The process of character formation—requires not only knowing what is good but also activating the spirit so that the heart wants to choose the good. The art of fashioning the soul helps to unify the spirit with the mind. 

My students rarely know what kindness really means. When they provide feedback on their classmates’ papers, for instance, they think kindness means happy faces and exclamation marks, and a “Great Job!” written at the end. And they often think people like me, who offer them substantial critiques to help make their writing better, are simply mean. Consequently, every semester now includes a day where we define kindness. Kindness does not offer false praise but possesses the courage to help someone identify where they might improve. Unlike flattery, kindness does not mistake temporary good feelings for long-term good.

Kindness is not the only virtue we easily misconstrue. Even—or perhaps especially—the virtues we hear the most often and think we value the most—such as love, wisdom, hope, courage, or justice—are those we are least able to define precisely. And, as my students demonstrated, if we misunderstand what these virtues mean, we are likely to misunderstand how to live them.

Consider the intense debate around the virtue of justice. From “social justice warriors” to “one-issue-voters,” Christians on both sides of the political spectrum care deeply about justice. Rather than unite Christians, however, their shared interest tends to divide them. In fact, so many of the pressing issues dividing Christians—from abortion to LGBTQ+ rights to immigration—are rooted in different understandings and applications of words like justice and love.

But for much of Christian history, words like justice and love weren’t loosely defined concepts, but a person. They could see Justice. They recognized Love. In fact, they could look both of them in the eyes.

Remembering the Lady Virtues

For most of Christian history, virtue formation was a central component of education. This formational process was not just intellectual. Learning about the virtues was an important first step, but becoming virtuous was the ultimate aim of this education. Clement of Alexandria explained that a tutor’s role is “not to educate nor give information but to train someone in the virtuous life.”¹ Moral education, then, was less a matter of what was universally right or wrong and more about becoming a certain kind of person. Formation means living into, becoming like—and thus it is a transformative process.

Virtue education could not be accomplished with lists and theories; the virtues had to move beyond the brain and be impressed into the body. Ancient and medieval Christians recognized that to embody virtue, it helps to start with … bodies. Virtues such as wisdom, hope, and courage were personified and took on the form of women. These lady virtues pop up in tapestries, frescoes, paintings, church doors, and stained-glass windows. Sculptures of them stand beside tombs, hover in church nooks, and adorn civic squares.

The lady virtues used to be some of the most recognized women in Christendom. But while those of us in Christian universities may regularly invoke the names of the virtues, we have largely forgotten what they look like. We are familiar with some of their cousins, such as Lady Liberty, whose torch acts as a symbolic beacon for those she welcomes to the American shoreline. But we would probably have a hard time recognizing the faces of Love, Justice, or Wisdom. Consequently, we might not be on as intimate of terms with them as we might think.

Read More