Expert: Griff Ruby - 11/15/2009

Question
How is Humanity the foundation of all virtues? please explain it comprehensily

Answer
Virtue, first of all, is about strength.  In particular it is about the strength of our spirit (not of our muscles or machinery) in being able to follow a chosen course against all resistance from the flesh and all other sorts of pressures and difficulties we always face.
And mere virtue, apart from God, is not really attainable, though the semblance to it some do can be a serious evil, but it is God acting in us who gives us strength to do what we are obliged to do by right morals and good conduct.
The key test of any person is their ability to say "no" to themselves.  When confronted with some temptation, something a person really does want, but which morally cannot be allowed, be it a fulfillment of lust, or revenge, or gain, or self-aggrandizement, or any other immoral goal, even though we may wish for the wrong thing, unlike animals we have (or can have, with God as our strength) the power to say "no" to that desired thing and do what is right.  This is the essence of what it is to have a human spirit.
Do you know that animals can have a conscience, and even know right from wrong?  I've seen it.  We had trained our dog never to climb up on the furniture (e. g. sofa, chairs) but always stay on the floor.  But one time I left the dog in the house and went away, but snuck back.  Watching him through the window I saw him come to the sofa and start to leap up on it only to stop and hesitate, looking around to make sure he was alone.  I could see that he wanted to go up there but also knew that he was not supposed to go there.  In the end however, his wish to go up on the sofa prevailed and he jumped up.  He could not stop himself.  A human, one who is truly motivated by virtue, can truly have the strength to refrain from the bad thing, and that is the humanity that is the foundation of all virtue.
It is not merely a matter of being of the human species, but when we speak of inhumanity we refer to a member of the human species who cannot refrain from exploiting and using other people for his own riches, ego, or whatever.  He wants something wicked, and circumstance has given him the means to get it, and so the other people suffer as a result.  Such a person has no humanity and no virtue, and is truly contemptible.
Finally, virtue is a choice, alternative to vice, which latter is an addiction to some sinful behavior pattern, and one which we cannot control, it controls us, and marks an area in a person's life wherein they have no virtue.  No one speaks of animals or plants or other objects as having any sort of choice, they all do simply what they were made to do, even where given the same mental capacities as we ourselves, for it is simply in their nature.  It is in the nature of the dog to seek comfort, even where intellectually it knows better.
I hope this helps, God bless!