Temperance — from The Seven Virtues

This engraving shows a young woman standing at a stone table, carefully mixing water from a bottle into a bowl to illustrate the act of moderation. Her flowing drapery and focused expression emphasize a sense of balance and self-restraint. On the table before her lie a spoon and a pair of dividers, traditional tools often associated with measurement, proportion, and order.

Temperance is one of the four cardinal virtues, central to classical Stoic ethics and later assimilated into Christian moral philosophy; its focus on moderation and the proper "measure" of life echoes the Neo-Pythagorean and Hermetic emphasis on harmony between opposing forces.