The way I see Temperance and Chastity as distinct is pretty clear. Chastity is the ability to forego momentary pleasure for long-term gain. Temperance is both having the self control to stay on a path like that and the ability to see the mean on that path and not deviate into extremes. Yet in order to function properly it is perhaps the most dependent upon the other virtues, since SEEING the path relies on wisdom, and wisdom is a product of being virtuous in all respects, not just one.
Temperance without wisdom is trying to find the "moral mean" in all things, enforcing control upon them brutally and ultimately ending in extremes as you try to control things too tightly. The old analogy about being able to hold sand in a lose grip but losing it than an extremely tight grip is apt here. It can also be harsh denial, like the early 20's temperance movement in the US. Carrie Nation is an extremely interesting example of a person like this. For those that aren't familiar with her, she was a violent advocate for Temperance during prohibition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_NationI like her. She was an insane crusading fanatic, determined to bring temperance upon people whether they wanted it or not. To save them from themselves by taking away their choice. I love that insanity, that drive and zeal. It's magnetic and hateful at the same time. To me, the broken nature of that mind is beautiful, like the artful sparkle and patterns of a broken glass ball.
What she and others like her don't realize is that you CANNOT eliminate free will. You can bully, you can hurt, you can enforce - but the tighter you grip, the more slips through the cracks. They don't understand that the true way to control a peoples behavior is to convince them that your way is the way of happiness and comfort, and that the alternative is the way of boredom and social stigma. Make them think of drinking like most people think of doing their taxes, and most people will stop drinking. Especially when the alternative is endless rivers of free coffee and soda or whatever you want them to drink. If you can convince people that the alternatives are better and what you don't want them to do is BORING, then they will shift. Not everyone. There's always deviants. And that's good - you might want to shift back eventually should that become useful. Don't make the fruit alluring and forbidden and you destroy the zeal of disobeying the rules. Make it like an evening spent getting lectures by an 80 year old man talking about economics in a dry monotone and suddenly people will make their own decision.
It's my own understanding of this that perhaps makes me so fascinated with mind control. Because mind control is all about eliminating free will. In the real world, you CANNOT do it. And getting what you want in life is an endless dance of manipulation and control. Not of people's actions, but of their perceptions. Control a persons perception of the world around them and you control the ideas that can form. Influence them properly and the ideas that form are the ones you put in their head. And with the proper ideas formed, a persons actions are (on the large scale) already a foregone conclusion.
But THAT is a lot of work. It's endless and tiring to manipulate the thoughts of other human beings, because it turns out people are pretty smart. And when a person realizes they are being controlled, they will IMMEDIATELY seek means to rebel.
So there is the beauty of mind control. Like manipulation, but without the downsides. No work, just what you want, when you want it. No convincing, just telling. No need to craft narratives and control perception. You SET the perception.
For that reason, Mind Control is perhaps the most evil thing one could do. In real life, perhaps one of the most reprehensible things possible, which makes me exceptionally glad it doesn't really exist. But in fantasy? Ahhhhh, fantasy. That's another matter. Power without the endless effort and struggle to control the minds and actions of others through manipulation? Beauty incarnate.
To me, understanding the virtues is important because it lets me understand people. And it is through understanding that you can control the world around you, reordering the chaos into a shape that pleases you. That is not an evil pursuit. Indeed, it's an amoral one. It's what you do with that power and control that lets you make the world better or worse. Do you embody the values you understand, using them to make a better tomorrow for all? Or do you use them like a parasite, exploiting that knowledge to simply improve your own life while draining the strength from others?
To me, being virtuous isn't a moral choice, it's a pragmatic one. To do good for others and improve their lives is something that also helps you. You cannot guarantee you'll always be on top, or never meet someone stronger. So do what is right, help others to become stronger, and in turn they will wish to help you when that time does come. Your taxes pay for roads and schools which educate you, making you better even when people didn't want to be generous. It also educates others and helps them move, aspire, and create the things which make your life better in ways you did not forsee. You cannot count on people being good or moral, but you can generally count on them making the choices they know how to make. Out of those choices, most people will mostly choose the one that helps themselves and those they care about the most. Frame the choices so the best choice is the virtuous one, and men and women will freely choose to be virtuous.
To know how to do that, one must truly understand what makes a person good and virtuous, in many different philosophies. And so understanding the Seven Virtues is important for all. The grand joke is that even if people don't realize it or want to learn from this game, they WILL. The brain is a learning machine, and it absorbs ideas and philosophies like a sponge. Who knows? That might make people better. It might just be an evening of fun they soon forget. But if even one person stops to think about morality after this game, that is a positive. Not just for themselves, but for those around them.
I have no grand aspirations with this, just entertainment. But by my own nature I can't help but put in a little bit more, here and there, to make life better for everyone - whether they realize it or not. That's quite pretentious and in a lot of respects makes me an utter tool. But it is what I am. I have no regrets.