While there are qualities and attributes that define manhood, they have little, if anything, to do with physical prowess or the urge to dominate others. These qualities and attributes can be found within the word “virtue.”
I mean that literally. The word “virtue” comes from the Latin virtus, which in turn is derived from vir, the Latin word for “man” or “husband.” To the Romans, virtus, which can also be translated as “manliness,” included those character traits they prized most highly: courage, strength, and bearing up under adversity.
It was Cicero, nearly a century before the advent of the Christian era, who enumerated what came to be known as the “cardinal” — from cardes, the Latin word for “hinge” — virtues: justice, giving each person his due; prudence, the ability to distinguish between right and wrong in a given situation; courage, the capacity to face danger and endure hardship; and, temperance, self-control over one’s appetites and drives.
While virtus expanded beyond its largely martial origins, it remained the standard against which men, whatever their station in life, were expected to measure themselves. Honor, which was the quality to which all decent Roman men aspired, consisted in knowing and acting in accordance with these virtues. (Actually, for Cicero, these four were all parts of virtus with a capital “v.”)
- Roberto Rivera y Carlo, Boundless http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001160.cfm
Wow.
A mindblowing summary to all my reflections on manhood ever since I became a Christian.
Justice. Prudence. Courage. Temperance.
All these to be exemplified in a man’s life before he can be said to have achieved the goal of manhood -
HONOUR.
An infinitely high view of masculinity, and rightly so.
The challenge as articulated by Roberto Rivera y Carlo is to live out these virtues in the arena of our relationships.
“…true manhood is best found by being the best husband, father and friend we can be, is still true. The door to real manliness is, more often than not, the front door to our homes.”
All this perfectly resonating and radiating in the perfect Man Himself – Jesus Christ.
Wow.
More thoughts to follow on this subject…
