virtus

Virtus is a Latin term traditionally translated as virtue. The word derives from vir, meaning “man,” and in its earliest uses carried connotations of strength, prowess, and moral excellence. Over time virtus came to denote more than personal strength alone; it encompassed moral character, courageous action, and the capacity to fulfill social and civic duties.

In ancient Rome, virtus was a central ideal shaping both individual conduct and public life. It was associated with military courage, honor, and reliability in service to the republic. Virtus could be public or private, and a distinguished leader was often praised for exhibiting virtus in word and deed. In Roman religion, Virtus was also the personification of virtue and valor, sometimes depicted as a goddess or divine force attendant on Roman civic virtue and military prowess.

In philosophy and later Christian thought, virtus influenced the broader concept of virtue. For Cicero and the Stoics, virtus signified the alignment of character with rational virtue and the good life. In Christian moral philosophy, virtus contributed to the development of the cardinal virtues and the idea that excellence of character underpins ethical action. The term also appears in the Renaissance and early modern period in the Latinized form virtù, notably in Machiavelli’s writings, where it denotes a practical prowess—courage, ingenuity, and adaptability—needed to shape fortune in political life, distinct from religious or moral virtue.

Today, virtus informs the modern usage of virtue and virtuous as terms for moral character, strength of character, and excellence across various contexts.