Her virtue was as swollen as her pride . . .

I wouldn't mind climbing Faith Hill...

Sort of a mountaineering expedition, huh? ' Fraid i don't know the lady . . .

Cute blonde country singer, but getting a bit long in the tooth. I have to say, they all sound like yuppie baby names for girls.

I try to be big on charity.

Need to try harder.

And fortitude.

I would say that charity, justice and prudence are sadly lacking in those that supposedly guide us in the secular world. Probably temperance too, but that is as of yet, unsubstantiated.

I also try to be big on charity but she just giggles.

From my point of view which is admittedly not at all in accordance with most people's view I would say that most of those so-called 'virtues' are nothing more than excuses for not thinking things through and for being really horrible to people.
I apologise in advance for this seeming like one of those systematic quote-for-quote destructions of someone's post. I can assure you it's not meant like that.

Faith - In what ? For what ? With what evidence to back it up ? Things are or they are not. No room for faith there. Once you start having faith involved in things then you start accepting things without having any facts or even the requirement for proof. This is very, very bad indeed.

Hope - Good one this. Lasts longer than brute force and ingnorance. Hope is good because it allows the mind to concentrate when your back is against the wall and possibly pull something pretty special out of your mind.

Charity - The removal of dignity and a crutch for those too bloody lazy to get of their arses and help themselves. And corruption is endemic in charities too. Personally I trust them about as far as I can spit out a rhinosceros.

Fortitude - Another good one. Allows room for hope. Strength of character. Excellent.

Justice - Basically an abomination. Justice for whom ? From who's perspective ? The authorities ? The people ? Business ? Just who's justice is this referring to ? There is no such thing as justice.

Temperance - A ridiculous denial of self and the needs and desires of everyone. An absurdity perpetuated because of some religious control mechanism instigated to allow for some futile notion of recompense if you give up everything now. Utter rubbish.

Prudence - I like the song Dear Prudence by Siouixie And The Banshees. Apart from that it's very handy to give pause for thought before a rash act.

Ahhhhhhh !
I feel better now.

Anyway I reckon that something like these would be far better off as virtues :

Ability to think for oneself. Minus the TV and the politicians.

Acceptance that others are different and cannot/willnot change. Also the recognition that irreconcilable differences will exist and the protagonists must therefore be separated to prevent differences spiralling out of control.

Truth. Be true to yourself. No matter what you are. No matter what you are.

Education. Educate yourself. Go out and learn things, understand things, new things, old things, everything !

Don't hold grudges. In any form. Yeah, get pissed off and have a scream and shout, get it out of your system so that you can go about your business in a rational manner without carrying a massive millstone around your neck.

Keep your promises. Absolutely and without reservation. Make few but keep them.

Yes, much better now.

Heliotrope wrote:

"Temperance - A ridiculous denial of self and the needs and desires of everyone. An absurdity perpetuated because of some religious control mechanism instigated to allow for some futile notion of recompense if you give up everything now. Utter rubbish."

Oh man...please call up my liver doctor and tell him this! I think he is too much 'doctor' and not enough 'living'.

Well said, Heliotrope. As for demolishing my post, please note that i advanced no opinions myself, but simply solicited those of others here. And you have done yoeman service . . .

Heliotrope - I, for one, was responding to charity in the King James Bible sense of love and compassion - not in the more modern sense.

King James didn't write the bible, he just edited it (most likely commanded others to edit it, but hey, he was a king). It's not really the best source, sort of a broken telephone of religious dogma.

Christianity, from whence these 'virtues' sprung, is just a vicious circle of vengeance, guilt and repentence. Who really needs that in their life?