Fruits of the Spirit, the first large hanging ever attempted by Wheatley, reverses the usual composition of the Coptic tunic with its light colored inserts on a dark field, but conforms to that prototype in using large areas of plain-woven ground decorated with smaller tapestry-woven ornaments. The title refers to St. Paul’s listing of Christian attributes or “Fruits of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control,” each of which is represented by a pear hanging from a branch within the right tapestry strip. The pear tree in the central roundel alludes to the iconic Tree of Life. In common with some Coptic textiles, Wheatley’s hanging includes Greek letters. Woven at the upper right is the Greek word (Οѵήσιμος) or “useful,” alluding to St Paul’s comment about a runaway slave named “Onesimus.” After converting the slave to Christianity, Paul returned him to his master Philemon, with a letter stating that the young man was now “useful” in keeping with his name. At the upper left are the letters for “grow” (ΑΫζΑΝΕ). Wheatley took this word from the inscription on an antique child’s ring at the Walters Art Museum. In the context of this work, the artist is referring to the need of the individual to undergo spiritual “growth” in order to be “useful” to mankind.