GIVING
Illustration★★★★In the Tate Gallery in London there is a famous painting by Watts entitled “Sic Transit Gloria.” It is just the body of a man stretched on a bier, with a robe thrown over it. As one looks at it he notices the little touches the artist has given it. There is a half-open book.
The man must have been a lover of literature. The lyre near by tells us he loved music and was charmed by it. The sword and ermine robe show us that he was a warrior and a statesman. The feather of a peacock hints at the lighter side of life, vanity and romance.
On the edge of the canvas the artist has inscribed these words, letting the man tell us what he has learned too late: “What I spent I had; what I saved I lost; what I gave I have.”
Freperick.
The point
A famous painting of a dead man surrounded by symbols of his wealth, culture, and vanity bears the inscription 'What I spent I had; what I saved I lost; what I gave I have,' teaching that only generosity outlasts death.