I. Man begins his course devoid of all virtues, and unable for a long time to act consciously and responsibly. The soul is a blank canvas which is to receive its character at a later date from habits of different kinds and the actions accompanying them, from the virtues and vices and the acts of virtue and of vice. There is a preliminary distinction of virtues into intellectual and moral, corresponding to the two master-faculties of our nature, the intelligence and the will. They have regard respectively to the cognisance of truth, or to the guidance of our affections and external actions. The intellectual virtues are rather of an abstract kind, the moral are practical; yet these two are closely connected in many ways. Reasoning, whether true or false, precedes the action and conduces to forming its determinate moral character. The moral sense, such as it is, good or perverted, often influences the apprehensions and judgments of the intellect. Purely intellectual vices free from moral culpability are yet an evil tree, which will bring forth evil fruit in the long run. Ignorance, prejudice, speculative error, defects of prudence, of sagacity, of science, have injurious and very far-reaching effects on the moral life. Ideas are very different from actions, and are not always in correspondence with them; they seem to be intangible and confined to the speculative sphere, but ultimately they work themselves out into practical results. Do not underrate the importance of intellectual virtues, of full knowledge, unbiased decisions, honest facing of difficulties, readiness to acknowledge mistakes, fairness towards opponents, confidence in truth that it can do no harm.
II. Habits of virtue considered as to their origin are divided into acquired and infused, An acquired habit is the facility which comes from repeated actions whether in the natural or the supernatural order. Such habits come to us in different ways, either as the acquirements of our own efforts, or by natural character, by the example of others, by education or the influence of opinion. Acquired habits of natural virtue do not depend on grace or even on faith. They are good in themselves, useful to the progress of the individual and of the world, and they will not fail to have their reward in the lower sphere of nature. St. Augustine however teaches that they are almost invariably imperfect, or even corrupted by some admixture of evil. The qualities esteemed as high virtues by the carnal-minded are very often nothing more than brilliant or daring vices. Do not despise natural virtues. The natural is the basis of the supernatural. Supernatural virtue, though it has substantial integrity, is yet seriously disfigured if accompanied by any notable deficiency in the natural virtues. Grace will help you to acquire the natural virtues and make them perfect by the addition of the supernatural element.
III. The infused or supernatural habits of virtue are communicated to us by God with sanctifying grace. They lead us to act upon the principles revealed to the reason by faith, and to seek in our actions a supernatural object, viz. God and eternal life. The predisposition or habit of these virtues includes special impulses of aid from God in practising them. Our natural propensities are not extinguished or even weakened by the infusion of these virtues, difficulties and temptations are not taken out of our way, the service of God is not made easy; but we receive the power of doing our actions on the supernatural level, with the assistance of supernatural graces of action, and the prospect of a supernatural reward. It is your duty to use the potential facilities which God thus gives you and to develop them by constant practice into actual facilities, and to acquire the custom of doing good in such a way that it will become a habit or second nature.
Read from the Original Book.
