“Virtus” in Latin does not mean “virtue” in the sense we use today, but “valour” as in military prowess.
I’ve translated enough Latin in my Italian “Liceo Classico” secondary school to know that.
Eggzackly my point. “Virtue” used to mean simply the military/manly values. It has evolved to cover a lot more than that and to some extent be in opposition.
To the Romans the highest expression of manliness was valor and courage. IOW, virile and virtue were shades of meaning of essentially the same idea.
Christians and moderns hold very different ideas on what manliness is, to my mind as a result of the example provided by Jesus Christ. He lived and died demonstrating little of what the people of his day would have considered manliness, in either the valor (virtus) or virility sense.
Origin of VIRTUE
Middle English vertu, virtu, from Anglo-French, from Latin virtut-, virtus strength, manliness, virtue, from vir man — more at virile
First Known Use: 13th century