Eight Virtues

For the full article on all of the virtues in the entire Ultima series and their relationships, see Virtues.

The Eight Virtues, defined first in Ultima IV, are based on Three Principles:

The Three Principles
These Principles are themselves derived from the Axiom of Infinity, which is represented in Castle Britannia.

The Eight Virtues
The Principles are combined to form the following Eight Virtues:

Notes:
 * 1) Britain is the original town of Compassion, Cove is nearest the shrine.
 * 2) Magincia was destroyed by demons for its Pride (Pride's mantra is Mul, the reverse of Humility's mantra).  New Magincia, built in its ruins, was founded on Humility.

The Embodiment of the Virtues in the game is the Avatar, the character who the player is roleplaying. He (or she) is commonly seen with an Ankh which represents life.

The relationship between the Principles and Virtues is often explained this way:


 * Honesty is respect for Truth
 * Compassion is Love of others
 * Valor is Courage to stand up against risks
 * Justice is Truth, tempered by Love
 * Sacrifice is Courage to give oneself in name of Love
 * Honor is Courage to seek and uphold the Truth
 * Spirituality is to seek Truth, Love and Courage from one's own self and the world around
 * Humility is the opposite of Pride - the absence of Truth, Love or Courage

Humility is the most difficult Virtue to describe, as it cannot really be understood without its Anti-Virtue, Pride. Pride merely has nothing to do with Truth, Love and Courage; Humility is similar, but rather than being a complete antithesis, it exists independently of the Principles and acts as their foundation.

The New Magincian ghosts also have a few things to say about Humility and pride, from which the following may be constructed:

Humility: The absence of Truth, Love, and Courage is Pride. Pride is the surest measure of goals never attained. Pride goeth before, Shame cometh after. This Shame leads to awareness of Humility, the root from which all Virtues grow. Humility is to strip oneself of all conceits.

See also The Codex Symbol, which explains the relationships between the virtues through colors.

For a similar additive conceptual model applied in contemporary psychology, see Robert Sternberg's triangular theory of love.