thee Consideration of a future State, I am moreover convinced, that
all wise Men ever were and ever will be of this Opinion; and I shall
never oppose Any body, who shall be pleased to call this an Eternal
Truth.

Having allow'd and own'd thus much, I beg Leave to make a short
Grammatical Reflection on the Sounds or Letters we make use of to
express this rational Management of ourselves: For tho' the Truth of
its Excellency is Eternal, the Words _Moral Virtue_ themselves are not
so, any more than Speech or Man himself. Permit me therefore to
enquire which Way it is most probably, they must have come into the
World.

The Word _Moral_, without Doubt, comes from _Mos_, and signifies every
Thing that relates to Manners: The Word _Ethick_ is synonimous with
_Moral_, and is derived from [Greek: ithik], which is exactly the same
in _Greek_, that _Mos_ is in _Latin_. The _Greek_ for Virtu, is [Greek:
arete], which is derived from [Greek: ares], the God of War and
properly signifies Martial Virtue. The same Word in _Latin_, if we
believe _Cicero_, comes from _Vir_; and the genuine Signification likewise
of the Word _Virtus_ is Fortitude. It is hardly to be conceived, but
that in the first Forming of all Societies, there must have been
Struggles for Superiority; and therefore it is reasonable to imagine,
that in all the Beginnings of Civil Government, and the Infancy of
Nations, Strength and Courage must have been the most valuable
Qualifications for some Time. This makes me think, that _Virtus_, in its
first Acceptation, might, with great Justice and Propriety, be in
_English_ render'd _Manliness_; which fully expresses the Original Meaning
of it, and shews the Etymology equally with the _Latin_; and whoever is
acquainted with that Language must know, that it was some ages before