Big Fish Eat Little Fish

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Big Fish Eat Little Fish (1556) 

The Battle About Money

Pieter van der Heyden, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Battle About Money (c. 1570) 

The Basel Dance of Death 20

Matthäus Merian, The Basel Dance of Death: The Merchant (1616) 

"Sir Merchant, abandon your trade, 
Your time is here, now you must die. 
Death cannot be bribed with money or goods. 
Now dance along in high spirits." 

"I had provided well for my life, 
my chests and boxes were all full. 
Death has despised my wealth, 
and deprived me of life and limb." 

William Hogarth, Industry and Idleness 3

The most unsuitable thoughts can have a way of popping into our heads during the most dignified occasions. For a good number of years, any formal dinner would have me obsessed with watching television, and going to church would make me crave a cigarette. I suspect the sense that I was being "forced" to fulfill some tedious duty was an excuse to stubbornly dwell upon an instant gratification. 

I could also blame the Devil for my temptations, of course, but wherever that itch is coming from, I am the only one who decides if I will scratch it. Why might I call it such a great sacrifice to give an hour to honor my own family, or to praise the Almighty? In the end, our habits won't change if our priorities won't change—the more we choose to value it, the more we will gladly endure to achieve it. 

In other words, when I truly recognize it as a duty, I will no longer consider it to be tedious. 

So Francis prays on a Sunday because he judges his character to be most important. And Tom gambles on a Sunday because he judges his passions to be most important. Given, once again, that they have both been handed the same opportunities, there is no getting around their personal responsibility as the root cause. 

Some of my students have tried to defend Tom, and I an actually quite sympathetic. Perhaps Francis and Tom have different temperaments, or they were raised under different conditions? We all have our peculiar inclinations, and our environment will indeed impose incredible obstacles: could we not show a bit more compassion to Tom, and perhaps teach him gently before callously casting him aside? 

I wholeheartedly agree, for we should offer forgiveness not once, not twice, but seventy by seven times, just as it is only through our own patient understanding that we can inspire others to understand. Nevertheless, there is little to be done for someone who absolutely refuses to be helped, and there is a vast difference between the man who falls down and the man who won't get back up. 

I know the burden of a bad habit all too well, yet I also know the power of a good habit to lighten the load. Despite the inertia, changing the direction of my life begins with a purity of intention, and great oaks from little acorns grow. 

Having been there myself, I do not think it unfair to say that Tom fails to be good because he still doesn't want to be good. 

I do not agree with those who claim there are certain "criminal types" who are beyond any chance of reform, mainly because I do not subscribe to their view of a man as a mere machine. Where there is a good will, my redemption is always possible, but I condemn myself when I obstinately cling to my vices. 

The politicians will blame the economy, and the therapists will blame your mother, and the doctors will try to sell you a little pill. In the meantime, those of common sense will recognize why fiddling with the circumstances is never enough. Ultimately, we will all have to be accountable for ourselves. 

So there can be no doubt concerning the gravity of Tom's choices, Hogarth presents an especially vivid scene. Tom isn't just skipping church, he is gambling. He isn't just gambling, he is cheating at the game of hustle-cap. He isn't just cheating, he is doing so on a tombstone. 

One would think that being surrounded by bones might offer him a clue. . . . 

Proverbs 19:29 

Judgments are prepared for scorners 
and stripes for the back of Fools 

William Hogarth, Industry and Idleness 3: The Idle 'Prentice at Play in the Church Yard, during Divine Service (1747)

 

The Field of the Slain

Evelyn De Morgan, The Field of the Slain (1916) 

The Storm Spirits

Evelyn De Morgan, The Storm Spirits (c. 1900) 

Storm on the Sea 34

Theodore Gudin, Rough Sea at the Entrance to the Port (1839) 

Ruins 24

Heinrich Meichelt, Rötteln Castle Ruins (1827) 

Memento Mori 17

Hermione von Preuschen, Mors Imperator (1887) 

Vanitas 102

Hendrick Andriessen, Vanitas (c. 1640) 

Songs of Innocence 14

Night (1789) 

William Blake (1757-1827) 

The sun descending in the west, 
The evening star does shine; 
The birds are silent in their nest, 
And I must seek for mine. 

The moon, like a flower, 
In heaven's high bower, 
With silent delight 

Sits and smiles on the night. 

Farewell, green fields and happy groves, 
Where flocks have took delight. 
Where lambs have nibbled, silent moves 
The feet of angels bright; 
Unseen they pour blessing, 
And joy without ceasing, 
On each bud and blossom, 
And each sleeping bosom. 

They look in every thoughtless nest, 
Where birds are covered warm; 
They visit caves of every beast, 
To keep them all from harm. 
If they see any weeping 
That should have been sleeping, 
They pour sleep on their head, 
And sit down by their bed. 

When wolves and tigers howl for prey, 
They pitying stand and weep; 
Seeking to drive their thirst away, 
And keep them from the sheep. 
But if they rush dreadful, 
The angels, most heedful, 
Receive each mild spirit, 
New worlds to inherit. 

And there the lion's ruddy eyes 
Shall flow with tears of gold, 
And pitying the tender cries, 
And walking round the fold, 
Saying, "Wrath, by His meekness, 
And, by His health, sickness 
Is driven away 
From our immortal day. 

"And now beside thee, bleating lamb, 
I can lie down and sleep; 
Or think on Him who bore thy name, 
Graze after thee and weep. 
For, washed in life's river, 
My bright mane for ever 
Shall shine like the gold 
As I guard o'er the fold." 

The Continence of Scipio 16

David Allan, The Continence of Scipio (1774) 

Trapped!

Anonymous French, A Courtier Standing Between Covetousness and Dissimulation (c. 1514) 

Jacob's Ladder 12

Frans Francken the Younger, Jacob's Ladder (1574) 

Jacob Wrestling with the Angel 23

Pietro Ricchi, Jacob Struggles with the Angel (c. 1655) 

Netherlandish Proverbs 16

"He has more in him than an empty herring." 

There is more to it than meets the eye. 

The Basel Dance of Death 19

Matthäus Merian, The Basel Dance of Death: The Noblewoman (1616)  

"My lady, cease your grooming, 
You must now dance with me here. 
I care not for your golden hair. 

What do you see in your shining mirror?" 

"Oh trouble and grief, what has become of me? 
Ì have seen Death in the glass. 
His dreadful form has terrified me, 

so that the heart in my body is cold." 

William Hogarth, Industry and Idleness 2

Almost as intense as my youthful aversion to hard work, built upon the false premise that labor existed only for the sake of amassing fortune and fame, was a similar distaste for the task of attending church, built upon the false premise that public worship existed only so that the blowhards could fulfill their quota of prancing about for the week. 

Once again, taking a moment with Hogarth helped me to reconsider my assumptions. Both working and praying become a joy when they are driven by understanding and by love—the problems arise when we work for greed and pray out of vanity. 

For all of my protests, I always knew that piety was a virtue, because I always knew how what is lesser can only be defined through what is greater. My selfishness, however, would keep me from putting this into practice, and there was no easier excuse for being spiritually lazy than pointing my finger at other people. Look at those hypocrites, pretending to be holy while they satisfy their own appetites! 

This does not, of course, disprove the presence of the Divine, and it only shows why we need those graces all the more. If another man is making a mockery of his duties, am I suddenly allowed to abandon my own? Let him have his worldly amusements, and I can still keep my peace of mind—don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. 

Every Sunday, I was furious with the decadent priests at the altar and the sanctimonious scoundrels in the pews, which did everything to damage me and nothing to improve them. God asks for charity from me, and yet that turns out to be the one thing I refuse to give. 

As much as I appreciate a heady theological argument, this simple image does more for me than any string of syllogisms. It is one thing to merely talk about the qualities of a good man, and quite another to show me the example of a good man. 

Francis, accompanied by his master's daughter, is not interested in putting on some holy show, or catching up on the latest gossip. He is just happy to sing from his hymnal, neither putting on airs nor rolling his eyes in boredom. That he is doing so in the company of a nice young lady is not lost on me, a fellow who wasted too many years chasing after girls who could talk the talk, but would never walk the walk. 

In the top right we have the vain woman and the sleeping man, so commonly found in any place of worship. Francis is wise enough not pay them any heed, since the modest task for the day is right before him. 

We can hardly overlook the figure of the pew opener, the old lady who would guide worshippers to their seats. While it is likely that very few have noticed her, it is clear that Hogarth has noticed her, and I would dare to propose that God has also noticed her humble service. 

Prayer is surely not so taxing when it is actually about devotion, and not reduced to a tedious social performance. 

Psalms 119:97 

O! How I love thy Law it is my
meditation all the day. 

William Hogarth, Industry and Idleness 2: The Industrious 'Prentice Performing the Duty of a Christian (1747) 

Aurora Triumphans

Evelyn De Morgan, Aurora Triumphans (c. 1886) 

Night and Sleep

Evelyn De Morgan, Night and Sleep (1878)