Disputed Questions on Virtue

These disputed questions are the work of a theologian for whom philosophy was the necessary prerequisite of his discipline. Thomas discusses virtue with reference to the definitions of St. Augustine and Aristotle and develops a distinction between the acquired virtues and the virtues which are infused into the soul by grace. The subtle interactions of the natural and supernatural have never been discussed with more clarity. Justice, prudence, courage, and temperance - the cardinal virtues - are shown to have both acquired and infused instances.
The two series of disputed questions on the subject of virtue are indispensable for the student of the moral teaching of Thomas Aquinas.

Aquinas, while studying at the University of Naples, joined the Dominican monastic order in 1244. Under St. Albert the Great he embarked on a life of teaching, preaching, and writing. He was formally canonized in 1323.