natural virtues

British  

plural noun

1. (esp among the scholastics) those virtues of which man is capable without direct help from God, specifically justice, temperance, prudence, and fortitude Compare theological virtues

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Example Sentences

Some Renaissance thinkers praised the Indians as innocent “noble savages” whose natural virtues mocked the vices of civilized Christians, though exaggerated accounts of Indian innocence were as unrealistic as contrasting reports of Indian savagery.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

This is not the case with the natural virtues.

From A Treatise of Human Nature by Hume, David

He may indeed practise some natural virtues, but these virtues are in general only exterior.

From Public School Education by Müller, Michael

Here Finn and his companions are explicitly pronounced to be saved by their natural virtues, and the relations of the Church and the Fenian warriors are most friendly.

From The High Deeds of Finn and other Bardic Romances of Ancient Ireland by Reid, Stephen

Its works of righteousness, however, are often uncalled-for exaggerations of natural virtues, such as counting sacred all forms of animal and vegetable life.

From A Tour of the Missions Observations and Conclusions by Strong, Augustus Hopkins