THE FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES:
TEMPERANCE
In the Entered Apprentice Degree, we receive
instruction about the Four Cardinal Virtues:
Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice.
What do we mean when we say that these are “cardinal
virtues?” A virtue has been defined as
a particular moral excellence involving integrity of character in the
performance of our duties to ourselves and to others in our families and in
society at large. The word “cardinal”
means a “hinge.” Doors turn on hinges when they are opened or closed. Without the hinge, the door would be
useless, and in fact would not even be a door.
The word “cardinal” therefore means that something is fundamentally
important. These four virtues are the
principal or chief virtues according to which Freemasons should conduct their
lives.
These four virtues are practical principles to
leading our everyday lives and becoming good men and women. The cardinal virtues are perfected or
strengthened by habit. We became
members of this Lodge to improve ourselves in Masonry. The more we practice the piano or our golf
game, the more we will acquire good habits of playing and become more skilled
at those games. The more we practice temperance,
fortitude, prudence, and justice in daily life, the better men and Freemasons
we become.
Temperance, we are told in the First Degree, is that
due restraint on the affections and passions which renders the body tame and
governable, and frees the mind from the allurements of vice. This virtue should be our constant practice;
it enables us to avoid excess or acquiring bad habits that might cause us to
violate our obligation to keep inviolate the secrets entrusted to our
care. We would then be subject to the
contempt of our Brothers and to the severe symbolic penalty.
A temperate man practices moderation in all
things. He does not allow himself to
lose his balance in life, such as by easily losing his temper when stuck in a
traffic jam. He will not drink
excessively, because he knows that it will impair his judgment when driving or
when attending a business meeting. The
old-fashioned “three martini lunch” did not encourage clear thinking or good
health among the men who participated.
There are all kinds of passions—food, alcohol, love,
and even our personal goals are among them.
The temperate man will not let his emotions or passions control
him. He will not devote himself wholly
to the pursuit of pleasure, to the neglect of his duty to himself and to his
family. He knows that being easily
angered or excitable can affect his physical health. He also knows that keeping his emotions too much under control
can also affect his health. This is why
temperance requires a “due” or proper or measured restraint on the passions,
and not complete suppression of emotions.
Practicing moderation in all things is difficult, but it is also
necessary if the body is to be fit and healthy and able to enjoy the blessings
which God has given us.
Practicing temperance benefits the mind as well as
the body. The mind is the thinking
part of man, and everyday men must be conscious that they have the choice
between doing a good deed or action and temptations to engage in vice. By vice our ritual does not mean only what
we usually think it means. For
Freemasonry, vice is anything that can lead us astray from our efforts to
become better men.
Vice (for example) includes greed, selfishness,
hate, pride, and gluttony. Martha
Stewart was not influenced by the practice of temperance when she decided to
sell that stock on an insider tip; otherwise her mind would have been free of
the temptation to make even more money.
We are not practicing temperance when we indulge our
desire for pleasure to an extreme. It
is very tempting to eat an entire pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream by
yourself. A more serious example is the
man who drinks alcohol to excess. He
not only harms himself, but also he may lose his job and be unable to support
his family. The mind must be disciplined
by the practice of temperance, to prevent it from choosing to go to such an
extreme that can be harmful to your health and the well being of your family.
The ritual tells the candidate that by practicing
temperance, he will avoid the contracting of “licentious or vicious habits the
indulgence in which might lead you to disclose” the secrets entrusted to his
care. The secrets entrusted to his care
are more important than just the words and grips he will learn in the
degree. The secrets he is warned against
disclosing are the confidences his Brothers, trusting in his discretion, have
whispered in his ear. The First Degree
teaches us to trust our Brother Masons with our innermost secrets. But a man who is intemperate and abuses
drugs or alcohol may lose his judgment and relax his inhibitions to such an
extent that he will reveal what he has promised his Brother he would conceal.
Temperance also teaches us not to lose our tempers
when dealing with our Brothers on lodge business. Far too many Lodges have split down the middle over trivial
issues when one side or the other has acted with intemperance. Hurtful language has often caused individual
Brothers never to return to their mother Lodges. And far too often have Masons one side or the other of an issue
threatened to bring a Brother up on charges of Unmasonic Conduct. Rather than using the trowel to spread the
cement of Brotherly Love and Affection, there are men in Freemasonry today who
would use the trowel to stab a Brother in the back.
Temperance is a foundation stone in
Freemasonry. The Masons of the 18th
century knew this fact. They saw the
Lodges as schools for gentlemen, who would learn civility and practice the
domestic and public virtues. These are
the tools for getting along in relationships that overlap class and religious
distinctions. The early English and
American Lodges consisted of men from the nobility and the middle class. The members were of many religions at a time
when not all denominations were recognized under English law. The members were
also of varied political persuasions that could have caused severe and violent
divisions in a Lodge. This is why our 18th century Brethren decided
early on that politics and religion could not be discussed during a Lodge
meeting, so that peace and harmony might not be disturbed. This is also why Temperance is the first of
the Four Cardinal Virtues.
If our earliest Brothers, such as George Washington
and Benjamin Franklin, could be aware of the importance of Temperance in a
lodge and in the world, then so should we conduct our lives within our Lodges
and in our every day lives. As we are
charged: This virtue should be your
constant practice.