Raymond Hain, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Providence College, explores the connections between beauty, art, and faith. He discusses how a Caravaggio painting invites contemplation on beauty's role in salvation. Delving into medieval thought, Hain highlights St. Thomas Aquinas's views on beauty as essential to joy. The tension between poetry and philosophy is examined, along with J.R.R. Tolkien's concept of 'sub-creation.' Ultimately, he presents beauty as a vital link to the divine and essential for a fulfilling life.
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Art vs. Sacrament
Crowds gather before Caravaggio's painting in San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, but few attend the Blessed Sacrament.
This highlights the potential rivalry between aesthetic appreciation (poetry) and spiritual devotion (saintly soul).
insights INSIGHT
Transcendentals
Transcendentals are universal characteristics of all existing things, according to Aquinas.
These include goodness (correspondence to appetite) and truth (correspondence to knowing power).
insights INSIGHT
Beauty as a Transcendental
Beauty wasn't initially included in medieval lists of transcendentals, unlike truth and goodness.
Maritain, influenced by Plato, established beauty as a transcendental combining truth and goodness, giving joy in knowledge.
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Njáls Saga is one of the longest and most highly developed of the Icelandic sagas. It recounts the lives of Icelandic families, focusing on the friendship between Njáll, a wise and legally astute farmer with prophetic abilities, and Gunnar, a brave warrior. The saga explores themes of blood feuds, legal disputes, and the inevitability of fate, culminating in the tragic deaths of the main characters. The work is considered a peak of the saga tradition and provides a comprehensive picture of Icelandic life during the heroic age[1][3][4].
Saga of the Volsungs
Saga of the Volsungs
William Morris
Eiríkr Magnússon
Kristin Lavransdatter
Sigrid Undset
The 'Kristin Lavransdatter' trilogy, consisting of 'The Bridal Wreath' (Kransen), 'The Mistress of Husaby' (Husfrue), and 'The Cross' (Korset), tells the story of Kristin Lavransdatter. The narrative begins with Kristin's childhood, her deep devotion to her father, and her eventual defiance of her parents to pursue her love for the charming but impetuous Erlend Nikulaussøn. The trilogy follows their tumultuous marriage, their life together raising seven sons, and the challenges they face amidst the social, political, and religious backdrop of 14th-century Norway. The series is known for its richly detailed portrayal of the period and its exploration of themes such as love, morality, and faith.
The Clouds
William James Hickie
Aristophanes
Art and scholasticism
Art and scholasticism
Jacques Maritain
Jacques Maritain's "Art and Scholasticism" is a seminal work in Catholic aesthetics, exploring the relationship between art, philosophy, and theology. Maritain synthesizes scholastic thought with modern artistic sensibilities, arguing for the inherent goodness and truth in art. The book examines the nature of beauty, creativity, and the artist's role in society. It emphasizes the importance of art as a means of expressing and experiencing the transcendent. Maritain's work has had a lasting impact on Catholic intellectual life and artistic practice.
The Republic
Plato
The Interior castle
St Teresa of Avila
Summa theologica
Thomas Aquinas
The Summa Theologica is a comprehensive work divided into three parts. The first part deals with God, the creation of the world, angels, and the nature of man. The second part is subdivided into two sections: the first part of the second part discusses general principles of morality and law, while the second part of the second part addresses morality in particular, including individual virtues and vices. The third part, left unfinished by Aquinas, focuses on the person and work of Christ and the sacraments. The work also includes a posthumous supplement that concludes the third part and discusses Christian eschatology. Aquinas drew on Aristotelian and Augustinian influences and aimed to integrate faith and reason in his theological arguments[1][2][4].
Leaf by Niggle
J. R. R. Tolkien
Written in 1938-39 and first published in the 'Dublin Review' in January 1945, 'Leaf by Niggle' is an allegorical tale that reflects Tolkien's own creative process and life. The story follows Niggle, a painter who is obsessed with painting a perfect tree but is constantly interrupted by his obligations. When Niggle is forced to take a journey, he finds himself in a bureaucratic purgatory and eventually discovers his tree in a more perfect form in an afterlife. The narrative is a profound exploration of divine creation, human sub-creation, and the journey of life and death[2][4][5].
This lecture was given on April 11th, 2024, at University of North Texas.
Raymond Hain is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of the Humanities Program at Providence College in Providence, RI. Educated at Christendom College, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Oxford, he is the founder of the PC Humanities Forum and Humanities Reading Seminars and is responsible for the strategic development of the Humanities Program into a vibrant, world class center of teaching, research, and cultural life dedicated to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. His scholarly interests include the history of ethics (especially St. Thomas Aquinas), applied ethics (especially medical ethics and the ethics of architecture), Alexis de Tocqueville, and philosophy and literature (especially Catholic aesthetics). His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Templeton Foundation, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Charles Koch Foundation. His essays have appeared in various journals and collections including The Thomist, International Journal of Applied Philosophy, and The Anthem Companion to Tocqueville. He is the editor of Beyond the Self: Virtue Ethics and the Problem of Culture and is currently working on a monograph titled The Lover and the Prophet: An Essay in Catholic Aesthetics. He joined Providence College in 2011 and lives just across the street with his wife Dominique and their five children.
The Thomistic Institute 
