The Moral Implications of Hunting for Sport: A Complete Examination
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1. Is Patience a Virtue?
In Thomistic thought, patience is indeed considered a virtue. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, virtues are habitual and firm dispositions to do good. Patience, as a virtue, pertains to enduring hardships and suffering with a tranquil spirit. It is categorized under the broader virtue of fortitude, which is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good.
Aquinas defines patience as the virtue that “safeguards the mind from being overcome by sorrow and from being plunged into unreasonable despair” (Aquinas, 1947, II-II, Q. 136, Art. 1). Therefore, patience enables a person to bear present difficulties and pains without losing serenity and hope.
2. Is It the Greatest of the Virtues?
While patience is a significant virtue, it is not considered the greatest of the virtues in Thomistic theology. The greatest virtues are the theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity (Aquinas, 1947, I-II, Q. 62, Art. 1). Among these, charity is the greatest because it directly unites us to God, who is the ultimate end of all virtuous acts (I Corinthians 13:13).
Patience, however, plays an essential role in supporting these theological virtues, particularly charity. It helps sustain charity by allowing the individual to endure difficulties and trials without becoming resentful or losing their commitment to love.
3. Can It Be Had Without Grace?
Aquinas teaches that certain virtues can be possessed in a natural sense, but the full perfection of virtue, particularly in a supernatural context, requires grace. Natural virtues can be acquired through human effort and habituation. However, patience, in its complete form as a Christian virtue, requires the grace of God (Aquinas, 1947, I-II, Q. 63, Art. 3).
Grace elevates natural virtues, infusing them with a supernatural character that aligns them with our ultimate end in God. Thus, while a person might exhibit a form of patience naturally, the patience that leads to eternal life and fully integrates with the theological virtues must be aided by divine grace.
4. Is It a Part of Fortitude?
In Aquinas’s framework, patience is indeed a part of fortitude. Fortitude is the cardinal virtue that perfects the irascible part of the soul, which deals with the pursuit of difficult goods and the endurance of hardships. Fortitude ensures that a person faces dangers and endures sufferings steadfastly.
Patience, as a subset of fortitude, specifically concerns the endurance aspect. It moderates sorrow and prevents it from overwhelming reason, enabling one to remain steadfast in the face of suffering (Aquinas, 1947, II-II, Q. 136, Art. 4). Hence, patience is integrally connected to fortitude, as it supports and perfects this cardinal virtue by focusing on the endurance of pain and adversity.
5. Is It the Same as Longanimity?
Patience and longanimity are related but distinct virtues in Thomistic thought. Patience pertains to enduring present sufferings and hardships with equanimity. Longanimity, on the other hand, involves enduring delays or waiting for a long period before achieving a desired good (Aquinas, 1947, II-II, Q. 136, Art. 5).
While both virtues deal with endurance, patience is concerned with enduring current evils, and longanimity with awaiting future goods. Therefore, they complement each other: patience helps one bear present difficulties, while longanimity supports one in awaiting the fulfillment of future hopes.
Conclusion
From a Thomistic perspective, patience is undeniably a virtue, integral to the moral life and part of the broader virtue of fortitude. It is not the greatest virtue but serves as a vital support for the theological virtues, especially charity. While a natural form of patience can exist without grace, its complete and supernatural expression requires divine assistance. Finally, patience and longanimity, though closely related, address different aspects of endurance in the moral life. Together, they form a comprehensive approach to enduring suffering and awaiting future goods in the journey toward holiness and union with God.
References
Aquinas, T. (1947). Summa Theologica. Fathers of the English Dominican Province (Trans.). Benziger Bros.
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