Virtue is the moral excellence of a person, being good.The conceptual opposite of virtue is vice (evil-doing or immorality). But what is virtue?

Many people believe that principles determine ethics, that if people follow a certain list of rules, that all is good. However, according to the writers of "Ethics and Virtue," the emphasis on principles ignores a fundamental component of ethics -- virtue. Principles ask, "What should I do?" Virtue asks, "What kind of person will I be?"

The difference between following rules and having actions and behavior come from inside makes a large difference in a person. Following rules limits a person's moral development while virtue allows growth of spirit and life. What lies within a person dictates his actions and reactions. Rules found outside a person can fail to guide him when pressure is great.

So, what are virtues? Again, according to the essay mentioned above, "virtues" are attitudes, dispositions, or character traits that enable us to be and to act in ways that develop this potential," the potential to become more than we ever imaged.

The synonyms for virtue, according to Roget's Thesaurus, tell us much about what virtue is, even if language limits keep up us completely understanding: goodness; integrity; ethics; duty; merit; worth; self-denial.

How do we develop virtue? Here are a few ways we can become a better person.

* Have a strong faith in a higher power. We need more than our own weakness for us to depend upon.

* By practicing self-discipline. Repeated self-indulgence corrupts a good character. Self-control and self-denial builds character.

* Learn to be compassionate. Caring about others helps build virtue. Compassion goes beyond surface "caring," but is felt deep within. Compassion goes beyond saying we care to showing that we do.

* Find a community where the values that build virtue are common. Good character traits are not developed in isolation, but with and by the associations we have.

Therefore, we can and should develop virtue as the foundation of our morality rather than try to follow a list of rules that leave an empty shell inside of us. A wall built around nothing, protects nothing, nor does it create anything. Each rock or brick in that wall will crumble when one of the major rocks is removed, causing the wall to collapse.

We build a wall of virtue around the core of our being, which reinforces the wall itself. Virtue is the basis of morality, and without it, society fails.