Lewis introduces the four classical virtues — not as optional extras for especially pious people, but as the basic equipment of a functional human being.

Discussion Questions

6 questions

1.The four Cardinal Virtues are Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Fortitude. Lewis says they are 'cardinal' because everything else hinges on them ('cardo' means hinge). Before reading further in the chapter, can you define each one? How do your definitions compare to Lewis's?

2.Lewis is particularly concerned to rescue the word 'Prudence' from the sense of timidity or caution. He says Prudence is practical wisdom — the ability to think clearly and act sensibly. Why does he insist that God is not opposed to clear thinking, and why might Christians sometimes act as if He is?

a.Where have you seen faith and intelligence portrayed as opposites? What damage does this do?

b.Lewis says Christ told us to be as wise as serpents. What does 'wise as serpents' Prudence look like in your daily life?

3.Lewis redefines Temperance: it is not abstinence but going the right length and no further. How does this reframe what Christian self-discipline looks like — and does it make it more or less demanding than abstinence?

4.He defines Fortitude as including both facing danger and enduring pain. Which of these two aspects do you find harder? Why might Christians in comfortable cultures find one aspect of Fortitude more neglected than the other?

5.Lewis notes that the Cardinal Virtues are not exclusively Christian — they are found in classical pagan thought (Plato, Aristotle, Cicero). What does it tell us about God that virtue transcends the boundaries of explicit Christian faith?

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