In Cicero’s work entitled On Duties, he names four cardinal virtues that he believes are to be kept above all others. These virtues are: wisdom, justice, courage, and seemliness. He defines wisdom as the learning of truth. He says that it is the “knowledge of everything divine and human.” He holds it in such high regard as to say that there is nothing more “desirable,” “distinguished,” or “worthy of a man.” He believes that everyone should pursue it. Justice, he believes, is the most important of all the virtues. Under this virtue, he speaks of social justice. This, to him, means that no man should harm another unless he has been provoked by injustice. He then goes on to describe justice as the keeping of faith and liberality. He adds that justice defies national boundaries, meaning justice must be extended to aliens and passing travelers in one’s country and not just the citizens of the country. Justice should be practiced by all of mankind toward one another. Courage is defined as greatness of spirit, and seemliness is also known as temperance or moderation.
The early church fathers exemplified Cicero’s four virtues in their lives and their deaths. They were committed to the spread of the Gospel and to stopping heresy. They were very knowledgable of Christian truths and the words spoken by Jesus Christ and the apostles. They meditated on these truths daily to the point where the Gospel was ingrained in their very being. Every breath they took was to the glory of God, and they never backed down from His Word, especially in the face of opposition. They were committed to excellent Christian living, which included justice and moderation. Courage was definitely easy to find in their lives as many of them were martyred for their faith. They stood bold in defense of Jesus Christ and willingly lost their lives for what they knew was the truth. Even those who were not martyred underwent severe persecution. Some were tortured, and others, such as Athanasius, were excommunicated a number of times.
Athanasius lived in Alexandria, Egypt, which at the time was the chief center of learning in the Roman Empire. He was noticed as a young boy by his bishop to have great potential in the Church. One day, the bishop looked out and noticed boys playing together. They were playing “church,” and Athanasius was performing baptisms. When Alexander asked him what exactly he said, it was decided that the young boy had actually performed legitimate baptisms! He grew up under the wing of Bishop Alexander, and when he died, Athanasius took over as Bishop of Alexandria. He went to school in Alexandria, which, as previously stated, had the best education in the empire. He learned not only the fundamental truths of Christianity but also all the other arts that were held in high esteem at the time. In other words, he was well-rounded in his education.
In his youth, a man named Arius broke off from the orthodox church and started preaching Jesus as a created being. Athanasius vehemently opposed this idea and fought long and hard against it. Emperor Constantine ordered a Council to come together at Nicaea to work out some sort of understanding among the Christians. Athanasius was the chief spokesman, and ultimately, the majority of attendants at the council agreed with his view. Thus, they wrote the Nicaean Creed, stating that Jesus Christ was not a created being but was in fact God come in the flesh. Some years later, after Rome acquired a new emperor, there was still unrest among the Arians and the rest of the Christians. The Arians still held to the belief that Jesus was created. Unfortunately for Athanasius, the new emperor sided with the Arians, and because of the former’s neverending arguments against this idea, he was banished from Alexandria. In fact, through the course of his life, Athanasius was banished five times, being called a “trouble-maker.” Nevertheless, he continued to voice his disagreement with this skewed version of Christianity.
As the Bishop of Alexandria, he was to send out an Easter letter every year, telling all the bishops when the exact date for Easter was that year. In these letters he was sure to include his arguments for Christ’s divinity. Because of his unwavering faith and relentless criticism of Arianism and other incorrect ideologies, the phrase “Athanasius contra mundum” or “Athanasius against the world” was coined. Certainly Athanasius was a man of great courage. He stood firm in his beliefs even when it meant being excommunicated for a fifth time. The persecution against him could have been much worse, considering what the earlier Church fathers went through. Even if he had been persecuted in a more violent way, we can be sure that he still would have stood his ground, and that would have given him even more confidence to stand up for the truth.
As stated, Arianism was not the only thing Athanasius openly fought against. His many writings include: On the Incarnation, Against the Heathen, Life of St. Anthony, Love and Self-Control, and On Sickness and Health, to name a few. On the Incarnation basically refutes the arguments of all of the various sects and religions of his time regarding Christ’s divinity, death, and resurrection. He explains how Jesus, as God, had to come in the flesh and literally die to save us sinful humans. There was no other way for our salvation. He refutes the Jews who are still waiting for the Messiah, saying that “no longer…is prophet raised up nor vision revealed among them” because Jesus Christ fulfilled the previous prophecies, thus ending the need for any more. In his other works, he writes on the high virtue of Christian living, the extreme courage of the martyrs, and God’s grace.Athanasius and the rest of the Church fathers really exemplified Cicero’s four virtues of wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation. Cicero held wisdom in high regard, as it is also held high in the Bible. The book of Proverbs begins with thoughts on the subject of wisdom. It says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7, NKJV). The Church fathers were highly educated, especially in the Biblical texts and words of Jesus and the apostles. They lived their lives dedicated to the spread of the Gospel. They were strong and courageous in the face of death and all danger. They stood their ground and never once backed down from what they knew to be the truth. They knew that the Word is lifesaving, and shying away from it just once could cost an unbelieving listener his life. Athanasius especially stood out among these brave men and women as he fought hard against Arianism. Though he was exiled, he continued to preach the Gospel to everyone who would hear.

The Center For Early African Christianity has summaries of some of the material we have been covering.