Tthe Christian Virtue of Fortitude: Aeneas

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Recommended: Examples of heroism in the aeneid

Aeneas during his “labor of love” (2.881) and “exile” (3.197) demonstrates the Christian virtue of fortitude. Virgil, even though he is a pagan, was called a “naturally Christian spirit”, by Tertullian. He was one of the great writers of the early Christian church. Even Dante, in his “Divine Comedy” has Virgil lead him through the spiritual realm. To be a good Christian, one must have virtues. A virtue helps one “do the good”, and by doing the good one gets closer to heaven.
Aeneas is a virtuous person. A virtuous person is one who is valiant, or manly. Virtue originally comes from the Latin virtutem which means, “moral strength”, and “valor”. Virtues are “firm attitudes”, “stable dispositions”, and “habitual perfections of intellect and will”. Aeneas shows many virtues in the Aeneid, including, “prudence”, “justice”, and “temperance”, but the virtue that I believe that is most prevalent in the Aeneid is fortitude. Fortitude is the Christian virtue that, “ensures firmness in difficulties”, “keeps constancy”, and aids in “overcoming obstacles.
Aeneas exemplifies Fortitude when he is in Troy, and he runs back to save his beloved city from the Greeks, who are wreaking and sacking everything that he ever loved. Priam and Laocoon have just been killed. Who is going to be next? Then, he remembers his duty to save his family from being killed by the hands of Ulysses’s army. Fortitude, in this example, is the moral virtue that enables a person to overcome obstacles.
Aeneas is in the burning, devastated city of Troy (~book 2). He sees his family, friends, and comrades in trouble. Aeneas uses fortitude to go out and fight, gather troops, and protect his family. Aeneas shows fortitude when he tells his tragic tale to Queen Dido. He ke...

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...oughout the entire epic shows great fortitude. He exemplifies it in many ways. Fortitude “ensures firmness in difficulties”, “keeps constancy”, “overcomes obstacles”, and “enables one to conquer fear, even the fear of death”. These examples are shown throughout the Aeneid. Aeneas ensures firmness in difficulties Troy. He keeps constancy when there was chaos among his crew, and they needed his help. Aeneas overcomes obstacles in the underworld, when he sees the dead souls of his comrades, and loved ones. Aeneas truly shows fortitude in the epic Aeneid by Virgil.

Works Cited

[1]Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Vatican: Liberia Editrice Vaticana, 2011. Print.
[2]Virgil. The Aeneid. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
"Tertullian." 24 Nov. 2013. http://www.newadvent.org/ Web.
24 Nov 2013 http://www.etymonline.com/ Web.

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