III. On Modesty of Conduct

I. Notion of Modesty of Conduct. Modesty of conduct is a moral virtue inclining man to moderate the external movements of the body, according to the prescription of reason illumined by faith.

II. Object of Modesty of Conduct. The remote material object is all external movements of the body; the proximate object is the passions which are occupied around these movements. From this it is clear that the true virtue of modesty of conduct does not consist only in external moderation, but requires that external moderation proceed from internal moderation of the passions (cf. St. Thomas, II-II, q. 168, a. 1).

2. The remote formal object is the reason of debt of moderating the external movements of the body; the proximate formal object is the special moral goodness which shines forth in moderation of the aforesaid movements and passions.¹

¹ Cf. Salmanticenses, cited place, n. 154 (t. 6, pp. 499-500).

III. Opposed Vices. By excess there is opposed affectation, by which someone attends too much to the external movements of the body, beyond the measure of right reason; by defect, rusticity, by which someone does not attend enough to the same movements, against the prescription of right reason.