A Brief Reader on the Virtues of the Human Heart

by Josef Pieper

 Josef Pieper "Josef Pieper's account of the centrality and meaning of the virtues is a needed primer to teach us exactly the meaning and relationship of the virtues and how they relate to the faith and its own special virtues. Pieper's attention is ever to the particular virtue, its precise meaning, and to its contribution to the wholeness that constituted an ordered, active, and truthful human life. No better brief account of the virtues can be found. Pieper has long instructed us in these realities that need to be made operative in each life as it touches all else `that is', as Pieper himself often puts it." - James V. Schall, S.J., Georgetown University "A fine and thought provoking examination of the relationship between the mind, heart, and moral life of the human person." - John Cardinal O'Connor, Archbishop of New York "Pieper's sentences are admirably constructed and his ideas are expressed with maximum clarity. He restores to philosophy what common sense obstinately tells us ought to be found there: wisdom and insight." - T. S. Eliot

Genres: Philosophy, Theology, Religion, Christianity, Nonfiction, Catholic, Spirituality

54 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Josef Pieper was a German Catholic philosopher and an important figure in the resurgence of interest in the thought of Thomas Aquinas in early-to-mid 20th-century philosophy. Among his most notable works are The Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance; Leisure, the Basis of Culture; and Guide to Thomas Aquinas (published in England as Introduction to Thomas Aquinas).

Reviews

[Santi Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read this twice in a year now. Marvelous book.

[Father Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

At 54 pages, the Reader is quite short on paper. If read contemplatively, though, it will make some connections for you that deserve to be made. It's somewhat of an aphoristic collection of excerpts from Pieper's other works (especially ) and so they come fast and furious ... there is none of this interminable wading through philosophical lima beans to get to the juicy cutlets we all really want. True to form, Pieper draws heavily on Aquinas, but dips into a good deal of contemporary material as well. I read this book on silent retreat, and his observations on the nature of authentic silence as the condition for the exercise of reason were consequently quite germane: "all reasonable, sensible, sound, clear, and heart-stirring talk stems from listening silence." No matter how far afield he roams, Pieper always keeps his subject firmly in tow and never leaves the reader wondering where all this is leading.
An endorsement printed on the back cover notes that "Pieper's sentences are admirably constructed..." This would be a pitiful, barely concealed insult were it not tendered by the highly regarded wordsmith, TS Eliot.

I'll leave you with Pieper himself:

"For us men and women of today, who are of the opinion that in order to know the truth one need only more or less strain one’s brain, and who scarcely regard as sensible the concept of an ascesis of the intellect—for us, the deeply intrinsic connection that links the knowledge of truth to the condition of purity has vanished from our consciousness. Thomas notes that the firstborn daughter of unchastity is the blindness of spirit. Only one who wants nothing for himself, one who is not ‘interested’ in an unobjective manner, can know the truth. An impure and selfishly degraded will for pleasure ruins both the decision-making power and the inmost resource of the soul to give silent heed to the discourse of reality." (p. 42)

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very short discussion on The 4 Cardinal Virtues, each segment is like semi-aphoristic and could probably be meditated upon. One reviewer I saw said the same and I agree with him. For a more in-depth reading on The 4 Cardinal Virtues, I would recommend his book, "The Four Cardinal Virtues" but this book is worthwhile reading, don't read this in a loud busy environment it is good to read and discuss in a more tranquil location.

[Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

2/19/24-5th reading

Read this at the end of dinner, a few paragraphs at a time... Did my children understand? Maybe a bit here and there. Looking forward to re-reading it with them as they get older!


January 13, 2024-4th reading

This book has, connected with the good counsel of scripture and the insight of wise friends, helped me understand reality better than any text in the last 3 years. GET IT. READ IT. MESSAGE ME. 816-739-0410

The analytical and diagnostic value it offers for one's management of a world marked by foolishness is absolutely tremendous. I've recently started work in a totally different discipline (software development as a product owner/designer) and this text has helped me navigate a tumultuous and chaotic work environment, encouraging me to pursue the truth, no matter the social pain and consequence.

There are two principles related to the truth. The truth sets one free. And people hate it and avoid it (all of us do, much of the time). When truth is pursued with diligence, two social waves meet: a large and small. The large is a wave of unmitigated, seemingly unstoppable rage, related to foolishness's attempt to self-protect. The small is a wave of cheerful, unflappable hope that knows foolishness is always one step away from self-implosion. Ride the second wave. You'll get pummeled by the first, hurt on the rocks and left for dead, but you'll know you actually lived a little. You'll recover, don't worry, and you'll ride again. And you'll discover the small wave is a little bigger the next time. You'll take wounds but you'll have lived for the truth, enacted justice, experience the pleasure of otherworldly courage, and at the end of the day, blessed God for the good still intact in those marked by foolishness (and fulfilled temperance of heart!).

This book will take you on an adventure. Take notes!!!! It will be wild.

October 30, 2022-3rd Reading

Bright, cheerful and refreshing in its illuminations.

After a third reading, I'm struck by how much there is left to glean. This is the definitive work I turn to when I'm desperate to understand how to pursue wisdom. It's intellectually trying because the vocabulary brings you back in time when the virtues (theological and cardinal) were the principal architecture for understanding morality. Today we are stuck in a relativistic sludge of "values" (curse that economic word which damages our discourse, baking in the relativity of our desires, both the good and very bad ones), which operates on brute power and has no real way of distinguishing ours and others malaises.

Another book I'll spend my life reading and memorizing passages from.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, it talks more about the fundamental nature of virtues and how these things relate rather than going into the details of the inner mechanisms of each. That's fine, but it's relatively high level and I can't imagine that someone would understand most of this without having read stuff on the nature of virtue before.

Good commentary on more fundamental meanings and connections, which people would not have thought of before. It would be a great third book on the topic, but not a first b0ok.

[Kyle McManamy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another short work by Pieper and just as good as "Only the Lover Sings." This book is filled with short paragraphs (related, but not continuous) on the virtues. I most appreciated his thoughts on humility, courage, magnanimity, and fear. It's a great book which, like a good movie, sticks with you long after 'it's over.' Around 50 pp and will take hours and hours.

[David Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful little book in a time where clarity of thinking about virtue and self-discipline is hard to come by and is like an abandoned and overrun garden. All Pieper's books are superb! I have read this one maybe seven times so far.

[Granger Stimpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful but hard to comprehend. Definitely need a second or third read.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borrowed this book from a friend but so good that I need my own copy

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a "Brief Reader" this is a brief reader indeed, with something that seems like paragraphs taken from other works but that fit together into a continuous reading experience on the cardinal virtues together with other virtues as well. It's not a comprehensive study, here Pieper has done more systematic writing, but it is a contribution worthy of look into.

[Chris Callaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gem! It's a collection of significant passages from his treatises on the four cardinal virtues and the theological virtue of hope. Beautifully written, and thought-provoking.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent insight into the Core Virtues. I'll definitely be reading Pieper's other books.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brevity and grace. Profundity and simplicity. Pieper is a delight to read and this book is no exception. Every Catholic should read this

[Daniel Stepke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pieper is very wise.

[Joseph Calce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a profound little book. Pieper has some beautifully crafted sentences and sharp insights, and the book lingers in your mind long after it is over. Here are a few of my favorite passages:

"Prudence belongs to the definition of the good. There is no justice or fortitude that can contradict the virtue of prudence; anyone who is unjust is also imprudent through and through."

"...a world which, before the revealing gaze of a sound spirit uninfected by the contagion, shows itself to be like a metropolitan entertainment district in the harsh clarity of a winter morning: barren, bleak and ghostly to the point of pushing one to despair."

"Only a chaste sensuality can achieve true human capacity: to perceive sensual beauty, such as that of the human body, as beauty and to enjoy it, undisturbed and unstained by any selfish will to pleasure that befogs everything, for its own sake propter convenientiam sensibilium."

"The despairing bravery of the 'heroic downfall' is fundamentally nihilistic; it looks toward nothingness; it presumes that it is able to endure nothingness. The bravery of a Christian, however, thrives on the hope of life's abundance of reality, in eternal life, in a new heaven and a new earth."

[Jeffrey Faux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Human virtue is predicated on understanding the true reality of a thing. Pieper expands on several virtues, always with a reminder that the perception of the true essence and value of real things is the key to exhibiting virtues in their most complete sense. Whether developing the meaning of a positive virtue, or using a negative virtue to define a positive, Pieper points the reader toward an objective reality whose source is God. The human heart’s highest capacity for being is ultimately focused on hope. Hope defines a condition of being that is 'status viatoris,' an understanding that one is on the way, or in the process of becoming. Hope only makes sense when one understands the reality that they are a creation of God. Human virtue, in its highest, truest sense does not allow for a hope in death.

The book brings a sense of balance to those who conceive of God as entirely spiritual. God is self-reveled though the objective reality of his physical creation, therefore human virtues must be developed from an understanding of that reality.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find these kinds of books difficult for no fault of their own - the virtues and vices, the habits and qualities of the mind slippery and their interconnections hard to hold onto.

This was good, more a series of meditations than a systematic analysis. There are lots of small observations that ring true and are helpful. It is amazing that so Christian a work could have been published in Germany during WWII. According to the introduction, one Christian publisher in Alsace had an influential protector in Berlin, and was able to keep publishing through most of the war.

[Alex Tongue · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can see a bunch of strands of Pieper's thought here. Obviously his two books on the virtues, but there's bits of his essay on Leisure, bits from Happiness and Contemplation - lots of stuff. The art of living well necessarily involves virtue, cultivating the ground God has made and allowing Him to grow the seeds planted. Wonderful little book, demands re-reading because of how compact and dense it is (it's only 50ish small pages, you can go through it quickly a few times and then go through slowly to really let it soak).

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pieper masterfully lays out what it means to be a Christian rational animal. So often the path, as Aristotle taught, is a mean between extremes. Pieper shows the pitfalls clearly to one seeking their earthly and divine end.

[Andrew Likoudis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author’s work never fails to satisfy.

[Matthew Richey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, in the sense that it left you wanting more... not so good in that it didn't give you more. Need to read something more substantial by Pieper. Several good quotes.

[Trevor Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pieper is always brilliant. His reflections on virtue is much needed today.

[Deax · Rating 4 out of 5]

Virtue is a means to joy. Pieper helps us to that end. Stimulating and encouraging.

[Hogan Hurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short little guy sent me into a bit of a frenzy, wanting to read everything and anything about the virtue tradition.

[Shawn White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I often find that I forget about Josef Pieper's essays and books until I stumble upon them again and wonder how I could ever have let him slip from memory.

[Braedon Weigle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and concise presentation of a Thomistic view of the virtues.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic read on the virtues in a way that is very digestible yet profound and still makes you really ponder the ideas Pieper presents. I wish there was a table of contents and some better outlining of the text since the organization is there but it'd be difficult to navigate the book to pull out good ideas to share with friends due to this lack of outlining/headings. Nevertheless it's a fantastic quick read!

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun(ny) fact(s): I was first introduced to this brilliant book in Fall 2019 during my first semester in the Cranes Scholars Program, and since, I have tried to read it at least once a year (as well as frequently recommend it to friends). If I have ever talked to you about discipline, humility, or hope, I have definitely quoted or paraphrased parts of this book to you (sorry, not sorry).

Favorite quote/image: "Magnanimity is the expansion of the spirit toward great things; one who expects great things of himself and makes himself worthy of it is magnanimous...magnanimity encompasses an unshakeable firmness of hope, a plainly defiant certainty, and the thorough calm of a fearless heart...a 'humility' that would be too narrow and too weak to bear the inner tension of coexistence with magnanimity in indeed no humility." (pg. 37-39)

Honourable mention: "The virtue of hope is the first appropriate virtue of the status viatoris; it is the genuine virtue of the 'not yet'. In the virtue of hope, before all others, man understands and affirms that he is a creature, a creation of God...it alone is able to provide man with the unalienable possession of that inner tension that is both relaxed and taut, that elasticity and agility, that stouthearted freshness, that resilient joyousness, that composed bravery of confidence." (pg. 49-50)

Why: I could quote lines from every paragraph of this short book–that is how powerful Pieper's writing is. Although indeed A Brief Reader, Pieper's descriptions of the virtues and how they are distinct from vices and worldly misconceptions of virtues deserve to be mediated on and digested slowly. Beginning with the definition of virtue, the spiritual significance of silence, and the central role of reality, Pieper brings together Scripture and Christian theology in his striking discussions of the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, before concluding with a brief discussion of hope. A Brief Reader on the Virtues of the Human Heart is definitely one of the books which has most influenced my own understanding of virtue and the Christian life.

[Jrome!! · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far one of my favorite short reads!

[Emerson John Tiu Ng · Rating 5 out of 5]

...this book is a prelude to Josef Pieper book for Four Cardinal Values...