The Stadium of Virtue

The word virtue has lost its force over the ages: we tend to think of a virtuous person as someone who avoids evil-doing and resists temptation. The Greek word we translate virtue means excellence. The ancient philosophers thought of the virtuous person as the one who is outstanding, who excels others. The stadium of virtue is the arena where we compete to excel - to excel in love, kindness, wisdom, self-control, justice and honesty. It is the battle-ground where we fight the dark and dangerous aspects of our own personality, the tendency to meanness, foolishness, injustice and dishonesty, the temptation to see others simply as a means to our own ends, people to be used and manipulated, for our own pleasure or our profit. - David Melling