The Virtues and Vices in the Arts

The seven deadly sins are pride, envy, anger, sloth, gluttony, greed, and lust. The seven virtues are prudence, fortitude, temperance, justice, faith, hope, and love. This book brings all of them together and for the first time lays out their history in a collection of the most important philosophical, religious, literary, and art-historical works. Starting with the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian antecedents, this anthology of source documents traces the virtues-and-vices tradition through its cultural apex during the medieval era and then into their continued development and transformation from the Renaissance to the present. This anthology includes excerpts of Plato's Republic, the Bible, Dante's Purgatorio, and the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche and C. S. Lewis. Also included are artworks from medieval manuscripts; paintings by Giotto, Veronese, and Paul Cadmus; prints by Brueghel; and a photograph by Oscar Rejlander. What these works show is the vitality and richness of the virtues and vices in the arts from their origins to the present. You can continue this book's conversation by visiting http://www.virtuesvicesinthearts.blogspot.com/. There you can join conversations, find out more, and meet other scholars and artists interested in this vibrant tradition. ""Shawn Tucker demonstrates how the concepts of virtue and vice are not only very relevant to contemporary Western culture but have a comprehensive, fluid, and contested history in art and literature. This interdisciplinary study of these core cultural concepts, and a serious inquiry into what behavior we sanction and what behavior we condemn, is a welcome addition to the study of humanities. Tucker's lively introductions are especially effective at linking ancient texts and artistic works to modern ones, with generous nods to contemporary music, television, and cultural phenomenon such as fad diets and Christian rock."" --Lee Ann Elliott Westman, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas ""This anthology is destined to become a standard sourcebook for all things related to virtue and vice. Suitable for classroom adoption, its selections have been thoughtfully chosen and well researched. Each reading is accompanied by introductory matter explaining why each text or painting is important and how it adds to our understanding of this newly reenergized area for scholarly investigation and pop-cultural obsession. The sheer quantity of materials from a wide variety of sources bears testimony to the fact that the virtues and vices still exert an irresistible force over our collective imaginations."" --Hilaire Kallendorf, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX ""Tucker puts excerpts from philosophical treatises into conversation with religious and literary compositions. Even more interesting, he draws on key artistic works, paintings, and sculpture, allowing the reader to imagine other ways to think about ethical problems. With a useful and accessible introduction, not to mention shorter introductions for each reading, Tucker has constructed an excellent sourcebook for any undergraduate class touching on the history of ethics in the Western tradition."" --Dallas G. Denery II, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME ""Shawn R. Tucker's well-conceived sourcebook on The Virtues and the Vices in the Arts fills an important niche, and will be especially helpful for students just embarking on their study of the art and literature of European civilization. It represents a very useful compilation of key texts and illustrative artworks that document the historical conversation and debate about the moral life that has shaped the different cultures springing from Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian antiquity."" --Dwight