V — Vertu
Original French
QU’EST-ce que vertu? Bienfaisance envers le prochain. Puis-je appeller vertu autre chose que ce qui me fait du bien? Je suis indigent, tu es libéral. Je suis en danger, tu viens à mon secours. On me trompe, tu me dis la vérité. On me néglige, tu me consoles. Je suis ignorant, tu m’instruis. Je t’appellerai sans difficulté vertueux. Mais que deviendront les vertus cardinales & théologales? Quelques-unes resteront dans les écoles.
Que m’importe que tu sois tempérant? c’est un précepte de santé que tu observes; tu t’en porteras mieux, & je t’en félicite. Tu as la foi & l’espérance, je t’en félicite encor davantage; elles te procureront la vie éternelle. Tes vertus théologales sont des dons célestes; tes cardinales sont d’excellentes qualités qui servent à te conduire: mais elles ne sont point vertus par raport à ton prochain. Le prudent se fait du bien, le vertueux en fait aux hommes. St. Paul a eu raison de te dire que la charité l’emporte sur la foi & sur l’espérance.
Mais quoi, n’admettra-t-on de vertus que celles qui sont utiles au prochain? Eh comment puis-je en admettre d’autres? Nous vivons en société; il n’y a donc de véritablement bon pour nous que ce qui fait le bien de la société. Un solitaire sera sobre, pieux; il sera revêtu d’un cilice; eh bien, il sera saint; mais je ne l’appellerai vertueux que quand il aura fait quelque acte de vertu dont les autres hommes auront profité. Tant qu’il est seul, il n’est ni bienfaisant ni malfaisant, il n’est rien pour nous. Si St. Bruno a mis la paix dans les familles, s’il a secouru l’indigence, il a été vertueux; s’il a jeuné, prié dans la solitude, il a été un saint. La vertu entre les hommes est un commerce de bienfaits; celui qui n’a nulle part à ce commerce ne doit point être compté. Si ce saint était dans le monde, il y ferait du bien sans doute; mais tant qu’il n’y sera pas, le monde aura raison de ne lui pas donner le nom de vertueux; il sera bon pour lui, & non pour nous.
Mais, me dites-vous, si un solitaire est gourmand, yvrogne, livré à une débauche secrette avec lui-même, il est vicieux: il est dont vertueux s’il a les qualités contraires. C’est de quoi je ne peux convenir: c’est un très-vilain homme, s’il a les défauts dont vous parlez; mais il n’est point vicieux, méchant, punissable par raport à la société à qui ses infamies ne font aucun mal. Il est à présumer que s’il rentre dans la société, il y fera du mal, qu’il y sera très-criminel; & il est même bien plus probable que ce sera un méchant homme, qu’il n’est sûr que l’autre solitaire tempérant & chaste, sera un homme de bien; car dans la société les défauts augmentent, & les bonnes qualités diminuent.
On fait une objection bien plus forte; Néron, le pape Alexandre six, & d’autres monstres de cette espèce, ont répandu des bienfaits; je réponds hardiment qu’ils furent vertueux ce jour-là.
Quelques théologiens disent que le divin empereur Antonin n’était pas vertueux, que c’était un Stoïcien entêté, qui non content de commander aux hommes voulait encor être estimé d’eux, qu’il raportait à lui-même le bien qu’il faisait au genre humain, qu’il fut toute sa vie juste, laborieux, bienfaisant par vanité, & qu’il ne fit que tromper les hommes par ses vertus; je m’écrie alors, Mon Dieu, donnez nous souvent de pareils fripons!
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation of the 73 articles in the 1764 first edition, made directly from the French and reviewed against the scan-collated French text. The author’s notes, quotations and verse are retained. Historical ethnic labels, including offensive terms, are retained from the 1764 text.
What is virtue? Doing good to one’s neighbor. Can I call anything virtue except what does me good? I am needy; you are generous. I am in danger; you come to my aid. I am deceived; you tell me the truth. I am neglected; you comfort me. I am ignorant; you teach me. I will have no difficulty calling you virtuous. But what will become of the cardinal and theological virtues? Some will remain in the schools.
What does it matter to me that you are temperate? You are observing a rule of health; you will be better for it, and I congratulate you. You have faith and hope; I congratulate you still more: they will bring you eternal life. Your theological virtues are gifts from heaven; your cardinal virtues are excellent qualities that help you guide yourself. But they are not virtues in relation to your neighbor. The prudent man does himself good; the virtuous man does good to others. St. Paul was right to tell you that charity is greater than faith and hope.
But what—will no virtues be admitted except those useful to one’s neighbor? How can I admit any others? We live in society; therefore nothing is truly good for us except what benefits society. A solitary man may be sober and pious; he may wear a hair shirt. Very well: he will be holy, but I will call him virtuous only when he has performed some act of virtue from which other people have benefited. As long as he is alone, he does neither good nor harm; he is nothing to us. If St. Bruno brought peace to families or relieved poverty, he was virtuous; if he fasted and prayed in solitude, he was a saint. Virtue among human beings is an exchange of benefits; whoever has no part in this exchange must not be counted. If this saint were in the world, he would doubtless do good there; but until he is there, the world will be right not to give him the name of virtuous. He will be good for himself, not for us.
“But,” you tell me, “if a solitary man is gluttonous, drunken, given to secret debauchery with himself, he is vicious; therefore he is virtuous if he has the opposite qualities.” That I cannot admit. He is a very filthy man if he has the faults you mention; but he is not vicious, wicked, or punishable in relation to society, which his infamies do not harm. We may presume that if he returns to society he will do harm there, that he will be very criminal there; indeed, it is much more probable that he will be a wicked man than it is certain that the other, temperate and chaste solitary will be a good man. For in society faults increase and good qualities diminish.
A much stronger objection is made: Nero, Pope Alexander VI, and other monsters of that sort bestowed benefits. I answer boldly that they were virtuous that day.
Some theologians say that the divine emperor Antoninus was not virtuous; that he was an obstinate Stoic who, not content to command human beings, also wished to be esteemed by them; that he made the good he did the human race serve his own ends; that throughout his life he was just, hardworking, and beneficent out of vanity, and only deceived people with his virtues. Then I cry out: “My God, give us such scoundrels often!”
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Plain English translation of the same 73 articles, made directly from the French and reviewed against the scan-collated French text. The author’s notes, quotations and verse are retained. Historical ethnic labels, including offensive terms, are retained from the 1764 text.
What is virtue? Helping other people. Can I call anything a virtue unless it does me good? I’m poor, and you’re generous. I’m in danger, and you come to help. I’m being deceived, and you tell me the truth. People neglect me, and you comfort me. I’m ignorant, and you teach me. I’ll have no trouble calling you virtuous. But what becomes of the cardinal and theological virtues? Some will stay in the schools.
What does your self-control matter to me? You’re following a rule for staying healthy. You’ll be healthier for it—congratulations. You have faith and hope: congratulations again, and even more warmly. They’ll bring you eternal life. Your theological virtues are gifts from heaven. Your cardinal virtues are excellent qualities that help you manage your life. But toward other people, they aren’t virtues. A prudent person helps himself; a virtuous person helps other people. Saint Paul was right to tell you that charity counts for more than faith or hope.
But are we to recognize only virtues that help other people? What others could I recognize? We live together in society. So only what helps society is truly good for us. A hermit may stay sober, be devout, and wear a hair shirt. Fine: that makes him holy. But I won’t call him virtuous until he does something virtuous that helps others. Alone, he does neither good nor harm. He counts for nothing to us. If Saint Bruno brought peace to families and helped the poor, he was virtuous. If he fasted and prayed on his own, he was a saint. Virtue between people means exchanging good deeds. Someone who doesn’t take part in that exchange shouldn’t count. If this saint lived among other people, he’d no doubt help them. Until he does, people are right not to call him virtuous. He’ll be good for himself, not for us.
You tell me, “But a hermit is full of vice if he’s a glutton and a drunk, and secretly indulges in masturbation. So if he has the opposite qualities, he’s virtuous.” I can’t agree with that. A man with the faults you describe is very nasty. But in terms of society, he has no vice, isn’t wicked, and doesn’t deserve punishment. His shameful acts don’t harm it. We can expect that he’ll harm society and commit serious crimes if he returns to it. Indeed, it’s much more likely he’ll turn out wicked than it is certain the other hermit—the self-controlled, chaste one—will turn out good. In society, our faults grow and our good qualities shrink.
Here’s a much stronger objection: “Nero, Pope Alexander VI, and other monsters like them did good for others.” I answer confidently: they were virtuous on that day.
Some theologians say the divine emperor Antoninus wasn’t virtuous. They call him a stubborn Stoic. Ruling people wasn’t enough for him: he wanted their respect as well. Whatever good he did for the human race, they say, he did for himself. All his life, they say, vanity made him just, hardworking, and helpful to others. His virtues, they say, were nothing but a way to fool people. That makes me cry out, “My God, keep sending us crooks like that!”
About this section
V — Vertu is part of Pocket Philosophical Dictionary by Voltaire. This page sets the French original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is article 73 of 73 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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