23. Temperance, Purity, and Catharsis: Four Types of Purification

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Temperance and Its Integral Parts: Verecundia and Anastasia #

• Verecundia (shame/modesty): One of two integral parts of temperance; the capacity to feel shame at impropriety
• Anastasia (spiritual beauty): The radiance or grace that shines when reason illuminates matters of temperance
• Why these matter particularly: Reason is most easily extinguished in concupiscent acts, so when reason shines through, it is especially striking and beautiful
• The analogy of stars: Stars are beautiful because the surrounding sky is black; if everything were illuminated, there would be no beauty. Similarly, reason shines brightest in temperance because these matters tend to obscure it
• Diamonds sparkle under candlelight because of the darkness around them, not bright light

Purity and Its Connection to Temperance #

• Concupiscent acts most directly attach us to material things and occupy the mind completely
• Reason and the higher nature become “contaminated” or “soiled” in matters of lust more than in other vices
• Anger does not attach to material things the way concupiscence does; the angry person still sees their action as just and reasonable
• Purity in temperance means not being let astray by pleasure, which most easily corrupts judgment
• The mind is initially “tied to material things,” and the virtue of temperance purifies us from this attachment

Four Types of Catharsis #

Catharsis (κάθαρσις): Purification or purgation; the elimination of what is harmful or bad

• Originally a medical term: eliminating poison from the body
• Catharsis of the body: Medical purification (e.g., inducing vomiting for poison)
• Catharsis of the emotions: Aristotle on tragedy—tragedy produces catharsis of pity and fear
• Catharsis of reason: Plato’s conception—Socrates eliminates false opinions through dialectical examination
• Catharsis of the will: Purgatory as purification from disordered attachments to sin; not a catharsis of errors but of the will’s attachment to what would lead to hell

Distinction between purgation and purification:

• Purgation emphasizes elimination of the bad
• Purification emphasizes the purity of what remains
• Both are two sides of the same coin

Catharsis and Comedy #

• Comedy produces catharsis of melancholy and sadness
• The Taming of the Shrew illustrates this: a drunk man is put in a lord’s bed and shown a comedy because “melancholy is a nurse of frenzy” and comedy can “frame your mind to mirth and merriment, which bars a thousand harms”
• Even a simple joke can dispel melancholy
• A good cry is a simple form of catharsis—letting off sadness by “letting off steam”

Aristotle’s Three Rules for Acquiring Moral Virtue #

From Nicomachean Ethics Book II:

1. Bend toward the lesser vice: Virtue is not equidistant from two extremes; one must incline toward the vice that is less opposed to the virtue

   • Courage is closer to foolhardiness than to cowardice; bend toward foolhardiness to acquire courage
   • Temperance is closer to deficiency (puritanism) than to excess; bend toward excess to acquire it
   • Liberality is closer to extravagance than to stinginess; bend toward extravagance
   • Aristotle’s analogy: Like straightening bent metal, you must bend it slightly in the opposite direction; you cannot simply bend it back to straight

2. Know yourself: Recognize your personal inclinations and bend in the opposite direction

   • Different people have different vices they are prone to
   • When drinking, people’s reason is less in control, revealing their natural inclinations
   • Some are inclined to concupiscence; others to irascibility
   • The stingy person must practice generosity; the talkative person must practice silence; the shy person must practice speaking

3. Watch out for pleasure: Pleasure most easily and commonly corrupts judgment

   • Pleasure corrupts the mind more than anything else in acquiring virtue
   • People are easily led astray by pleasure
   • Example: Society is “drunk” with material things; disordered minds are corrupted by pleasure

Key Arguments #

The Problem of Why Temperance Involves Purity #

The observation: In our society, we call the defect of temperance “puritanism” and the excess “intemperance.” Yet intemperance is more opposed to temperance than puritanism is.

Why: Reason is most easily extinguished in concupiscent acts. When reason shines through these matters, it is especially striking. Therefore:

• Concupiscent acts “soak” the mind more than other vices
• They occupy imagination and desires constantly
• The virtue must involve purification from material attachment
• Purity appears as the word used because reason is most obscured here

The Connection Between Shame, Beauty, and Temperance #

• Shame (verecundia) arises when one is ashamed of being caught doing something that extinguishes reason
• Beauty (anastasia) shines when reason illuminates matters where it is most easily obscured
• The two integral parts work together: shame prevents the vice, and the spiritual beauty shows the virtue’s radiance
• Both are striking because reason is usually absent in these matters

Why the Will, Not Just Reason, Requires Catharsis #

• In purgatory, there is no body, so no bodily catharsis
• There are no emotions (emotions are bodily), so no emotional catharsis
• The catharsis is not primarily of reason (errors are not the issue)
• Rather, it is catharsis of the will: purging the will of disordered attachment to things that would lead to hell
• C.S. Lewis describes the “peculiar clarity” of hell—one’s mind is clear, but one’s will remains attached to what is evil

Important Definitions #

Verecundia (Latin) #

Shame or modesty; one of the two integral parts of temperance; the capacity to feel shame at impropriety and turn away from vice

Anastasia (Greek: ἀναστασία or similar rendering) #

Spiritual beauty or grace; the radiance of reason shining through in matters where reason is most easily obscured; one of the two integral parts of temperance

Catharsis (Greek: κάθαρσις) #

Purification or purgation; the elimination of what is harmful or bad. Can apply to body, emotions, reason, or will.

Purgation (Latin: purgatio) #

Emphasis on the elimination of the bad; purification emphasizes the purity of what remains

Chastity/Chastise (from Latin castigare) #

From the verb meaning “to moderate things”; particularly applied to emotions that “need to be chastised” because they are easily out of hand

Concupiscence #

The vice of excessive desire for material things, particularly food and sexual gratification; most easily attaches the mind to material things and obscures reason

Examples & Illustrations #

The Diamond and Candlelight #

Berquist’s mother observed that diamonds look best under candlelight, not bright light, because the darkness around them makes them sparkle. Jewelers display diamonds on black velvet, not white paper, for the same reason. This illustrates why reason shines most beautifully in temperance—because these matters tend to obscure reason.

Stars in the Night Sky #

Stars are beautiful because the sky around them is black. If everything were illuminated, the sky would be “purish” and not beautiful at all. Applies to reason in matters of concupiscence: when reason shines through, it is especially striking.

The Gourmet Club Member #

Berquist recounts a friend in a gourmet club who became so absorbed in obtaining rare ingredients for a grand meal that he nearly had a nervous breakdown when one ingredient was almost unavailable. He quit the club afterward. This illustrates how concupiscent attachments to material things can completely occupy the mind and become a source of genuine worry and distress.

Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew - The Induction #

A drunk man is placed in a lord’s bed and told he is a lord waking from illness. They perform a comedy for him because “melancholy hath congealed your blood” and “melancholy is a nurse of frenzy.” Comedy is meant to “frame your mind to mirth and merriment, which bars a thousand harms.” This shows catharsis of melancholy through laughter.

The Punch Cartoon #

Two scientists look at a computer printout. One asks, “What does it say?” The other replies, “I think, therefore I am.” (The computer is mindlessly repeating Descartes.) This relieved DeConnick’s melancholy about those who cannot distinguish between computers and the human mind.

Courage and Foolhardiness #

Soldiers often begin by being somewhat foolhardy before becoming truly courageous. George Washington, when young, thought being shot at was “a wonderful thing”—bravado. Later he realized it was not so wonderful. Similarly, Winston Churchill said being shot at and missed is “one of the most exhilarating things in the world”—but this is bravado, not true courage. The point: one must bend toward foolhardiness initially to acquire true courage.

Water and Fire / Bent Metal #

Aristotle’s analogy: Like bent metal, you must bend it slightly in the opposite direction to straighten it. You cannot simply bend it back to straight; you must overshoot slightly before it settles into the straight position.

Notable Quotes #

“In these matters, reason is most often extinguished, right? So when the light of reason shines through, right, in these matters, it’s more striking. It’s not the brighter end. And therefore that spiritual beauty seems to be particular, right?” — Berquist, on why anastasia (spiritual beauty) is particular to temperance

“The blush and grace of my…” (Hamlet reference) — Shakespeare, illustrating the two integral parts of temperance: the blush (metonym for verecundia/shame) and grace (spiritual beauty)

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate” — Shakespeare, Sonnet 18

“From opposites comes the most beautiful harmony” — Heraclitus fragment, illustrating the principle that opposites alongside each other stand out more

“The light of reason shines forth, it is especially beautiful and striking” — Berquist, summarizing the principle of catharsis

“Seeing too much sadness hath congealed your blood. And melancholy is a nurse of frenzy. Therefore they thought it good you hear a play.” — The Taming of the Shrew, Induction

Questions Addressed #

Why is temperance particularly called “purity”? #

• Because concupiscent acts most directly attach us to material things and obscure reason
• When reason shines through in these matters, it is especially striking and beautiful
• These acts “contaminate” or “soil” the higher nature more than other vices
• The virtue opposing them must involve purification from material attachment

Why are verecundia and anastasia the integral parts of temperance? #

• Because reason is most easily extinguished in concupiscent matters
• When the light of reason shines through, it is especially striking (anastasia = spiritual beauty)
• The person feels shame at this extinguishing of reason (verecundia = shame)
• Both parts work together: shame prevents vice, beauty shows the virtue’s radiance

How does pleasure corrupt judgment most easily? #

• Pleasure directly appeals to the concupiscible appetite
• It occupies the mind and imagination constantly
• It can make bad things seem good and good things seem bad
• The example: people become “drunk” with material things and lose perspective

What is the relationship between the four types of catharsis? #

• All are forms of purification or purgation
• All eliminate what is harmful: poison (body), excess emotion (emotion), false opinion (reason), disordered attachment (will)
• They operate at different levels of the human person
• Purgatory is catharsis of the will, not the body, emotions, or reason

How should one approach acquiring moral virtue if virtue is not equidistant from two extremes? #

• First, identify which vice is less opposed to the virtue you seek
• Bend deliberately in that direction, not in the direction of the greater vice
• Second, know yourself—identify your personal inclinations and bend in the opposite direction
• Third, be especially vigilant against pleasure, which most easily corrupts your judgment

Connections to Prior Material #

• Temperance as a virtue: Continues discussion of the four cardinal virtues
• Integral parts: A new category of virtue analysis (distinguishing from subjective parts and potential parts)
• The soul and material attachment: Relates to the discussion of how the soul is “tied to material things” and must be purified
• Reason vs. appetite: Central tension in virtue ethics—reason must govern the appetites

Theological Applications #

• Purgatory: Understood as catharsis of the will, not errors or emotions
• The Sacraments: Catharsis operates at different levels—body, emotion, reason, will
• Contemplation and the Dark Night of the Soul: Purification from sensible things to achieve purely intellectual contact with God
• Scripture and Virtue: Proverbs (human virtue), Ecclesiastes (contempt of material world), Song of Songs (union with God) represent stages of the soul’s purification