Virtue

A virtue is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is valued as an end purpose of life or a foundational principle of being. In human practical ethics, a virtue is a disposition to choose actions that succeed in showing high moral standards: doing what is said to be right and avoiding what is wrong in a given field of endeavour, even when doing so may be unnecessary from a utilitarian perspective. When someone takes pleasure in doing what is right, even when it is difficult or initially unpleasant, they can establish virtue as a habit. Such a person is said to be virtuous through having cultivated such a disposition. The opposite of virtue is vice.
Other examples of this notion include the concept of merit in Asian traditions as well as .

Etymology

The ancient Romans used the Latin word virtus to refer to all of the "excellent qualities of men, including physical strength, valorous conduct, and moral rectitude". The French words vertu and virtu came from this Latin root. The word virtue "was borrowed into English in the 13th century".

History

Ancient Egypt

was the ancient Egyptian goddess of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. The word maat was also used to refer to these concepts. Maat was also portrayed as regulating the stars, seasons, and the actions of both mortals and the deities. The deities set the order of the universe from chaos at the moment of creation. Her counterpart was Isfet, who symbolized chaos, lies, and injustice.

Greco-Roman antiquity

Platonic virtue

The four classic cardinal virtues are:

Prudence, the ability to discern the appropriate course of action to be taken in a given situation at the appropriate time.
Fortitude : also termed courage, forbearance, strength, endurance, and the ability to confront fear, uncertainty, and intimidation.
Temperance : also known as restraint, the practice of self-control, abstention, discretion, and moderation tempering the appetition. Plato considered, which may also be translated as sound-mindedness, to be the most important virtue.
Justice : also considered as fairness; the Greek word also having the meaning of righteousness.

This enumeration is traced to Greek philosophy and was listed by Plato who also added piety and replaced prudence with wisdom. Some scholars consider either of the above four virtue combinations as mutually reducible and therefore not cardinal.
It is unclear whether Plato subscribed to a unified view of virtues. In Protagoras and Meno he states that the separate virtues cannot exist independently and offers as evidence the contradictions of acting with wisdom, yet in an unjust way; or acting with bravery, yet without wisdom. The narrative in the Meno commences with the eponymous character asking about virtue, but when Socrates asks him "What is virtue?", he replies with a list of virtues displayed in different ways.

Aristotelian virtue

In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle defined a virtue as a point between a deficiency and an excess of a trait. The point of greatest virtue lies not in the exact middle, but at a golden mean sometimes closer to one extreme than the other. This golden mean obtains at a desirable middle between excess and deficiency. For Aristotle, the desirableness of the trait at the golden mean—that which makes it a virtue—consists in its disposition to be "chosen under the proper guidance of reason". That is, in its disposition to foster human flourishing, a state defined with respect to human nature conceived teleologically, or as an end to be realized instead of a descriptive fact to be understood.
However, the virtuous action is not simply the "mean" between two opposite extremes. As Aristotle says in the Nicomachean Ethics: "at the right times, and on the right occasions, and towards the right persons, and with the right object, and in the right fashion, is the mean course and the best course, and these are characteristics of virtue." For example, generosity is a virtue between the two extremes of miserliness and being profligate. Further examples include courage between cowardice and foolhardiness and confidence between self-deprecation and conceit. In Aristotle's sense, a virtue is an excellence at being human.

Intellectual virtues

Aristotle also identifies the "intellectual virtues" of knowledge, art, practical judgement, intuition, and wisdom.

Roman virtues

The term virtue itself is derived from the Latin virtus, and had connotations of "manliness", "honour", worthiness of deferential respect, and civic duty as both citizen and soldier. This virtue was but one of many virtues which Romans of good character were expected to exemplify and pass on through the generations, as part of the mos maiorum; ancestral traditions which defined "Roman-ness". Romans distinguished between the spheres of private and public life, and thus, virtues were also divided between those considered to be in the realm of private family life and those expected of an upstanding Roman citizen.
Most Roman concepts of virtue were also personified as a numinous deity. The primary Roman virtues, both public and private, were:

Latin	English	Description
Abundantia	Abundance or Prosperity	The ideal of there being enough food and prosperity for all segments of society, personified by Abundantia. A public virtue.
Auctoritas	Spiritual Authority	The sense of one's social standing, built up through experience, Pietas, and Industria. This was considered to be essential for a magistrate's ability to enforce law and order.
Comitas	Humour	Ease of manner, courtesy, openness, and friendliness.
Courage	Perseverance or Courage	Military stamina, as well as general mental and physical endurance in the face of hardship.
Clementia	Mercy	Mildness and gentleness, and the ability to set aside previous transgressions, personified by Clementia.
Dignitas	Dignity	A sense of self-worth, personal self-respect, and self-esteem.
Disciplina	Discipline	Considered essential to military excellence; also connotes adherence to the legal system, and upholding the duties of citizenship, personified by Disciplina.
Fides	Good Faith	Mutual trust and reciprocal dealings in both government and commerce, a breach meant legal and religious consequences, personified by Fides.
Firmitas	Tenacity	Strength of mind, and the ability to stick to one's purpose at hand without wavering.
Frugality	Frugality	Economy and simplicity in lifestyle.
Gravitas	Gravity	A sense of the importance of the matter at hand; responsibility, and being earnest.
Honestas	Respectibility	The image and honor that one presents as a respectable member of society.
Humanitas	Humanity	Refinement, civilization, learning, and generally being cultured.
Diligence	Industriousness or Diligence	Hard work.
Innocencia	Selflessness	Giving without anticipating recognition or personal gain. Central to this concept was an unwavering commitment to incorruptibility, avoiding the misuse of public office for personal benefit, as that was considered a grave affront to Roman values, detrimental to both individual and communal well-being.
Joy	Joy or Gladness	The celebration of thanksgiving, often of the resolution of crisis, a public virtue.
Nobilitas	Nobility	Man of fine appearance, deserving of honor, highly esteemed social rank, and, or, nobility of birth, a public virtue.
Justitia	Justice	Sense of moral worth to an action; personified by the goddess Iustitia, the Roman counterpart to the Greek Themis.
Pietas	Dutifulness	More than religious piety; a respect for the natural order: socially, politically, and religiously. Includes ideas of patriotism, fulfillment of pious obligation to the gods, and honoring other human beings, especially in terms of the patron and client relationship considered essential to an orderly society.
Prudentia	Prudence	Foresight, wisdom, and personal discretion.
Salus	Wholesomeness	General health and cleanliness, personified in the deity Salus.
Severitas	Sternness	Self-control, considered to be tied directly to the virtue of gravitas.
Veritas	Truthfulness	Honesty in dealing with others, personified by the goddess Veritas. Veritas, being the mother of Virtus, was considered the root of all virtue; a person living an honest life was bound to be virtuous.
Virtus	Manliness	Valor, excellence, courage, character, and worth. Vir is Latin for "man".

Ancient India

While religious scriptures generally consider or as a divine virtue, Valluvar describes it as a way of life rather than any spiritual observance, a way of harmonious living that leads to universal happiness. For this reason, Valluvar keeps as the cornerstone throughout the writing of the Kural literature. Valluvar considered justice as a facet or product of. While many before his time opined that justice cannot be defined and that it was a divine mystery, Valluvar suggested that a divine origin is not required to define the concept of justice. In the words of V. R. Nedunchezhiyan, justice according to Valluvar "dwells in the minds of those who have knowledge of the standard of right and wrong; so too deceit dwells in the minds which breed fraud".