Pagan Virtue: An Essay in Ethics

Casey argues that the classical virtues of courage, temperance, practical wisdom, and justice centrally define the good for Man, and that they are insufficiently acknowledged in modern moral philosophy. The associated values of success, pride, and worldliness are intrinsically opposed to values deriving from our Christian inheritance, and this leads to tensions and contradictions in our understanding of the moral life. The book draws on diverse sources: Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Shakespeare, Hume, Jane Austen, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Sartre.