Why ‘seven’, why ‘liberal’, why ‘arts’?

We have briefly introduced this subject in an earlier edition of The Square Magazine [linked below] but it is something that is equally important to the modern Mason as it was to those in antiquity.

What many people do not realise that instead of the liberal arts being only for the elite or wealthy, they are areas of study that we can apply in our every day life.

To keep things simple, we have found three very useful videos presented by Dr Christopher Perrin on the Classical Academic Press YouTube channel [linked below].

What we know as the liberal arts (artes liberales) date back over two thousand years, to classical antiquity.

In ancient Greece, free men were expected to have at least a basic education in the study of humanities, mathematics and science.

The women were taught more physical pursuits such as dancing, singing and playing musical instruments – it was believed that these arts complemented the more logical, scientific side of the male learnings.  

Later, in the Middle Ages, these teachings became more widely known as the ‘Seven Liberal Arts’ (septem artes liberales) being:

Grammar

Logic

Rhetoric

Arithmetic

Geometry

Astronomy

Music

A useful mnemonic to remember the arts was devised (of which there are several versions):

Lingua, tropus, ratio, numerus, tonus, angulus, astra.

Gram. loquiter, Dia. vera docet, Rhe. verba colorat

Mu. canit, Ar. numerat, Geo. ponderat, Ast. colit astra.

Grammar talks, Dialectic teaches truth, Rhetoric colours words,

Music sings, Arithmetic numbers, Geometry weighs, Astronomy tends the stars.

Today, educational institutes still teach a Liberal Arts Education which is defined as:

‘the traditional academic program in Western higher education. Liberal arts generally covers three areas: sciences, arts, and humanities. Its central academic disciplines include philosophy, logic, linguistics, literature, history, political science, sociology, and psychology. Liberal arts education can refer to studies in a liberal arts degree program or to a university education more generally. Such a course of study contrasts with those that are principally vocational, professional, or technical.’

– Wikipedia

Why ‘seven’ ?

By Herrad of Landsberg – Hortus deliciarum,

IMAGE LINKED:  wikimedia Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

The image ‘Philosophy and seven liberal arts’ represents the circle of philosophy, and is presented as a rosette of a cathedral: a central circle and a series of semicircles arranged all around.

It shows learning and knowledge organised into seven relations, the Septem Artes Liberales or Seven Liberal Arts.

Each of these arts find their source in the Greek φιλοσοφία, philosophia, literally ‘love of wisdom’.

St. Albert the Great, a doctor of the Catholic Church, asserted that the seven liberal arts were referred to in Sacred Scripture, saying:

‘It is written, “Wisdom hath built herself a house, she hath hewn her out seven pillars” (Proverbs 9:1). This house is the Blessed Virgin; the seven pillars are the seven liberal arts’.

– Wikipedia

What are the Seven Liberal Arts?

Why ‘liberal’?

Now, why ‘liberal’? It is not quite what we would expect from today’s usage of the word ‘liberal’ within politics. It begins with tree bark…

Why ‘arts’?

When we think of an ‘art’ we think of things that are creative or ‘made’. But the root of the terminology is somewhat more complex…

We hope that has given you an idea of what the seven liberal arts are.

This is just the beginning of a series of articles that will help you make an advancement in your Masonic knowledge, for use in every day life.

All videos are featured on the Classical Academic Press YouTube channel.