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{{short description|Cardinal virtue of control over excess}}
[[File:Piero del Pollaiolo temperance.jpg|thumb|200px|The Temperance of [[Piero Pollaiuolo]], 1470]]

'''Temperance''' in its modern use is defined as [[moderation]] or voluntary self-restraint.<ref>{{cite book | last=Green | first=Joel | title=Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics | publisher=Baker Academic | location=Grand Rapids, Mich | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-8010-3406-0 | page=769}}</ref> It is typically described in terms of what an individual voluntarily refrains from doing.<ref name="Schwarzer 2012"/> This includes restraint from revenge by practicing non-violence and forgiveness, restraint from arrogance by practicing humility and modesty, restraint from excesses such as extravagant luxury or splurging, and restraint from rage or craving by practicing calmness and self-control.<ref name="Schwarzer 2012">{{cite book | last=Schwarzer | first=Ralf | title=Personality, human development, and culture : international perspectives on psychological science | publisher=Psychology | location=Hove | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-415-65080-9 | pages=127–129}}</ref>

Temperance has been described as a [[virtue]] by religious thinkers, philosophers, and more recently, psychologists, particularly in the [[positive psychology]] movement. It has a long history in philosophical and religious thought.

In classical iconography, the virtue is often depicted as a woman holding two vessels transferring water from one to another. It is one of the [[cardinal virtue]]s in western thought found in [[Greek philosophy]] and Christianity, as well as eastern traditions such as Buddhism and Hinduism.

Temperance is one of the six virtues in the [[Values in Action Inventory of Strengths|positive psychology]] classification, included with [[wisdom]], [[courage]], [[humanity (virtue)|humanity]], [[justice]], and [[Values in Action Inventory of Strengths|transcendence]].<ref name="gcc">{{cite book | last=Peterson | first=Christopher | title=Character strengths and virtues a handbook and classification | publisher=American Psychological Association Oxford University Press | location=Washington, DC New York | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-19-516701-6}}</ref> It is generally characterized as the control over excess, and expressed through characteristics such as [[chastity]], [[modesty]], [[humility]], [[self control|self-regulation]], [[hospitality]], [[decorum]], [[abstinence]], and [[forgiveness]]; each of these involves restraining an excess of some [[impulse (psychology)|impulse]], such as [[sexual desire]], [[vanity]], or [[anger]].

The term "temperance" can also refer to the abstention from alcohol ([[teetotalism]]), especially with reference to the [[temperance movement]]. It can also refer to alcohol [[Moderation Management|moderation]].

== Philosophical perspectives ==
===Greek civilization===
[[File:Temperance, Chilham.JPG|thumb|Figure of Temperance from [[Dudley Digges|Digges]] memorial by [[Nicholas Stone]], St. Mary's Church, [[Chilham]]]]
{{main|Sophrosyne}}

There are two words in ancient Greek that have been translated to "temperance" in the English language. The first, ''sôphrosune'', largely meant ''self-restraint''. The other, ''enkrateia'', was a word coined during the time of Aristotle, to mean ''control over oneself'', or ''self-discipline''. Enkrateia appears three times in the King James Bible, where it was translated as temperance.

The modern meaning of temperance has evolved since its first usage. In Latin, tempero means restraint (from force or anger), but also more broadly the proper balancing or mixing (particularly, of temperature, or compounds). Hence the phrase "to temper a sword", meaning the heating and cooling process of forging a metal blade. The Latin also referred to governing and control, likely in a moderate way (i.e. not with the use of excessive force).{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

Temperance is a major Athenian virtue, as advocated by [[Plato]]; self-restraint (sôphrosune) is one of his four core virtues of the ideal city, and echoed by [[Aristotle]]. In "[[Charmides (dialogue)|Charmides]]", one of Plato's early dialogues, an attempt is made to describe temperance, but fails to reach an adequate definition. According to Aristotle, who restricts the sphere of temperance to bodily pleasures, says "temperance is a mean with regard to pleasures".<ref name="rmn2013"/>

===Marcus Aurelius===
In his ''[[Meditations]]'', the Roman emperor and stoic philosopher [[Marcus Aurelius]] defines temperance as "a virtue opposed to love of pleasure".<ref>Marcus Aurelius. [http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.7.seven.html ''Meditations'']. Book Seven, Translated by George Long. [http://classics.mit.edu/ The Internet Classics Archive].</ref> He argues that temperance separates humans from animals, writing that: <blockquote>it is the peculiar office of the rational and intelligent motion to circumscribe itself, and never to be overpowered either by the motion of the senses or the appetites, for both are animal; but the intelligent motion claims superiority and does not permit itself to be overpowered by the others[.]</blockquote> For Marcus, this rational faculty exists to understand the appetites, rather than be used by them.<ref>In Marcus Aurelius. [http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.7.seven.html ''Meditations'']. Book Seven. [http://classics.mit.edu/ The Internet Classics Archive].</ref> In the ninth book of the ''Meditations'', he gives this advice: "Wipe out imagination: check desire: extinguish appetite: keep the ruling faculty in its own power."<ref>In Marcus Aurelius. [http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.9.nine.html ''Meditations'']. Book Nine. [http://classics.mit.edu/ The Internet Classics Archive].</ref>

Marcus takes inspiration from his father, someone Marcus remembers as "satisfied on all occasions", who "showed sobriety in all things" and "did not take the bath at unseasonable hours; he was not fond of building houses, nor curious about what he ate, nor about the texture and colour of his clothes, nor about the beauty of his slaves." Marcus writes that temperance is both difficult and yet important. He favourably likens his father to Socrates, in that "he was able both to abstain from, and to enjoy, those things which many are too weak to abstain from, and cannot enjoy without excess. But to be strong enough both to bear the one and to be sober in the other is the mark of a man who has a perfect and invincible soul".<ref>In Marcus Aurelius. [http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.1.one.html ''Meditations'']. Book One. [http://classics.mit.edu/ The Internet Classics Archive].</ref>

===Thomas Aquinas===
In his ''[[Summa Theologica]]'', [[Thomas Aquinas]] defines the scope of temperance: "Temperance, however, considered as a human virtue, deals with the desires of sensible pleasures".<ref>[[Thomas Aquinas]]. [https://sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/sum067.htm ''Summa Theologica'']. Part I, Question 59, Article 4, Reply 3. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. [https://sacred-texts.com/ Internet Sacred Text Archive].</ref> The notion of 'sensible pleasure' receives further expansion when he states, "the object of temperance is a good in respect of the pleasures connected with the concupiscence of touch."<ref>In Aquinas. [https://sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/sum200.htm ''Summa Theologica'']. Part I-II, Question 63, Article 4. [https://sacred-texts.com/ Internet Sacred Text Archive].</ref> In addition, he further defines temperance itself by associating it with the forbearing of sensible pleasures, as opposed to the mere toleration of sensible pain, a distinction he highlights when he claims that "the temperate man is praised for refraining from pleasures of touch, more than for not shunning the pains which are contrary to them".<ref>In Aquinas. [https://sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/sum170.htm ''Summa Theologica'']. Part I-II, Question 35, Article 6, Reply 3. [https://sacred-texts.com/ Internet Sacred Text Archive].</ref>

For Aquinas, temperance need never contradict pleasure in itself: "The temperate man does not shun all pleasures, but those that are immoderate, and contrary to reason."<ref>In Aquinas. [https://sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/sum169.htm ''Summa Theologica'']. Part I-II, Question 34, Article 1, Reply 2. [https://sacred-texts.com/ Internet Sacred Text Archive].</ref> For example, he discusses food and sex, which, when approached with temperance, fulfill human requirements for survival without contradicting the virtue of moderation:<blockquote>"Accordingly, if we take a good, and it be something discerned by the sense of touch, and something pertaining to the upkeep of human life either in the individual or in the species, such as the pleasures of the table or of sexual intercourse, it will belong to the virtue of temperance."<ref>In Aquinas. [https://sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/sum197.htm ''Summa Theologica'']. Part I-II, Question 60, Article 5 [https://sacred-texts.com/ Internet Sacred Text Archive].</ref></blockquote>

===Michel de Montaigne===
Similarly to Marcus Aurelius, the French philosopher [[Michel de Montaigne]] writes in his essay 'Of Experience' that temperance enhances the soul:<blockquote>Greatness of soul consists not so much in mounting and in pressing forward, as in knowing how to govern and circumscribe itself; it takes everything for great, that is enough, and demonstrates itself in preferring moderate to eminent things.</blockquote> Montaigne differs from Marcus in that Montaigne believes temperance enhances pleasure, rather than opposing the love of it: "Intemperance is the pest of pleasure; and temperance is not its scourge, but rather its seasoning."<ref>Michel de Montaigne. [https://gutenberg.org/files/3600/3600-h/3600-h.htm ''Essays III'']. Chapter XIII, 'Of Experience', Translated by Charles Cotton. Edited by William Carew Hazlitt. [https://gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg].</ref> Like Aquinas, Montaigne sees no contradiction between temperance and pleasure in the right moral context. Rather, he believes that "there is no pleasure so just and lawful, where intemperance and excess are not to be condemned." For example, he commends a temperate approach to the pleasures of sex within marriage: "Marriage is a solemn and religious tie, and therefore the pleasure we extract from it should be a sober and serious delight, and mixed with a certain kind of gravity; it should be a sort of discreet and conscientious pleasure."

Montaigne also discusses the difficulty of temperance. He muses on whether pleasure's tempering creates unhappiness: <blockquote>But, to speak the truth, is not man a most miserable creature the while? It is scarce, by his natural condition, in his power to taste one pleasure pure and entire; and yet must he be contriving doctrines and precepts to curtail that little he has; he is not yet wretched enough, unless by art and study he augment his own misery[.]<ref>Michel de Montaigne. [https://gutenberg.org/files/3600/3600-h/3600-h.htm ''Essays I'']. Chapter XXIX, 'Of Moderation', Translated by Charles Cotton. Edited by William Carew Hazlitt. [https://gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg].</ref></blockquote>

In his essay 'Of Drunkenness', Montaigne accepts that temperance neither can nor should completely exclude the possibility of desire: "‘Tis sufficient for a man to curb and moderate his inclinations, for totally to suppress them is not in him to do."<ref>Michel de Montaigne. [https://gutenberg.org/files/3600/3600-h/3600-h.htm ''Essays II'']. Chapter II, 'Of Drunkenness', translated by Charles Cotton. Edited by William Carew Hazlitt. [https://gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg].</ref> But in 'Of Managing the Will', Montaigne warns against failing to curb inclinations: "The more we amplify our need and our possession, so much the more do we expose ourselves to the blows and adversities of Fortune."<ref>Michel de Montaigne. [https://gutenberg.org/files/3600/3600-h/3600-h.htm ''Essays III'']. Chapter X, 'Of Managing the Will', Translated by Charles Cotton. Edited by William Carew Hazlitt. [https://gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg].</ref>

===Francis Bacon===
In his ''[[Advancement of Learning]]'', the English philosopher [[Francis Bacon]], like Marcus and Montaigne, recognizes the difficulty of adhering to temperance in the face of sensations and desires. He writes "that the mind in the nature thereof would be temperate and stayed, if the affections, as winds, did not put it into tumult and perturbation." He believes this problem applies especially to those fortunate enough to enjoy the security of material comfort. Of these, he says, "great and sudden fortune for the most part defeateth men" and quotes Psalm 61's advice that the wealthy ought to emotionally detach from their wealth.<ref>Francis Bacon. [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5500/5500-h/5500-h.htm ''Advancement of Learning'']. Second Book, Edited by Henry Morley. [https://gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg].</ref>

===John Milton===
In ''[[Paradise Lost]]'', the English poet and revolutionary republican [[John Milton]] has the Archangel Michael expound on the value of temperance, or what he calls "the rule of not too much", a virtue he states has the benefit of conferring long life on the temperate person:{{Poem quote
|text=There is, said ''Michael'', if thou well observe
The rule of not too much, by temperance taught
In what thou eatst and drinkst, seeking from thence
Due nourishment, not gluttonous delight,
Till many years over thy head return:
So maist thou live, till like ripe Fruit thou drop
Into thy Mothers lap, or be with ease
Gatherd, not harshly pluckt, for death mature[.]<ref>John Milton. [https://milton.host.dartmouth.edu/reading_room/pl/book_11/text.shtml ''Paradise Lost'']. Book 11. [https://milton.host.dartmouth.edu/reading_room/contents/text.shtml The John Milton Reading Room].</ref>
|style=
}}

However, like Marcus, Montaigne, and Bacon before him, Milton well-estimated the difficulty of attaining temperance. In his essay ''[[Areopagitica]]'', he writes that temperance requires prudence in differentiating good desires from evil passions, but also that this prudence comes only from an understanding of temptation, a familiarity which could bring an intemperate person under the sway of evil appetites: "He that can apprehend and consider vice with all her baits and seeming pleasures, and yet abstain, and yet distinguish, and yet prefer that which is truly better, he is the true warfaring Christian."<ref>[[John Milton]]. [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/608/608-h/608-h.htm ''Areopagitica''], [https://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg].</ref>

===Blaise Pascal===
For the French philosopher [[Blaise Pascal]], temperance respects the balance between the two extremities of insatiable desire and its total lack thereof. Like Montaigne, Pascal believes it impossible to completely extinguish desire, as advocated by Marcus Aurelius, and yet Pascal does call for a curbing of desire. As he writes in his ''[[Pensées]]'', "Nature has set us so well in the centre, that if we change one side of the balance, we change the other also." For example, he calls for a balancing temperance in the acts of reading and of drinking wine: "When we read too fast or too slowly, we understand nothing"; "Too much and too little wine. Give him none, he cannot find truth; give him too much, the same."<ref>[[Blaise Pascal]]. [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/18269/18269-h/18269-h.htm ''Pensées''], Section II, 69-71. [https://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg].</ref>

===Immanuel Kant===
In the first section of his ''[[Metaphysics of Morals]]'', German philosopher [[Immanuel Kant]] explores temperance as the virtue of "Moderation in the affections and passions, self-control, and calm deliberation" and goes so far as to praise temperance as an essential and beneficial element of every human being's potential, even though he thinks ancient philosophers, which would include Marcus Aurelius, mostly accept the virtue as one requiring no qualification.<ref>[[Immanuel Kant]]. [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5682/5682-h/5682-h.htm ''Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals''], First Section. "Moderation in the affections and passions, self-control, and calm deliberation are not only good in many respects, but even seem to constitute part of the intrinsic worth of the person; but they are far from deserving to be called good without qualification, although they have been so unconditionally praised by the ancients." [https://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg].</ref> On the other hand, Kant qualifies temperance by warning it could increase the effectiveness of evil acts by the ill-intentioned: "For without the principles of a good will, [temperance] may become extremely bad, and the coolness of a villain not only makes him far more dangerous, but also directly makes him more abominable in our eyes than he would have been without it."<ref>In Immanuel Kant. [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5682/5682-h/5682-h.htm ''Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals''], First Section. [https://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg].</ref> Thus, for Kant, temperance takes on its most important moral effects when it complements the other virtues.

In his ''[[Critique of Judgment]]'', Kant writes that art and science, by sharpening rationality, assist the cultivation of temperance in the face of purely animal or sensual desire, or what he termed 'sense-propensions':<blockquote>The beautiful arts and the sciences which, by their universally-communicable pleasure, and by the polish and refinement of society, make man more civilised, if not morally better, win us in large measure from the tyranny of sense-propensions, and thus prepare men for a lordship, in which Reason alone shall have authority[.]<ref>[[Immanuel Kant]]. [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5682/5682-h/5682-h.htm ''The Critique of Judgment''], Appendix. 'Of the ultimate purpose of nature as a teleological system'. [https://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg]</ref></blockquote>

===John Stuart Mill===
[[John Stuart Mill]] writes about temperance in his book ''[[On Liberty]]''. He supports laws against intemperate behavior and asks a rhetorical question:<blockquote>If gambling, or drunkenness, or incontinence, or idleness, or uncleanliness, are as injurious to happiness, and as great a hindrance to improvement, as many or most of the acts prohibited by law, why (it may be asked) should not law, so far as is consistent with practicability and social convenience, endeavour to repress these also?<ref>[[John Stuart Mill]]. [https://gutenberg.org/files/34901/34901-h/34901-h.htm ''On Liberty''], Chapter 4. 'Of the Limits to the Authority of Society over the Individual', pages 151-152. [https://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg]</ref></blockquote>
Mill also supports the cultivation of public opinion against intemperance.<ref>In Mill. [https://gutenberg.org/files/34901/34901-h/34901-h.htm ''On Liberty''], Chapter 4, page 152. "And as a supplement to the unavoidable imperfections of law, ought not opinion at least to organise a powerful police against these vices, and visit rigidly with social penalties those who are known to practise them?" [https://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg]</ref> However, Mill advocates public punishment of intemperance, not of the kind affecting a person's close friends and family, but of the kind affecting society at large, and uses the example of a drunk police officer: 'No person ought to be punished simply for being drunk; but a soldier or a policeman should be punished for being drunk on duty.'<ref>In Mill. [https://gutenberg.org/files/34901/34901-h/34901-h.htm ''On Liberty''], Chapter 4, page 154. [https://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg]</ref>

===Charles Darwin===
In his book ''[[The Descent of Man]]'', the naturalist [[Charles Darwin]] expresses a strong belief in the human ability to cultivate temperance: <blockquote>"Man prompted by his conscience, will through long habit acquire such perfect self-command, that his desires and passions will at last yield instantly and without a struggle to his social sympathies and instincts, including his feeling for the judgment of his fellows. The still hungry, or the still revengeful man will not think of stealing food, or of wreaking his vengeance." </blockquote>

Thus, for Darwin, humanity's sociability dictates a level of personal restraint, especially as practiced over time by the socialized person. Darwin also states his belief in the likelihood of temperance's transmittance from one generation to subsequent generations: "It is possible, or as we shall hereafter see, even probable, that the habit of self-command may, like other habits, be inherited."<ref>[[Charles Darwin]]. [https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2300/pg2300-images.html ''The Descent of Man''], Part I, Chapter IV. 'Comparison of the Mental Powers of Man and the Lower Animals - Continued. [https://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg]</ref>

==Religions==
[[File:Eglise de Commana2012 469.JPG|thumb|Representation of temperance (painted wood sculpture, dated 1683, which covers the shrine of the baptismal church Breton [[Commana]] in France). Temperance's foot tips over a jug of wine, and presents a pitcher of water]]

Themes of temperance can be seen across cultures and time, as illustrated here.

===Buddhism===
Temperance is an essential part of the [[Eightfold Path]]. In the [[Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta]], often regarded as the first teaching, the Buddha describes the Noble Eightfold Path as the [[Middle Way]] of moderation, between the extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification. The third and fifth of the [[five precepts]] (pañca-sila) reflect values of temperance: "misconduct concerning sense pleasures" and drunkenness are to be avoided.<ref>Harvey, P. (1990). ''An introduction to Buddhism: Teaching, history and practices.'' Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.</ref>

===Christianity===
"Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods."<ref>[https://www.dolr.org/article/virtue-temperance-can-offer-life-balance Standridge, Paula. "Virtue of temperance can offer life balance", Understanding Our Church, Diocese of Little Rock, November 17, 2018]</ref>
The [[Old Testament]] emphasizes temperance as a core virtue, as evidenced in the [[Book of Proverbs]]. The [[New Testament]] does so as well, with [[forgiveness]] being central to [[theology]] and self-control being one of the [[Fruits of the Spirit]].<ref name=rmn2013/> With regard to Christian theology, the word temperance is used by the [[King James Version]] in [[Epistle to the Galatians|Galatians]] 5:23 for the Greek word ἐγκρατεία (enkrateia), which means self-control or discipline (''[[Strong's Concordance]]'', 1466). [[Thomas Aquinas]] promoted Plato's original virtues in addition to several others.

Within the Christian church Temperance is a virtue akin to self-control. It is applied to all areas of life. It can especially be viewed in practice among sects like the [[Amish]], [[Old Order Mennonites]], and [[Conservative Mennonites]]. In the Christian religion, temperance is a virtue that moderates attraction and desire for pleasure and "provides balance in the use of created goods". St. Thomas calls it a "disposition of the mind which binds the passions".<ref name=rmn2013>Niemiec, R. M. (2013). VIA character strengths: Research and practice (The first 10 years). In H. H. Knoop & A. Delle Fave (Eds.), Well-being and cultures: Perspectives on positive psychology (pp. 11–30). New York: Springer.</ref> Temperance is believed to combat the sin of [[gluttony]].

===Hinduism===

The concept of ''dama'' ({{lang-sa|दम|link=no}}) in Hinduism is equivalent to temperance. It is sometimes written as ''damah'' (Sanskrit: दमः).<ref>[http://www.spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=self-control Sanskrit translations for Self-Control] English-Sanskrit Dictionary, Germany</ref><ref>[http://sanskritdocuments.org/dict/dictall_unic.html Sanskrit Words]; See ''dama'' and ''damah''</ref> The word ''dama'', and Sanskrit derivative words based on it, connote the concepts of self-control and self-restraint. [[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]], in verse 5.2.3, states that three characteristics of a good, developed person are self-restraint (''damah''), compassion and love for all sentient life ([[compassion|''daya'']]), and charity ([[Dāna|''daana'']]).<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/Brihadaranyaka.Upanishad.Shankara.Bhashya.by.Swami.Madhavananda#page/n843/mode/2up Brihadaranyaka Upanishad], Translator: S Madhavananda, p. 816, For discussion: pp. 814–821; Quote - "तदेतत्त्रयँ शिक्षेद् दमं दानं दयामिति", translation: Learn three cardinal virtues - temperance, charity and [[compassion]] for all life."</ref> In Hinduism literature dedicated to [[yoga]], self-restraint is expounded with the concept of ''[[yamas]]'' ({{lang-sa|यम|link=no}}).<ref name=jlh>James Lochtefeld, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Rosen Publishing New York, {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}, see article on Yama, p. 777</ref> According to ''ṣaṭsampad'', self-restraint (''dama'') is one of the six cardinal virtues.<ref>[http://sanskrit.inria.fr/DICO/31.html#dama Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, France], this reference is in French; see explanation under the term ''dama'': contrôle de ses passions</ref>

The list of virtues that constitute a moral life evolve in [[veda]]s and [[upanishad]]s. Over time, new virtues were conceptualized and added, some replaced, others merged. For example, [[Samhita|Manusamhita]] initially listed ten virtues necessary for a human being to live a ''dharmic'' (moral) life: ''[[Dhriti]]'' (courage), ''[[Kshama]]'' (forgiveness), ''Dama'' (temperance), ''[[Asteya]]'' (Non-covetousness/Non-stealing), ''[[Shaucha|Saucha]]'' (purity), ''Indriyani-graha'' (control of senses), ''[[Dhi (Hindu thought)|dhi]]'' (reflective prudence), ''[[Vidya (philosophy)|vidya]]'' (wisdom), ''[[satya]]m'' (truthfulness), ''[[akrodha]]'' (freedom from anger). In later verses, this list was reduced to five virtues by the same scholar, by merging and creating a more broader concept. The shorter list of virtues became: ''Ahimsa'' (Non-violence), ''Dama'' (temperance), ''Asteya'' (Non-covetousness/Non-stealing), ''Saucha'' (purity), ''Satyam'' (truthfulness).<ref>Gupta, B. (2006). BHAGAVAD GĪTĀ AS DUTY AND VIRTUE ETHICS. Journal of Religious Ethics, 34(3), 373–395.</ref><ref>Mohapatra & Mohapatra, Hinduism: Analytical Study, {{ISBN|978-8170993889}}; see pp. 37–40</ref> This trend of evolving concepts continue in classical Sanskrit literature, ''Dama'' with ''[[Ahimsa]]'' and few other virtues present in the evolving list of virtues necessary for a moral life (''dharma'').<ref>Comparative Religion, Kedar Nath Tiwari, {{ISBN|81-208-0294-2}}; see pp. 33–34</ref><ref>Bailey, G. (1983). Puranic notes: reflections on the myth of sukesin. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 6(2), 46–61.</ref>

Five types of self-restraints are considered essential for a moral and ethical life in Hindu philosophy: one must refrain from any violence that causes injury to others, refrain from starting or propagating deceit and falsehood, refrain from theft of other's property, refrain from sexually cheating on one's partner, and refrain from avarice.<ref name=jlh/><ref name=mhws>Heim, M. (2005), Differentiations in Hindu ethics, in William Schweiker (Editor), The Blackwell companion to religious ethics, {{ISBN|0-631-21634-0}}, Chapter 35, pp. 341–354</ref> The scope of self-restraint includes one's action, the words one speaks or writes, and in one's thoughts. The necessity for temperance is explained as preventing bad ''karma'' which sooner or later haunts and returns to the unrestrained.<ref>Rao, G. H. (1926), The Basis of Hindu Ethics, International Journal of Ethics, 37(1), pp. 19–35</ref><ref>Hindrey, Roderick (1978), Comparative ethics in Hindu and Buddhist traditions, Motilal Banarsidass Publications, {{ISBN|81-208-0866-5}}</ref> The theological need for self-restraint is also explained as reigning in the damaging effect of one's action on others, as hurting another is hurting oneself because all life is one.<ref name=mhws/><ref>Sturgess, Stephen (2013), The Yoga Book: A Practical Guide to Self-realization, Watkins Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-84293-034-2}}, see Chapter 2</ref>

=== Jainism ===
Temperance in [[Jainism]] is deeply imbibed in its five major vows which are:
*[[Ahimsa]] ([[nonviolence]])
*[[Satya]] ([[truth]])
*[[Brahmacharya]] ([[chastity]] or [[celibacy]]),
*[[Asteya]] (non-stealing)
*[[Aparigraha]] (non-possessiveness).

In Jainism, the vow of Ahimsa is not just restricted to not resorting to physical violence, but it also encompasses in itself abstinence from violence in any and all form either by thought, speech or action.

On [[Samvatsari]], the last day of [[Paryushan]]—the most prominent festival of Jainism—the Jains greet their friends and relatives on this last day with ''[[Micchami Dukkadam|Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ]]'', seeking their forgiveness.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}} The phrase is also used by [[Jainism|Jains]] throughout the year when a person makes a mistake, or recollects making one in everyday life, or when asking for forgiveness in advance for inadvertent ones.<ref>{{cite book |title=Śramana Bhagavān Mahāvira: pt. 1. Sthavirāvali|author= M.R.P. Vijaya|author2=K.C. Jani |publisher=Śri Jaina Siddhanta Society |year=1951|page=120 }}</ref>

==Contemporary organizations==
{{Globalize|date=March 2018}}
Values of temperance are still advocated by more modern sources such as the [[Boy Scouts of America|Boy Scouts]], [[William Bennett]], and [[Ben Franklin]].<ref name="Peterson 2004">Peterson & Seligman, M.E.P. (2004). ''Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification''. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.</ref> Philosophy has contributed a number of lessons to the study of traits, particularly in its study of injunctions and its listing and organizing of virtues.

In positive psychology, temperance was defined to include these four main character strengths: forgiveness, humility, prudence, and self-regulation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification|last=Seligman|first=Martin|publisher=American Psychological Association / Oxford University Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0195167016}}</ref>

==See also==
{{wikiquote|Temperance}}
{{Commons category|Temperance}}

*[[Asceticism]]
*[[Christian ethics]]
*[[Moral character]]
*[[Seven Deadly Sins]]
*[[Seven Heavenly Virtues]]
*[[Sophrosyne]]
*[[Temperance (Tarot card)]]
*[[Virtue ethics]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Christian virtue ethics}}
{{Simple living}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temperance}}
[[Category:Virtue]]
[[Category:Christian ethics]]
[[Category:Seven virtues]]
[[Category:Fruit of the Holy Spirit]]
[[Category:Relational ethics]]
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Hindu ethics]]
[[Category:Jain ethics]]
[[Category:Jain philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Buddhist ethics]]

Temperance (virtue) - Revision history

ImportMaster: robot: Add missing article in Category:Mahabharata