Some thoughts on temperance inspired by a student paper on the Faerie Queene , Book 2. The student cited an article linking Guyon’s story with the developing “modern” view of time as a commodity. With the new view of time, temperance began to be linked with self-restraint in time. Instead of a sheathed sword, the hourglass became the new symbol of temperance.
The article argues that Spenser was opposing this development, but I’m not so sure. And, whatever Spenser thought, the link of time and temperance seems more than linguistic. Temperance is not inaction or passivity, certainly not for Spenser. Temperance is instead patience, waiting for the right time to act. That is, temperance is timeliness. When Guyon goes into his frenzy and destroys the Bower of Bliss at the end of the poem, he is not being intemperate but perfectly temperate, because the time has come for just this zeal.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
