Re: Temperance
Posted: 06 Sep 2013, 18:31
The unusual depiction of Temperance in the Catania cards may have been inspired by Psalm 41 (42 in Prostestant Bibles) -
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
In Latin -
Quemadmodum desiderat cervus ad fontes aquarum, ita desiderat anima me ad te Deus
Note the "fontes aquarum", which might have been enough to suggest this rather unique depiction of the virtue. The "cervus" is a metaphor for the soul (anima), which is perhaps then personfied by the nude pouring water.
Searching for "temperanza cervo" and "temperance deer" led me to a page with a description of Catholic symbolism for animals -
"STAG/HART/DEER/HIND: Piety.Faithful Christian longing for God. Christ the Savior. The stag takes its symbolic significance from Psalm 41:1: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Thus, the stag has come to typify piety and religious aspiration. Similarly, because the stag seeks freedom and refuge in the high mountains, it has been used to symbolize the solitude and purity of life."
http://www.catholictradition.org/Saints/signs1.htm
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
In Latin -
Quemadmodum desiderat cervus ad fontes aquarum, ita desiderat anima me ad te Deus
Note the "fontes aquarum", which might have been enough to suggest this rather unique depiction of the virtue. The "cervus" is a metaphor for the soul (anima), which is perhaps then personfied by the nude pouring water.
Searching for "temperanza cervo" and "temperance deer" led me to a page with a description of Catholic symbolism for animals -
"STAG/HART/DEER/HIND: Piety.Faithful Christian longing for God. Christ the Savior. The stag takes its symbolic significance from Psalm 41:1: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Thus, the stag has come to typify piety and religious aspiration. Similarly, because the stag seeks freedom and refuge in the high mountains, it has been used to symbolize the solitude and purity of life."
http://www.catholictradition.org/Saints/signs1.htm