In order to achieve its genocidal ambitions, totalitarianism constantly strives to strip us of our humanity. Yet, it is easy to lose our compassion, worn down by repeated harassment: I might even wish that the next blows would fall on someone else rather than me. Augustine urges us to do the same: above all, we must not become desensitized. Christ lived through his trials with his full sensitivity.

We know the cardinal virtues, which were already praised by philosophers long before Christianity, notably by Plato and Aristotle: prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude. In this Licorne (Unicorn) n°20, I suggest you examine this curious virtue: strength. Sometimes referred to as "virtus", sometimes as "fortitudo", it seems to be the pivotal virtue of all the other virtues.