Character 101

prudentia • fortitudo • iustitio • temperantia

Stoicism, the philosophy emerging from ancient Greece circa 300 BCE, has found itself a place in popular culture, enchanting who-knows-how-many college freshmen over the years for its easy-to-follow and hard-to-dispute insights.

References to Stoicism have made their way into Hollywood movies (see 2024’s “The Holdovers,” for example, in which the Paul Giamatti character sings the praises of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, even if he may not entirely internalize its lessons.) Stoic imagery can even be spotted inked onto biceps and, I assume, other body parts these days.

While one might mock its lessons as so commonplace (or common sense) as to approach cliche, they still hold up. In fact, I find it encouraging—during these times of great discouragement—that Stoicism is not obscure. Three cheers for overexposure to this reliable source of good thought.

Stoic philosophy’s four “cardinal virtues,” I would argue, are as sound a framework as any for what we should expect of ourselves—and of our leaders. I’m no Marcus Aurelius, but my nutshell version appears below.

Reviewing these virtues, I encourage you to self-assess (perhaps in the spirit of New Year resolutions?)—and also to grade our current leaders—on each. What examples, good and bad, come to mind? The comments section is all yours.

Prudentia: exercising prudent judgment based on recognizing good and bad intentions, behavior, and probable outcomes—also known as Wisdom in decision-making;

Fortitudo: the fortitude to stand on principle, refusing to betray one’s principles and for the sake of the common good not to back down from defending those principles when they are under threat--also known as Courage;

Iustito: recognizing what is fair and what is unjust, forcefully advocating for the former and fighting against the latter, not only for oneself but for society--also known as stubbornly embracing Justice;

Temperantia: developing self-awareness and the discipline of self-control when impulses for indulgence or folly arise, maintaining clarity of thought so that one’s behavior does not undermine one’s principles and values, monitoring oneself, hitting the pause button before giving into temptations which could lead to harm, pulling down others with you, or simply making an ass of yourself—also known as Temperance, Moderation, and Self-Regulation.

Always good for a bit of self-evaluation, I find the lens of these Stoic virtues to be a salient one.

And in a troubled democracy at this critical juncture in our national history, with mid-term elections on the horizon (they can’t get here soon enough), with the choices our current and aspiring leaders make unfolding before us in an often horrifying, shattering way, it’s an excellent time to reflect on Character—theirs and that of our nation, if a nation can be said to have one.

The cardinal virtues are a good lens for that as well.