"Justice: also considered as fairness, the most extensive and most important virtue." --Wikipedia (
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"Justice is one of the four cardinal virtues in classical European philosophy and Roman Catholicism. It is the moderation or mean between selfishness and selflessness - between having more and having less than one's fair share. Justice is closely related, in Christianity, to the practice of Charity (virtue) because it regulates the relationships with others. It is a cardinal virtue, which is to say "pivotal" because it regulates all such relationships, and is sometimes deemed the most important of the cardinal virtues." --Wikipedia (
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The statue depicts Justice as a nude male figure with a sword strategical placed in front of the center of his body from the waist down. His right elbow is bent at a 45 degree angle and he holds his right arm in front of his body. In his right hand, he holds the sword handle. His left arm hangs down by his left side and he holds a scale in his left hand.
A plaque about the four statues is located near the Wisdom statue and reads (in Norwegian):
De 4 Kardinaldyder
Fasaden til Bergen Tinghus prydes av fire monumentale
skulpturer kalt Kardinaldydene som symboliserer menneskenes viktigste dyder eller egenskaper
- Visdommen, Rettferdigheten, Måteholdet og Styrken.
Skulpturene er laget av de Norske kunstnerene
Stinus Fredriksen (1902-1977) og Nicolai Schiøll (1901-1984),
Egil Reimers (1878-1946) er arkitekten bak Tinghuset (1933)
og skulpturene er en viktig del av fasaden for å gi
inngangspartiet tyngde og autoritet.
The 4 Cardinal Virtues
The facade of Bergen Courthouse adorned by four monumental
sculptures called cardinal virtues symbolizing mankind's most important virtues or characteristics
- Wisdom, Justice, Temperance and Strength.
The sculptures are made by the Norwegian artists
Stinus Fredriksen (1902-1977) and Nicolai Schiøll (1901-1984),
Egil Reimers (1878-1946) is the architect behind the courthouse (1933)
and sculptures are an important part of the facade to give
entrance weight and authority.