or being in rich or exquisite surroundings. The virtues, which moderate the enjoyment of these kinds of delight, are “modesty” (in the sense of not pretentious) and “reserve” and “simplicity” (in the sense of not ostentatious).

Next time we will continue with more extensive remarks upon the “subjective” parts of Temperance.

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