CHAPTER 6
Temperance
To be virtuous is to be temperate—the Greek middle way.
Calm is contagious.
—RORKE DENVER, FORMER NAVY SEAL AND TRAINER1
Temperance is about our habits. If we want to convert a tag line of “calm is contagious” into a habit, then we need to practice temperance. Temperance comes from the Latin tempus, which means “time, season, or right time.” Temperance also implies patience, or waiting for the proper time to do something. To be virtuous is to be temperate—to do things in a timely fashion and in due season. This virtue deals with how we spend our time and how we train ourselves to be better.
According to Thomas Aquinas, temperance governs the passions.2 This understanding of temperance comes from the Greek word sophrosyne ...
Get Exception to the Rule: The Surprising Science of Character-Based Culture, Engagement, and Performance now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
