Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Charity

Karitas

The third and greatest of the Divine virtues enumerated by St. Paul (1 Corinthians 13:13), usually called charity, defined: a divinely infused habit, inclining the human will to cherish God for his own sake above all things, and man for the sake of God....Its seat [is] in the human will. Although charity is at times intensely emotional, and frequently reacts on our sensory faculties, still it properly resides in the rational will a fact not to be forgotten by those who would make it an impossible virtue. Catholic Encyclopedia

So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

The practice of all the virtues is animated and inspired by charity, which "binds everything together in perfect harmony"; it is the form of the virtues; it articulates and orders them among themselves; it is the source and the goal of their Christian practice. Charity upholds and purifies our human ability to love, and raises it to the supernatural perfection of divine love. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1827

For your good is charity, love of the brotherhood, being united, being bound together, living at peace, living in gentleness. St. John Chrysostom, Homily 26 on Romans.

Haec figura karitatis suae sic proprietatis gerti formam.

Cor quod latet, in secreto Christo dat, hanc pro decreto servat norman.

Sed terrenae facultatis et contemptrix vanitatis coloraret

Cuncta cunctis liberali offert manu spetiali caelo caret

The translation as best as I can figure out is this:

This figure wears her charity as her quality.
The heart which lies concealed, she gives in secret to Christ, by decree she serves???
But she has contempt for earthly means and the hue of vanity
She liberally gives to all ??? heaven ???

Charity stands on sacks of some sort of worldly goods. We can also see some coins beneath her feet. She has these possessions, but they seem to to interest her not at all. She wears the same garment as Hope, but where Hope flies heavenward her feet are planted firmly on the ground. In her right hand we see a bowl with the flower and fruit of her labors. She doesn't cling to these, however. She holds them lightly, seemingly only possessing them to give them away. She is crowned not only with an earthly crown of flowers, but with a crown of glory. Within her halo are three red rays of light which call to mind the Trinity.

Psalm 34:6 says, "Look to him and be radiant and your faces shall not blush for shame," and Isaiah 60:5, "Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall throb and overflow." The face of Charity is filled with joyful radiance with no shadow of shame. There is no room for shame when all your attention is turned away from yourself, and Charity's gaze is outward. (You can see this better if you look at the enlarged version of the picture at the Web Gallery.) Her eyes are firmly fixed on Christ to whom she offers her abundant fruit.

At first glance the object in her hand appears to be a pear, but closer examination reveals it to be a heart. Basil de Selincourt mentions that there is a disputed point about this image which is whether Charity is offering her heart to Christ or He is offering His heart to her. Whatever Giotto may have had in mind when he painted this image, and the inscription seems to indicate the former, the truth is that the answer to the question is both. It is an image of the perpetual exchange of hearts between the Lover and His beloved in which one becomes conformed to the Other. 

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque said, 

Jesus asked for my heart which I begged Him to take, as He did, and placed it in His adorable One, in which He showed it to me as a tiny speck consumed in this burning furnace. Then, taking it out as a burning flame shaped like a heart He replaced it in the place from which He had taken it. 

Charity unceasingly surrenders her heart to the burning abyss of Divine Love where all imperfections are purified, wounds are cauterized, and she herself is set afire. It is the burning bush, the fiery furnace, the furnace of great affliction and the flames of Pentecost. It costs everything, and it is all there is.

AMDG

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Envy

Invidia

Envy is a food of the mind, corrupting it with its poisonous juices and never ceasing to make it wretched and miserable at the prosperity and success of another. Institutes Book V, Chapter 21, St. John Cassian

The envious man tortures himself without cause, morbidly holding as he does, the success of another to constitute an evil for himself. Catholic Encyclopedia

For God formed us to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made us. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are allied with him experience it. Wisdom 2:23-24

As the quotes above indicate, Envy is not just the desiring of another's goods, but the desire that the other be deprived of the goods. This is what makes it so insidiously horrible. It is not only covetousness, but an offense against charity, the highest of the virtues. One might think that the opposite of charity should be hatred, but envy contains a sort of hatred within itself, and is larger than hatred. It's possible to hate someone without wishing him ill, but it's impossible to wish ill to someone for whom we do not harbor some hatred.

There is a lot in the picture, some of which I don't understand, and some of which I can't make out due to the fact that there is a considerable amount of damage to the painting. For one thing, Envy appears to have grown horns. Is this just a symbol of evil, or is there something I'm missing? 

Everything about Envy's face is hard and sharp--no softness allowed there. Her ears are large enough to hear any gossip that is in the air. Her word is like a poisonous snake that is meant to destroy others, but unexpectedly turns back to strike at her eyes, blinding her to the truth.  Her head bears a distinct resemblance to that of Injustice, and just as Envy exceeds Injustice in evil, her face exceeds his in monstrousness.

Her left hand is a puzzle. It is in the shape of a claw, but the ends of her fingers do not seem to be there. Or are the claws sunk into the wall? Or as Andrew Ladis suggests in Victims and Villians in Vasari's Lives, have her fingers, "been reduced to mere nubs from all their clawing?"  In her right hand she clings with all her might to a bag holding her possessions. No one will be able to get anything away from her! The Web Gallery of Art says that the decoration on her bag is a row of Turk's Head Knots, and the turban around her own head looks like one of these knots.

I wish I knew if there was some symbolism here.

Finally, she stands in flames that rise around her feet. Unlike those of Infidelity, which are off to the side, she is right in the middle. Is the fire a symbol of the inner fire of her jealously as the Web Gallery says, or are those the flames of Hell reaching up to consume her? Likely it's both.

AMDG 

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Despair

Desparatio

I'm beginning this with a longer-than-usual quote defining despair because I think it's important to understand what it is and what it isn't.

Despair, ethically regarded, is the voluntary and complete abandonment of all hope of saving one's soul and of having the means required for that end. It is not a passive state of mind: on the contrary it involves a positive act of the will by which a person deliberately gives over any expectation of ever reaching eternal life. There is presupposed an intervention of the intellect in virtue of which one comes to decide definitely that salvation is impossible. This last is motivated by the persuasion either that the individual's sins are too great to be forgiven or that it is too hard for human nature to cooperate with the grace of God or that Almighty God is unwilling to aid the weakness or pardon the offenses of his creatures, etc.  

 It is obvious that a mere anxiety, no matter how acute, as to the hereafter is not to be identified with despair. This excessive fear is usually a negative condition of soul and adequately discernible from the positive elements which clearly mark the vice which we call despair. The pusillanimous person has not so much relinquished trust in God as he is unduly terrified at the spectacle of his own shortcomings of incapacity. 

Despair as such and as distinguished from a certain difference, sinking of the heart, or overweening dread is always a mortal sin. Catholic Encyclopedia

There is, too, another still more objectionable sort of dejection, which produces in the guilty soul no amendment of life or correction of faults, but the most destructive despair: which did not make Cain repent after the murder of his brother, or Judas, after the betrayal, hasten to relieve himself by making amends, but drove him to hang himself in despair. Institutes, Book IX, John Cassian

The first commandment is also concerned with sins against hope, namely, despair and presumption: (1864) By despair, man ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Despair is contrary to God’s goodness, to his justice—for the Lord is faithful to his promises—and to his mercy.  Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2091

Despair seems to have let go of all hope. Her hands are clenched but holding on to nothing. Her hair is loose. Unfortunately, this picture seems to have been deliberately defaced. The sash from which she hangs is almost totally obliterated, as is her face. What's all too clear, though, it that demon who has come to snatch her immediately to hell. Even though he has been partially damaged, there is no mistaking his malice. Look at that claw in her hair.

The visible part of the inscription reads:

Instar cordis desperati Sathan ducta suffocati/Et gehenne sic dampnati tenet haec figura.

My friend, Paul Arblaster, translates this as, "This figure holds the image of a desperate heart suffocated by Satan's leadership and so damned to Hell." That is so very sad. 

Most of the people that we know who seem to be despairing, and even those who commit suicide, are not really committing the sin of despair, which, as the definition says, is a very deliberate choice. They are suffering from that anxiety that the quote describes. Still, every once in a great while, I have met someone who is deliberately rejecting hope--almost setting up their own sins as idols. It's chilling.

Instead of posting about Charity next, I'm going to change my usual order and post on Envy next. Envy is very nasty indeed, and I don't want to end on that note, and I also wanted to save the best for last.

AMDG

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Hope

Spes

. . . a Divine virtue by which we confidently expect, with God's help, to reach eternal felicity as well as to have at our disposal the means of securing it. It is said to be Divine not merely because its immediate object is God, but also because of the special manner of its origin. Hope, such as we are here contemplating, is an infused virtue; ie., it is not, like good habits in general, the outcome of repeated acts or the product of our own industry. Like supernatural faith and charity it is directly implanted in the soul by Almighty God. Catholic Encyclopedia

The entire life of a good Christian is in fact an exercise of holy desire. You do not yet see what you long for, but the very act of desiring prepares you, so that when he comes you may see and be utterly satisfied. Tractates on the first letter of John ( Tract r: PL 35, 2008-9) Augustine

A day...an hour...and we shall have reached the port! My God, what shall we see then? What is that life which will never have an end?...Jesus will be the Soul of our soul. Unfathomable mystery! "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man what great things God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9). And this will all come soon - yes, very soon, if we ardently love Jesus. St. Therese, VI Letter to Her Sister Celine

At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in. The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis

Nothing complicated here. Here we see Hope, reaching heavenward, eyes wide opened and focused intensely on her goal. Everything flies heavenward, even her hair and peplum. She has no attachment to the things of this earth. She wears no earthly head covering, but reaches for the crown of glory. 

And look at this angel.

Look at the tender and welcoming expression on the angel's face. 

The inscription reads:

Spe depicta sub figura hoc signature quod mens pura, Spe fulcita non clausura terrenorum clauditur. Sed a Christo coronanda sursum volat sic reanda. Et in celis sublimanda fore firma redditur.

Or at least that's what the books say it says, and I think a couple of the words must be wrong, the first being fulcita which I cannot find anywhere, and which I can't even see in enlargements, and the second being reanda. I'm pretty sure the r is a b and the end of the word doesn't look right either. So this is my best (clunky) guess.

Hope depicted by this figure will be the sign of a pure mind, Hope ??? not confined by earthly cloister, but she will be crowned by Christ, she flies upward and so is blessed, and having been raised to Heaven she will be rewarded.

AMDG

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Infidelity

Infidelitas

And Judah was taken into exile because of their unfaithfulness. I Chronicles 9:1

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them! Psalm 135:15-18

This saying is trustworthy: If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:11-13

[S]in frequently manifests itself in the history of Israel, especially as infidelity to the God of the Covenant and as transgression of the Law of Moses. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 401

Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, "You cannot serve God and mammon."44 Many martyrs died for not adoring "the Beast"45 refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2113

When I first looked at this picture of Infidelity, I thought it was a man holding up his mistress, but as I read a few things--links below--I realized that it very well might be a woman, although there is some disagreement there, and that she is holding an idol. The very few words of the inscription that survive support this, Infidelis claudicat /ydola..../spernit qui se predicat/visu tradit ydolatria.... The best I can figure out is, Infidelity limps/idol..../he rejects that which is proclaimed/he surrenders vision for idolatry. It has been quite a while since I have studied Latin and I was never very advanced, so this may be less than perfect. I've written someone to ask for help, so if he writes back and says it's wrong. I'll update the post. 

Rough as that translation may be, however, and abbreviated as the inscription is, it goes a long way toward explaining the image. Infidelity is certainly holding an idol, which controls her with a rope tied around the idolater's neck. This is a great image. It perfectly portrays our relationships with whatever idols, large or small, have a hold on us. Above her head, we see a figure, perhaps a prophet, some suggest, or perhaps God the Father, Himself, handing down some message. Perhaps it is the First Commandment. 

Unfortunately, Infidelity cannot see this messenger because she is wearing a helmet that blocks her vision of all that is above. I find this helmet very curious. I looks Asian to me, so I went looking for pictures of 14th century Asian helmets, and found some that were similar. I also found that there is a book called, Giotto and the Influences of the Mongols and the Chinese on His Art by Hidemichi Tanaki, so maybe it is Asian. I also found some pictures of Crusader helmets that looked similar.

Giving the idol a sideways glance, her right eye, at least, is actually closed, as she blinds herself to truth of her bondage. At first, I thought that the left eye was clearly open, but the more I look at it, the more I think that it is closed and just looks open because of some damage. There have been restorations since these pictures were taken, and even in the pictures of the restoration, here, I still can't really tell. Sometimes I feel like David Hemmings in Blow-Up.

And what to make of that left hand lifting the hem of that garment? She does so to reveal her foot, the limping one, I suppose, which looks blackened and perhaps has been withdrawn from the flames that rise up under the idol-the flames of hell, one would imagine.

The way that I write these posts is that I look at the images several times at different magnifications until I see everything I can. By that time, I'm pretty sure what I want to write, but if I have any questions, I look around to see what other people have written--of which precious little is available online. I'm sure I could find more if I had access to a library, but I don't. These are the websites that I have used. 

The Web Gallery of Art - This has been my main resource. It's where I found the pictures, and you can see them there at larger magnifications.

The Scrovegni Chapel and the Frescoes Painted by Giotto Therein by Andrea Moschetti - mostly useful for the inscriptions

Art and Critique - just a person like me, apparently, and unfortunately, because there is a lot of interesting stuff there, the blog seems to be defunct.

Giotto and his works in Padua...by John Ruskin

gettyimages - This is where you can see the restored images.

AMDG,

Janet

P.S. If you haven't see the detail pictures from Faith, you might want to take a look at them.

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Faith

Fides 

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen Because of it the ancients were well attested.By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. Hebrews 11:1-3

But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6

Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith “man freely commits his entire self to God.” For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God’s will. “The righteous shall live by faith.” Living faith “work[s] through charity.”* Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1814, * Rom 1:17; Gal 5:6

The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it: “All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks.”82 Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: “So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”* Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1816 * Mt 10:32-33

But you, beloved, who possess this faith, or who have begun now newly to have it, let it be nourished and increase in you. For as things temporal have come, so long before foretold, so will things eternal also come, which are promised. Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen, 11, Augustine of Hippo

Faith stands straight and clear-eyed, and watched over by two angels. On her head she wears some kind of hat or crown that is reminiscent of a church spire--she is found under or within the Church. In her left hand she holds a scroll, I wish that I could find an image where the text was big enough to read, but I can't. John Ruskin, who wrote about the chapel, says it is the Apostle's Creed. On her left breast, there appears to be some sort of badge. It looks to me as if it might be some kind of  Dominican cross, or perhaps it is a guild badge. Her garment seems to be torn in places, as though she has been under some sort of attack. In her right hand she bears a cross atop a staff that is resting on some debris, which on closer inspection is a shattered body, the face of which looks like it might be a demon, or perhaps it is a heretic. Her left foot stand upon some books which are presumably false doctrine. They appear to have evil faces on them. She stands on a rock, no tilting floor for her. There is an inscription, but it has been almost completely obliterated. 

Faith is the first of the theological virtues. The cardinal virtues are the virtues of natural men. They are habits which can be practiced and strengthened by our efforts alone. The theological virtues are infused by God. They, . . . 

adapt man’s faculties for participation in the divine nature: for the theological virtues relate directly to God. They dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive, and object. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1812

AMDG 

Giotto: Hats

I haven't been writing the past few days because I hurt my right shoulder and left elbow and needed to give them some rest.

Since I've been taking a short break, and since we are at a natural stopping place between the cardinal and theological virtues, I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk about the headgear, or lack of that we've seen in frescoes so far. There's a wide variety of hats and hair and each one speaks to its particular vice or virtue.

Justice wears a crown, a symbol of her authority, and a royal authority, and in the Middle Ages, there was a belief that royal authority was given by God.

I don't know if Injustice's hat has any significance, but it is similar to those worn by these 14th century notaries,

and this detail of a painting of a village lawyer by Breughel the Younger.

Temperance's head covering is, well, temperate. It's modest and serves its purpose appropriately.

Wrath wears no head covering at all. She submits to no authority and her hair is loose and uncontrolled.

As mentioned before, Fortitude wears the head of a lion, a symbol of strength and courage.

While Inconstancy, like Wrath is bare-headed, no covering, no plan.

Prudence's hat is all business. It's tied on to make sure it stays in place.

And Foolishness wears the silliest hat of all, a crown made of feathers and bells instead of gold and jewels. 

All of this is my own best guess. I'm not in any way an expert on the subject, and there may be much more in the frescoes than I'm capable of ferreting out. It's wonderful, though, how Giotto seems to take every last detail into consideration, and how the more you look at his images, the more you can see.

AMDG

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Foolishness

Stultitia

The shrewd always act prudently but the foolish parade folly.Proverbs 13:16

The tongue of the wise pours out knowledge, but the mouth of fools spews folly. Proverbs 15:2

A wise heart accepts commands, but a babbling fool will be overthrown.Proverbs 10:8

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Their deeds are loathsome and corrupt; not one does what is good. Psalm 14:1

What, you may ask, is this all about? At first glance this fool looks almost like a parody of an American Indian, but that would be impossible in the 14th century. Bearing a large club, he (she?) is crowned with feathers and bells. There are bells? tied around his waist; the sleeves of his tunic look like little wings; and the hem of his tunic resembles a bird's tail. He looks almost as if he might drop that club on his own head. This would make sense because the fool is his own worst enemy. The opposite of Prudence in Giotto's estimation, he never counts the cost or prepares for the future. I see in Strong's Concordance that the Greek word for folly or foolishness is  ἄνοια, literally, without a mind.

As you can see, all of the quotes are from Proverbs and Psalms. Most of the discussion about foolishness in scripture and in the Fathers is about how the wisdom of Christ seems like foolishness to the world, so isn't quite applicable here.

So that wraps up the cardinal virtues. They are excellent and necessary, but even when practiced perfectly, they can result in a cold, loveless world without faith, hope and charity. You can see that at work in ancient civilizations, and you can see it in some areas of modern life, although our current culture seems to be abandoning even the cardinal virtues--prudence most assuredly. 

AMDG

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Prudence

Prudentia

Home and possessions are an inheritance from parents, but a prudent wife is from the LORD. Proverbs 19:14

I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence, and useful knowledge I have. Proberbs 8:12

[Prudence is] an intellectual habit enabling us to see in any given juncture of human affairs what is virtuous and what is not, and how to come at the one and avoid the other. It is to be observed that prudence, whilst possessing in some sort an empire over all the moral virtues, itself aims to perfect not the will but the intellect in its practical decisions. Its function is to point out which course of action is to be taken in any round of concrete circumstances. It indicates which, here and now, is the golden mean wherein the essence of all virtue lies. It has nothing to do with directly willing the good it discerns. That is done by the particular moral virtue within whose province it falls. Prudence, therefore, has a directive capacity with regard to the other virtues. It lights the way and measures the arena for their exercise. The insight it confers makes one distinguish successfully between their mere semblance and their reality. It must preside over the eliciting of all acts proper to any one of them at least if they be taken in their formal sense. Catholic Encyclopedia

[P]rudence is love distinguishing with sagacity between what hinders it and what helps it...prudence is love making a right distinction between what helps it towards God and what might hinder it. On the Morals of the Catholic Church, Chapter 15, St. Augustine

Seated at her desk, Prudence resembles nothing so much as the head clerk in an accounting house. She has a very no-nonsense look about her. Pen in hand, she notes all the facts, all the details and takes them into consideration. She looks in a mirror, even perhaps taking her own motivation into account. 

Prudence is the moderator over all the other virtues. She judges the positive and negative aspects of all situations and decides whether or not any given action is wise at any given time. She doesn't provide the will to accomplish these actions, but she uses the intellect to make the best decision. I wrote in the post on temperance that even our virtues can become disordered. It's temperance that strengthens our will against this disorder, but it's prudence that informs the will that it is disorder.

So far, I have written about Justice, Temperance, Fortitude and Prudence, the four cardinal virtues. These are all virtues that would have been recognized and commended by the pagans. After the post about Prudence's opposite number, we will move on to the theological virtues.

AMDG

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Inconstancy

Inconstancia

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind. Therefore let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is inconstant in all his ways James 1:6-8

Inconstancy denotes withdrawal from a definite good purpose. Now the origin of this withdrawal is in the appetite, for a man does not withdraw from a previous good purpose, except on account of something being inordinately pleasing to him: nor is this withdrawal completed except through a defect of reason, which is deceived in rejecting what before it had rightly accepted. Thomas Aquinas, Summa, ii-ii, q. 53, a. 5

This image of Inconstancy beautifully portrays the one that is "moved and carried about the wind." She is completely unbalanced. It makes me a bit queasy to look at her. The garment around her waist is blown up into the air. She perches precariously on some sort of wheel and even the floor beneath her is rolling like a wave of the sea. 

I'm wondering if that wheel represents the Wheel of Fortune, that medieval concept in which Fortune blindly spins her wheel, and he that is king today becomes a slave tomorrow, and vice versa.

The faith of the inconstant man reels under the vicissitudes of life. When things are going well, he makes resolutions and keeps them, but when troubles come he loses his balance, his resolution fails.

As you can see, I had a very difficult time finding any references to inconstancy. There were plenty of passages that used the word as an adjective, but nothing much that described what inconstancy is. The only exception is the above answer to a question in the Summa where Thomas argues that Inconstancy is not a vice that opposes Fortitude, (as in this series from Giotto) but one which opposes Prudence. 

AMDG

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Fortitudo

Fortitudo

The glory of fortitude, therefore, does not rest only on the strength of one's body or of one's arms, but rather on the courage of the mind....And in very truth, rightly is that called fortitude, when a man conquers himself, restrains his anger, yields and gives way to no allurements, is not put out by misfortunes, nor gets elated by good success, and does not get carried away by every varying change as by some chance wind. But what is more noble and splendid than to train the mind, keep down the flesh, and reduce it to subjection, so that it may obey commands, listen to reason, and in undergoing labours readily carry out the intention and wish of the mind?      St. Ambrose On the Duties of the Clergy, Chapter XXXVI

Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. "The Lord is my strength and my song." "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1808

But if, on the one hand, we are enduring affliction, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if, on the other hand, we are receiving comfort, it is for your comfort which is produced within you through your patient fortitude under the same sufferings as those which we also are enduring. 2 Corinthians 1:6

This is one of my favorite pictures of the virtues. There is so much to see. Fortitude is shown standing steadfastly in the breech. I've read descriptions of her face that I don't really agree with. What I see is someone who doesn't know for sure if she will be able to survive the onslaught, but who is willing to hold out until her last breath. She stands behind her shield which bears the form of a lion, the symbol of courage--the Lion of Judah? The shield already bears the points of at least three broken spears, one of which is lodged in the neck of the lion. Not only is she shielded by a lion, she wears a lion's pelt with the head as a hood and the paws tied around her neck and waist. She also is wearing a breastplate. In her left hand she holds a weapon that confused me at first. I could not imagine why a weapon would be shaped that way, and I spent some time looking at pictures of 14th century weapons to see if I could find anything like it. A few minutes ago, it dawned on me that it is probably a broken sword.

The Church Fathers talk about the virtue of fortitude both as a physical virtue--fortitude in battle--and as a spiritual virtue--fortitude in fighting temptation. In his fresco, Giotto seems to capture both aspects of the virtue. The figure certainly has real concrete enemies. Then again, her battle garb reminds me forcibly of Ephesians 6.

Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

AMDG 

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Wrath

Ira

Does anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD? Can one refuse mercy to a sinner like oneself, yet seek pardon for one’s own sins? If a mere mortal cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins? Remember your last days and set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin! Sirach 28:3-6

Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20

If we chance to be among heathens, let us thus stop their mouths. without wrath, without harshness. For if we do it with wrath, it no longer seems to be the boldness (of one who is confident of his cause,) but passion: but if with gentleness, this is boldness indeed. For in one and the same thing success and failure cannot possibly go together. The boldness is a success: the anger is a failure. Therefore, if we are to have boldness, we must be clean from wrath that none may impute our words to that. . . . Let us then be clean from wrath. The Holy Spirit dwells not where wrath is: cursed is the wrathful. It cannot be that anything wholesome should approach, where wrath goes forth. For as in a storm at sea, great is the tumult, loud the clamor, and then would be no time for lessons of wisdom: so neither in wrath. John Chrysostom, Homily 17 on Acts of the Apostles

We've seen this bared chest before. But while Caiaphas was smug and the angel was anguished, this woman is just angry. Head thrown back, hair let down, a kind of maniacal gleam in her eyes, she is out of control. Unlike her opposite number, Temperance, she is unbridled. 

                 

In the list of capital sins that is commonly used today, we use the word anger  instead of wrath, but wrath is not quite the same as anger. It is anger multiplied and it wants to exact punishment. 

It was hard to find scriptures and quotes about wrath as a vice. In the scripture, the word wrath is used almost exclusively for the wrath of God; most of the Church Fathers, when they discuss wrath, are talking about the wrath of God; and the wrath of God is always a response to sin or evil. The wrath of man is, in a way, its own punishment. The wrathful man, says St. John Chrysostom is cursed--nothing wholesome will approach him.

AMDG

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Temperance

Temperentia 

Temperance is here considered as one of the four cardinal virtues. It may be defined as the righteous habit which makes a man govern his natural appetite for pleasures of the senses in accordance with the norm prescribed by reason. In one sense temperance may be regarded as a characteristic of all the moral virtues; the moderation it enjoins is central to each of them. It is also according to St. Thomas (II-II:141:2) a special virtue. Thus, it is the virtue which bridles concupiscence or which controls the yearning for pleasures and delights which most powerfully attract the human heart. Catholic Encyclopedia

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 2 Peter 4:1-9

First, then, let us consider temperance, which promises us a kind of integrity and incorruption in the love by which we are united to God. The office of temperance is in restraining and quieting the passions which make us pant for those things which turn us away from the laws of God and from the enjoyment of His goodness, that is, in a word, from the happy life. Augustine, Of the Morals of the Catholic Church, chapter 19

Temperance may be the least valued of the virtues. On the face of it, it might seem rather dull. When Shakespeare wrote, "Thou art more temperate and more lovely," I can't imagine his beloved saying, "Oh thank you! I've always wanted someone to notice how temperate I am!"  It's not active, doesn't require great deeds, but rather, the strength to not act when our passions are inciting us to imprudent or sinful action. Without temperance even our virtues can become disordered. We give to those who would be better off without what we're giving. Our mercy is channeled in the wrong direction. Our charity becomes obsession.

Giotto's Temperance has a quiet and peaceful sturdiness. She has an almost shrewd expression, as though she is carefully calculating the wisdom of some considered course. As I looked closely at her face, I thought, "What is going on around her mouth?" If you go to the Web Gallery of Art and enlarge her picture, you can see that her mouth is bound in some way. It reminds me of Psalm 141, "Set a guard, LORD, before my mouth, keep watch over the door of my lips" On the Getty Images site, this is described as a bridle, and I think that must be it. Temperance bridles her tongue, exhibiting a wisdom which our world desperately needs. A wisdom that I desperately need. She has a sword, and she will use it, but it, too, is bound. No hasty slicing off the soldier's ear for her. She weighs the result of her deeds.

The inscription below her feet is all but obliterated. The only word I can make out is Temperentia, but maybe that's all we need.

AMDG

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices - Injustice

Injusticia 

 Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail.              Proverbs 22:8

I answer that Injustice is twofold. First there is illegal injustice which is opposed to legal justice: and this is essentially a special vice, in so far as it regards a special object, namely the common good which it contemns; and yet it is a general vice, as regards the intention, since contempt of the common good may lead to all kinds of sin. Thus too all vices, as being repugnant to the common good, have the character of injustice, as though they arose from injustice, in accord with what has been said above about justice (58, 5,6). Secondly we speak of injustice in reference to an inequality between one person and another, when one man wishes to have more goods, riches for example, or honors, and less evils, such as toil and losses, and thus injustice has a special matter and is a particular vice opposed to particular justice. Summa 2nd part of the 2nd part, q 59

The acceptance by human society of murderous famines, without efforts to remedy them, is a scandalous injustice and a grave offense. Those whose usurious and avaricious dealings lead to the hunger and death of their brethren in the human family indirectly commit homicide, which is imputable to them. Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2269. 

Injustice also sits in the seat of authority, but there are no scales to balance his judgement. The vicious hook and barbs of his staff are echoed in his fingernails, and even in the cracks in the wall, bringing to mind our idiom, "He had his hooks in him." He appears to me to have a tusk. In his left hand he grips a sword. His eyes looked strange to me and this author says they are covered--I believe they are shut. It's interesting that contrary to our saying that Justice is blind, Giotto depicts Injustice as blind. The above author also mentions that the Virtues look at us, while the Vices avert their gaze, and that Injustice is the only clearly defined male in this series of frescos. I had noticed that some of the figures were definitely female, and some questionable. 

Below this tyrant, the scene is very different scene from that which flourishes beneath the throne of Justice. Rape, pillage and murder hold sway here. The weak have no protection from the strong. Unfortunately, the inscription is all but erased. 

I put that last quote about usurious and avaricious dealings there for a reason which will be clear later in this series of posts.

AMDG

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices - Justice

This is a model of the chapel which was exhibited
at Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv

 Along the sides of the bottom register of the Scrovegni Chapel there is a series of fourteen grisaille figures which represent the seven virtues and the seven vices. From left to right in this picture, you can see Charity, Hope, Desperation, and Envy. Note that the virtues are on the right hand side of Christ in the depiction of the Last Judgement on the far wall, and the vices are on the left. I chose to use this picture of a life size model because you can see the pictures more clearly than in pictures of the actual chapel.

I had originally planned on writing about a different virtue or vice every day for fourteen days, but as soon as I started looking at the picture below, I realized it was going to take longer than that, so I'll probably post one every few days.

Justicia

 Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and enter the land which the Lord your God gives you. Dueteronomy 16:20

Justice is here taken in its ordinary and proper sense to signify the most important of the cardinal virtues. It is a moral quality or habit which perfects the will and inclines it to render to each and to all what belongs to them....Together with charity it regulates man's intercourse with his fellow men. But charity leads us to help our neighbour in his need out of our own stores, while justice teaches us to give to another what belongs to him.  From the Catholic Encyclopedia

...justice is love serving God only, and therefore ruling well all else...On the Morals of the Catholic Church, Chapter 15,St. Augustine

Giotto depicts Justice, "the most important of the cardinal virtues," wearing a crown which signifies her authority. She looks as if she were enthroned. Although we cannot see any kind of elaborate throne, any chair in the 14th century would have belonged to someone in authority. She balances the scales in her hands. According to this author, the figures in the scales are clemency and punishment, and that seems to be correct. Note that clemency is on her right hand. Each is exercising his role upon a person on the ledge on either side of justice. Unfortunately, the side figures have been damaged and we cannot see who they are or what they are doing. Beneath her feet, we see the result of her administration, people going about their business in peace, a safe home, people dancing!

In the bottom register of the picture there is a Latin inscription:

Equa lance cuncta librat/ perfecta justicia/coronando bono vibrat/ensem contra vicia/cuncta gaudent libertate/ipsa si regnaverit/agit cun iocunditate/quisque quidquid volvert/miles propter hanc venatur/ comitatur truditur/mercatores iam proditur

At least that is what Andrea Moschetti thinks it says. I don't see it exactly that way and other authors give a slightly different version. I can't translate this myself--I tried and it is way beyond my abilities--and I can't find a translation. If anyone else knows what it says, please tell me. I think it has something to do with perfect justice, crowned with good, brandishing a lance that frees all and all rejoice to be free. Something about she so reigns and somebody thanks with laughter and everyone turns and a soldier and merchants. Not very helpful, but I think it has something to do with the scene above. But the important thing is that Justice is in aid of a good life.

Ah! Now my daughter tells me that the first part is right, and the last part says something like,  "whatever you wish the soldier hunts on account of this and merchants are unmasked."

If you go to the Web Gallery of Art, you can see the fresco in much greater detail.

AMDG