Fortitude leads men to forego their immediate self-interest for the sake of the longer term greater interest. It is the instrument of self-sacrifice.
Chastity is a corresponding self-limitation in the personal domain. The exclusive dedication of a woman to her husband mirrors a similar exclusive dedication of a subject to his lord. They are both the expression of fealty to authority.
Fortitude and chastity are two sides of the same coin. Fortitude de-limits external threats; chastity de-limits internal excesses. Fortitude surrenders the will to the authority with respect to external matters; chastity surrenders the desire to the authority with respect to internal matters.
In the same way justice gives each person his or her due while prudence gives each fact its due. Justice has a positive and a negative side – distributive justice and punitive justice – and prudence has its positive and negative side – you must know the truth to be true and what is false as false.
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