Days And Virtues

Expressa igitur congruae collationis imagine, sicut sex diebus, ita sex virtutibus circa piae intentionis opera exercemur, ut post sanctarum vicissitudines actionum in tranquillo caritatis, quasi in vero mentis Sabbato respiremus. Quocirca fidem ponamus diem primum, quo fideles ab infidelibus quasi lux ex tenebris separantur. Spes etiam vicem secundae diei obtineat, per quam hi, quorum conversatio est in coelis, discernuntur ab aliis, qui terrena sapiunt, et liquescentes in seipsis delabuntur et effluunt. Temperantia quasi dies tertius illucescat, in qui membra nostra mortificantes super terram, carnalis concupiscentiae fluxum, quasi aquas amarissimas certis continentiae limitibus coarctamus, ut terra nostri cordis appareat, et sitiens fontem vitae virtutum flores fructusque producat. Prudentia quasi dies quartus faciat scientiae lumen erumpere, ut inter facienda et non facienda discernens dividat inter diem et noctem, quatenus sapientiae lumen, velut solis splendor, effulgeat. Lex vero scientiae spiritualis in quibusdam crescit, et in quibusdam deficit, quasi lunae lux minor appareat. Exemplo etiam praecedentium patrum quasi stellae inter dies et annos mensesque distinguunt: quid videlicet distet inter eos, qui ante legem, et eos qui sub lege, vel qui sub gratia profecerunt: quae cerinomiae, quae praecepta, quae judicia, quae promissa sub quo intellectu nostra salutis conveniant. Fortitudo autem sit dies quintus, per quem in hoc mari magno et spatioso quasi pisces spirituales procellosa fluctuum volumina toleremus, cohibeamus linguae lubricum sub censura silentii, et quasi volatilia pennata, nunc ad coelestia erigamur, nunc autem condescendentes operibus misericordiae, fructus operum  bonorum sub Dei benedictione reddamus. Constituatur denique justitia dies sextus, per quem ad divinam imaginem reformati bestialibus desideriis vitiisque reptilibus imperantes, corpus spiritui, spiritum Deo subjiciamus, et sic utrique quod suum est, tribuatur. Et notandum quod Dominus non bestiis, non jumentis, non reptilibus, sed hominibus et avibus atque piscibus benedicit: homini autem jumenta et bestiae subjiciuntur. His enim qui in se Dei praesentant imaginem, jumenta, id est, corpora nostra, subjiciuntur, et bestiae, id est, nequitiae spirituales, de quibus Propheta precatur: Ne tradas bestiis animas confitentium tibi. Et Dominus alium Prophetam: Auferam, inquit, malas bestias de terra vestra, et dormies vos faciam fiducialiter. Haec est dormitio septimae diei tranquillissima dies. Dies enim septimus est caritas, dies Sabbati, dies requietionis, jucunditatis, et pacis, per quam homo securissime dicit: in pace in idipsum dormiam et requiescam. Ipsa est omnium virtutum consummatio, sanctarum animarum suavis refectio, tranquillissima mentis feriatio. Petrus Blenensis, De Caritate Dei et Proximi Source:  Migne PL 207.908a-909a

Therefore as a clear image of things which fittingly come together, so are the six days like the six virtues, those works in which we exert ourselves with pious intent that after the vicissitudes of holy deeds we come to rest in the tranquillity of love, as in the true Sabbath of the soul. Wherefore let us place faith with the first day, where the faithful are separated from the faithful as light from darkness. Hope shall hold place with the second day, by which those whose way is in heaven, 1 are discerned from others, they who know the things of the earth, and wasting away in themselves, slip down and flow away. Temperance reveals itself to be like the third day, in which mortifying our members on the earth, we confine the rush of carnal passions, like the bitter waters, in the certain limits of continence, that the land of our heart appear and drinking from the fount of life it produce the flowers and fruits of virtues. Prudence as the fourth day makes the light of knowledge burst forth, which discerning between the things we should do and we should not do, divides night from day, as much as the light of wisdom, as the radiance of the sun shines forth. The law of spiritual knowledge, however, in whoever it grows and declines is as the lesser light of the moon. And the example of the fathers that came before are as the stars distinguishing between the days and the months and the years, as indeed there is difference between them, those who were before the law, and those who were under the law, and those who by grace advanced, and let them be gathered together with rite, precept, judgement, and promise, in which is the understanding of our salvation. Fortitude is the fifth day, by which in this great expanse of sea we are spiritual fish bearing the mass of tumultuous waves, binding the slipperiness of our tongues beneath the censure of silence, and as winged birds now we are lifted up to heaven, and now we swoop down for works of mercy, the fruit of which good works we are given by the blessing of God. Next justice is established as the sixth day through which we are reformed to the Divine image, by command of the bestial desires and reptilian vices, subjecting the body to the spirit, the spirit to God, and so both of which are his let them be arranged. For let it noted that the Lord did not bless beasts nor cattle, nor reptiles, but men and birds and fish, 2 and cattle and beast should be subject to man. For by these things they present the image of God in themselves who subject the cattle, that is, our bodies, and the beasts, that is, wicked spirits; concerning which the Prophet prays: 'Do not hand over to the beasts the souls of those who confess you.' 3 And the Lord by another Prophet says: 'I shall take away the wicked beasts from your land, and I shall make you sleep in security.' 4 And this is the rest of seventh day, the most peaceful day. And the seventh day is love, it is the Sabbath day, the day of quiet, of joy, of peace, by which a man most secure says: 'In peace I shall sleep and rest.' 5 This is the perfection of all the virtues, the sweet refreshment of holy souls, the most tranquil leisure of the soul. Peter of Blois, On Love Of God And One's Neighbour 1 Philip 3.20 2 Gen 1.22,28 3 Ps 73.19 4 Lev 26.6 5 Ps 4.9