Courage Unmasked

Few literary texts have had as lasting an effect on the study of ethics and moral goodness as Cicero’s De Officiis. For a time, De Officiis was the leading work on moral authority, looked upon by Aquinas, Voltaire, Locke, and countless other great minds as an essential and preeminent guide to honorable living. Cicero’s expertise has become a superior source for research and inquisition into what it means to be a person of virtue. Cicero believes there are four main virtues from which duty springs forth—Wisdom, or the pursuit of truth; Justice, or giving to a man what is his due; Courage, or the power and strength of an unconquerable spirit; and Temperance, or self-control and moderation in thought, speech, and action. Although these virtues are all honorable and noble traits, he mentions one virtue that is distinct from the others in its inherent weakness—namely, that it cannot be solely called a virtue without the presence of at least one of the other three. Cicero puts forth the idea in passage 46 in De Officiis, that courage, in a man who does not possess wisdom, is prone to many faults; it can be too ardent or impulsive. Courage, though admirable, cannot by itself stand alone without the aid of the other three virtues, for its nature is prone to falling victim to vices that debilitate and alter the virtue altogether. Cicero does not expound on this idea and moves quickly onto his next topic of discussion, yet the idea that courage needs the assistance of the other virtues is integral to understanding why justice, wisdom, and temperance are so vital to living a life of moral goodness. Thus we come to see that courage is not as potent without at least one of the other three cardinal virtues, which are essential to living a good, honorable life.

Courage is a virtue that is necessary in overcoming fear, and aids human beings in living lives that are more exuberant, passionate, and exciting in nature. Courage enables us to separate ourselves from cowardice and leap towards the echelons of greatness and glory. It is difficult to imagine a general without courage, a warrior without bravery, or a noble king without fortitude. Cicero states that duty is doing what is best for the common good, and in the case of justice, wisdom, and temperance, it is evident that the common good is at the driving core. However, courage is a virtue that can be distorted; it can twist itself from an action that is done for the common good into an action that is done for selfish profit. A warrior can demonstrate the heights of selfless courage by putting himself in danger’s way and protecting those weaker than him, yet he may also demonstrate courage in order to attain his own personal goals, whether it be revenge, to gain glory and fame, or to win a reputation of bravery that benefits none others save for his own ambitious pursuits. These aims, however, bring only temporary satisfaction and achieve nothing but fleeting success if not coupled with wisdom, justice, or temperance.

Cicero’s interpretation of what courage means can be demonstrated between the comparison of two famed heroes, Achilles and Aeneas. For example, courage is exemplified many times throughout Homer’s Iliad. The Iliad is strewn with heroes who demonstrated fortitude and bravery amid the Trojan war, but none, perhaps, were as revered as Achilles. Considered by many to be the greatest warrior in Greek history, his reputation as a brilliant and unmatched fighter was perhaps second to his reputation for uncontrollable wrath and anger. The Iliad itself begins with a call to the Muses, in which Homer introduces the famous ire that brought about the ruin and slaughter of so many Achaians. This lack of temperance clouded Achilles’ judgment and urged him towards a path of narcissism, fueled by selfishness and egoism. Angered at Agamemnon’s refusal to return Chryseis to her father and the suggestion that his own prize should be given to Agamemnon, Achilles retreats and decides not to fight with the rest of the Greeks. In doing so, he shows his lack of wisdom and justice—for those virtues would have compelled him to obey the orders of the commander ahead of his own interests. However, his anger overpowered him; he sulked away and let other men perish. While he chose to brood at the perceived slight against him, his fellow men fought in vain without his help as he let his skills lie dormant. His raging anger reared its head once again after news of Patroclus’ death, wherein he reemerged from his camp, slaying everyone in sight. He shows no mercy after defeating Hector, placing dishonor upon the slain hero’s body and dragging his lifeless corpse behind his chariot. Achilles’ notorious fury was slightly quelled amid Priam’s tears and exhortations to return Hector’s body to his family; his anger quieted down and his sense of justice was able to emerge, yet the damage had already been done. In passage 34 of De Officiis, Cicero states that a limit must be placed upon imposing punishment, for there are certain moral obligations that must be observed even regarding our enemies. Achilles, however, observed no such boundary and disgraced an honorable family, ravaging not only a city and its most noble leader, but a tender father’s heart. Such savagery breeds hatred; the conquered acquiring a deep-seated desire to rise up again and seek revenge. Achilles achievements seem to lie merely in his effectiveness in slaying men; he brought little honor to his people; he assisted in winning the war but tarnished and humiliated the vanquished in the process. Thus, his predisposition towards anger thwarted any longstanding success that may have been his had he more temperance.

In contrast, in Vergil’s Aeneid, Aeneas leads his people from a fallen Troy on a search for what will be the new home for the Trojans. His progress is due in part to his courage, but the elements that solidify his success are due to the combination of all four cardinal virtues being put into use. Aeneas allows nothing to impede his mission, disavowing self-interest in favor of the good of his men. Even his love for Dido did not deter him from his plans, and he was steadfast in remaining loyal to his word and finding a new resting place and home for his countrymen. Amid Dido’s wailing and threats of suicide, Aeneas’ wisdom governed his actions. Whereas most in his circumstance would have yielded to the requests of their beloved, his temperance and self-control granted him laser-like focus for his task. Aeneas’ courage was certainly of the most noble order; though surrounded by destruction and the massacre of his homeland, even still he sought to aid those who were helpless. His father Anchises, mourning the loss of his home, his country, his pride, resolved to stay and perish alongside all that he loved, urging the young and the capable to continue on into safety without him. Cloaked in wretchedness and engulfed by despair, the brokenhearted Anchises had surrendered, resigning himself to defeat; yet Aeneas, gathering his fellow men, aimed to leave no one behind who had yet survived. He appealed to his old and weary father, escaping with him anchored on his back, and leading little Ascanius by the hand. Thus, Aeneas’ courage was ignited by his sense of duty and wisdom. His sense of justice in giving his compatriots what was their due kept him from straying and succumbing to his own desires. Aeneas did not buckle, he did not waver, and stayed the course in favor of the greater good. He sought not fame and glory through his valiance, but the preservation of family and motherland. Had he exhibited courage that was not conjoined with either justice, wisdom, or temperance, it would have led him down a path of greed and ruin.

The difference between Achilles and Aeneas is profound. Although both glorious warriors, the one perished, while the other planted roots for one of the most powerful empires to ever rule on earth—The Roman Empire. While Achilles is renowned by some as the greatest warrior in history, Aeneas established the foundation for a legacy that surpassed all hopes held by the Trojans. Thus, we see that courage alone cannot bring about greatness; it must be accompanied by forethought, by self-control, and by an underlying sense of justice that radiates through in all matters. Cicero believed that whatsoever lacked justice, could not at the same time be morally right. Therefore courage, without a sense of justice, always spirals into a disgraced version of itself. Whether courage acts as a complete set with the other cardinal virtues, or is only paired with one, its effectiveness is cemented and amplified by the presence of the others, and thus the culmination of honorable living begins to take place.