About Minerva:
She was the goddess of war, wisdom, and arts, such as spinning,
weaving, music, and especially of the pipe. In a word, she was patroness of all
those sciences which render men useful to society and themselves, and entitle
them to the esteem of posterity.
She is described by the poets, and
represented by the sculptors and painters in a standing attitude, completely
armed, with a composed but smiling countenance, bearing a golden breast-plate, a
spear in her right hand, and the Aegis in her left, having on it the head of
Medusa, entwined with snakes. Her helmet was usually encompassed with olives, to
denote that peace is the end of war, or rather because that tree was sacred to
her: at her feet is generally placed the owl or the cock, the former being the
emblem of wisdom, and the latter of war.
Minerva represents wisdom, that
is, skilful knowledge joined with discreet practice, and comprehends the
understanding of the noblest arts, the best accomplishments of the mind,
together with all the virtues, but more especially that of chastity. She is said
to be born of Jupiter's brain, because the ingenuity of man did not invent the
useful arts and sciences, which, on the contrary, were derived from the fountain
of all wisdom. She was born armed, because the human soul, fortified with wisdom
and virtue, is invincible; in danger, intrepid; under crosses, unbroken; in
calamities, impregnable.
No comments:
Post a Comment