8 MORALITY
Morales, Juan Bautista, a Spanish moralist, was born at Montella, Andalusia, and flourished in the first half of the 17th century. Scarcely anything 13 known of liis personal history. He is, however, noted as the author of Jardin de Suertes morales y civitas (Seville, 1616, 16mo). See Antonio, Bibliotheca IJispana nova, s. V.
Morales, Luis de, a Spanish artist, noted for his paintings of sacred subjects, was bom in Badajoz in 1509. luther from his constant choice of sacred sub- jects, or (less probably) from the merits of his works, he received the surname of El JJivino, " the divine." His pictures were neariy all heads, generally of Christ or the A'irgin ; some authorities believe that there are no instances of his painting the figure at full length. His Ecce Homo and Mater Dolorosa are the best types of his paintings. In spite of his acknowledged ability, the prices lie received for his works are said not to have been enough to compensate liim for the great labor and time he spent upon them ; and he lived in the greatest want until his old age, when he was supported by l^hilip II. His chief works are at Toledo, Yalladolid, Burgos, and Granada. He died in Badajoz in 1586. — Appletou's American Cyclopa:dia, xi, 806.
Moralities, a term used for the theatrical repre- sentations made Ijy the monks in the Middle Ages, de- signed to exhibit virtue and vice, so as to make the former look desirable, the latter detestable. This word is classed with two others of similar meaning — miracles and mysteries. See Mysteries.
Morality is that relation which human actions bear to a given rule of rectitude. Says Whately, "To lay down in their universal form the laws according to wliich the conduct of a free agent ought to be regu- lated, and to apply them to the different situations of human life, is the end of morality" (^Lessons on Morals). It is the opposite of legality, as that expresses only con- formity with justice, while morality is applied to the tendency in the mind or heart towards harmonious action with the law. It is the doctrine, in short, which treats of actions as right or wrong. It does not cover so vast a field as religion, but is, nevertheless, the outgrowth of it. "Morality," it has been aptly said, "is a studious conformity of our actions to the relations in which we stand to each other in civil society. Morality compre- hends only a part of religion ; but religion comprehends the whole of morality. Morality finds all its motives here below; religion fetches all its motives from above The highest principle in social morals is a just regard to the rights of men ; the first principle in religion is the love of God." While religion, then, covers the whole life both in its present and future relations, mo- rality confines itself virtually to the temporal, or bet- ter civil life. " Jlorality," says Coleridge, " commences with and begins in the sacred disiinction between thing and person. On this distinction all law, human and di- vine, is grounded" (.1 ids to R( jlirtion, i, 265). " There are in the world," says Sewell. '■ two classes of objects, persons and things; and these are mutually related to each other. There are relations between |iersons and persons, and between things and things; and the pecul- iar distinctions of moral actions, moral characters, mor- al principles, moral habits, as contrasted with the intel- lect and other parts of man's nature, lies in this, that they always imply a relation belireen two persons, not be- tween two things" (Christian Morals, p. 339). Now the Christian Church holds that so much of the glory of man's origin remains in him, that even when farthest from the light and grace of Christ's presence in the Church he retains some spark of that divine conscience which is derived from him — "the true light, which lightetli every man that comet h into the world" (John i, 9). " Morality," argues Culverwtll a|)tly, " is founded in the divine nature. It is an eternal ordinance made in the deplli <if (Jod's inlinite wisdom ami counsel for regulating and governing the whole world, whicli j-et
MORALITY
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MORAND