7 Deadly Sins

Seven deadly sins 1

Seven deadly sins

Hieronymus Bosch's The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things

"Avarice" (2012), by Jesus Solana

The Seven Deadly Sins, also known as theCapital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is aclassification of objectionable vices (part ofChristian ethics) that have been used sinceearly Christian times to educate and instructChristians concerning fallen humanity'stendency to sin. The currently recognizedversion of the sins are usually given aswrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, andgluttony.

The Catholic Church divides sin into twocategories: venial sins, in which guilt isrelatively minor, and the more severe mortalsins. Theologically, a mortal or deadly sin isbelieved to destroy the life of grace andcharity within a person and thus creates thethreat of eternal damnation. "Mortal sin, byattacking the vital principle within us - thatis, charity - necessitates a new initiative ofGod's mercy and a conversion of heartwhich is normally accomplished [forCatholics] within the setting of thesacrament of reconciliation."[1]

To Catholics the seven deadly sins do notbelong to an additional category of sin.Rather, they are the sins that are seen as theorigin ("capital" comes from the Latincaput, head) of the other sins. A "deadlysin" can be either venial or mortal,depending on the situation; but "they arecalled 'capital' because they engender othersins, other vices."[2]

Beginning in the early 14th century, the popularity of the seven deadly sins as a theme among European artists of thetime eventually helped to ingrain them in many areas of Catholic culture and Catholic consciousness in generalthroughout the world. One means of such ingraining was the creation of the mnemonic "SALIGIA" based on the firstletters in Latin of the seven deadly sins: superbia, avaritia, luxuria, invidia, gula, ira, acedia.[3]

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Biblical listsIn the Book of Proverbs (Mishlai), King Solomon stated that the Lord specifically regards "six things the Lordhateth, and the seventh His soul detesteth." namely:[4]

1.1. A proud look.2.2. A lying tongue.3.3. Hands that shed innocent blood.4.4. A heart that devises wicked plots.5.5. Feet that are swift to run into mischief.6.6. A deceitful witness that uttereth lies.7.7. Him that soweth discord among brethren.While there are seven of them, this list is considerably different from the traditional one, with only pride clearlybeing in both lists.Another list, given this time by the Epistle to the Galatians (Galatians 5:19-21), includes more of the traditionalseven sins, although the list is substantially longer: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,sorcery, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings,"and such like".[5] Since Saint Paul goes on to say that the persons who commit these sins "shall not inherit theKingdom of God", they are usually listed as (possible) mortal sins rather than Capital Vices.

Development of the traditional Seven Sins

An allegorical image depicting the human heartsubject to the seven deadly sins, each representedby an animal (clockwise: toad = avarice; snake =envy; lion = wrath; snail = sloth; pig = gluttony;

goat = lust; peacock = pride).

The modern concept of the Seven Deadly Sins is linked to the works ofthe 4th century monk Evagrius Ponticus, who listed eight evil thoughtsin Greek as follows:[6]

• Γαστριμαργία (gastrimargia) gluttony.• Πορνεία (porneia) prostitution, fornication.• Φιλαργυρία (philargyria) avarice.• Ὑπερηφανία (hyperēphania) hubris - in the Philokalia, this term is

rendered as self-esteem.• Λύπη (lypē) sadness - in the Philokalia, this term is rendered as

envy, sadness at another's good fortune.• Ὀργή (orgē) wrath.• Κενοδοξία (kenodoxia) boasting.• Ἀκηδία (akēdia) acedia - in the Philokalia, this term is rendered as

dejection.

They were translated into the Latin of Western Christianity (largelydue to the writings of John Cassian[7]), thus becoming part of theWestern tradition's spiritual pietas (or Catholic devotions), asfollows:[8]

• Gula (gluttony)• Fornicatio (fornication, lust)• Avaritia (avarice/greed)• Superbia (hubris, pride)• Tristitia (sorrow/despair/despondency)• Ira (Wrath)• Vanagloria (vainglory)

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• Acedia (acedia/shay/sloth)These "evil thoughts" can be collected into three groups:[8]

• lustful appetite (Gluttony, Fornication, and Avarice)• irascibility (Wrath)• intellect (Vainglory, sorrow, Pride, and Discouragement)In AD 590, a little over two centuries after Evagrius wrote his list, Pope Gregory I revised this list to form the morecommon Seven Deadly Sins, by folding (sorrow/despair/despondency) into acedia, vainglory into pride, and addingenvy.[9] In the order used by both Pope Gregory and by Dante Alighieri in his epic poem The Divine Comedy, theseven deadly sins are as follows:1. luxuria (lechery/lust)[10][11][12]

2. gula (gluttony)3. avaritia (avarice/greed)4. acedia (acedia/discouragement/sloth)5. ira (wrath)6. invidia (envy)7. superbia (pride)The identification and definition of the seven deadly sins over their history has been a fluid process and the idea ofwhat each of the seven actually encompasses has evolved over time. Additionally, as a result of semantic change:• socordia sloth was substituted for acedia

It is this revised list that Dante uses. The process of semantic change has been aided by the fact that the personalitytraits are not collectively referred to, in either a cohesive or codified manner, by the Bible itself; other literary andecclesiastical works were instead consulted, as sources from which definitions might be drawn. Part II of Dante'sDivine Comedy, Purgatorio, has almost certainly been the best known source since the Renaissance.The modern Roman Catholic Catechism lists the sins in Latin as "superbia, avaritia, invidia, ira, luxuria, gula,pigritia seu acedia", with an English translation of "pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth/acedia".[13]

Each of the seven deadly sins now also has an opposite among corresponding seven holy virtues (sometimes alsoreferred to as the contrary virtues). In parallel order to the sins they oppose, the seven holy virtues are humility,charity, kindness, patience, chastity, temperance, and diligence.

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Historical and modern definitions of the seven deadly sins

Lust

LustSankt Bartholomäus church (Reichenthal), pulpit

(1894)

Lust or lechery (carnal "luxuria") is an intense desire. It is usuallythought of as excessive sexual wants, however the word was originallya general term for desire. Therefore lust could involve the intensedesire of money, fame, or power as well.

In Dante's Purgatorio, the penitent walks within flames to purgehimself of lustful/sexual thoughts and feelings. In Dante's Inferno,unforgiven souls of the sin of lust are blown about in restlesshurricane-like winds symbolic of their own lack of self control to theirlustful passions in earthly life.

Gluttony

Excess(Albert Anker, 1896)

Derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow,gluttony (Latin, gula) is the over-indulgence and over-consumption ofanything to the point of waste.

In Christian religions, it is considered a sin because of the excessivedesire for food, and its withholding from the needy.[14]

Because of these scripts, gluttony can be interpreted as selfishness;essentially placing concern with one's own interests above thewell-being or interests of others.

Medieval church leaders (e.g., Thomas Aquinas) took a moreexpansive view of gluttony,[14] arguing that it could also include anobsessive anticipation of meals, and the constant eating of delicaciesand excessively costly foods.[15] Aquinas went so far as to prepare a list of six ways to commit gluttony, including:

• Praepropere - eating too soon.• Laute - eating too expensively.• Nimis - eating too much.• Ardenter - eating too eagerly (burningly).• Studiose - eating too daintily (keenly).• Forente - eating wildly (boringly).

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Greed

1909 painting The Worship ofMammon by Evelyn De Morgan.

Greed (Latin, avaritia), also known as avarice or covetousness, is, like lust andgluttony, a sin of excess. However, greed (as seen by the church) is applied to avery excessive or rapacious desire and pursuit of material possessions. St.Thomas Aquinas wrote that greed was "a sin against God, just as all mortal sins,in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things." InDante's Purgatory, the penitents were bound and laid face down on the groundfor having concentrated too much on earthly thoughts. "Avarice" is more of ablanket term that can describe many other examples of greedy behavior. Theseinclude disloyalty, deliberate betrayal, or treason, especially for personal gain,for example through bribery. Scavenging and hoarding of materials or objects,theft and robbery, especially by means of violence, trickery, or manipulation ofauthority are all actions that may be inspired by greed. Such misdeeds caninclude simony, where one attempts to purchase or sell sacraments, including

Holy Orders and, therefore, positions of authority in the Church hierarchy.

As defined outside of Christian writings, greed is an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs,especially with respect to material wealth.[16]

Sloth

SlothParable of the Wheat and the Tares by Abraham

Bloemaert, Walters Art Museum

Sloth (Latin, Socordia) can entail different vices. While sloth issometimes defined as physical laziness, spiritual laziness isemphasized. Failing to develop spiritually is key to becoming guilty ofsloth. In Christian faith, sloth rejects grace and God.

Sloth has also been defined as a failure to do things that one should do.By this definition, evil exists when good men fail to act.Over time, the "acedia" in Pope Gregory's order has come to be closerin meaning to sloth. The focus came to be on the consequences ofacedia rather than the cause, and so, by the 17th century, the exactdeadly sin referred to was believed to be the failure to utilize one'stalents and gifts. Even in Dante's time there were signs of this change;in his Purgatorio he had portrayed the penance for acedia as runningcontinuously at top speed.

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Wrath

Wrath,by Jacob Matham

Wrath (Latin, ira), also known as "rage", may be described asinordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger. Wrath, in itspurest form, presents with self-destructiveness, violence, and hate thatmay provoke feuds that can go on for centuries. Wrath may persistlong after the person who did another a grievous wrong is dead.Feelings of anger can manifest in different ways, including impatience,revenge, and vigilantism.

Wrath is the only sin not necessarily associated with selfishness orself-interest, although one can of course be wrathful for selfish reasons,such as jealousy, (closely related to the sin of envy). Dante describedvengeance as "love of justice perverted to revenge and spite". In itsoriginal form, the sin of anger also encompassed anger pointedinternally rather than externally. Thus suicide was deemed as theultimate, albeit tragic, expression of hatred directed inwardly, a finalrejection of God's gifts.

Seven deadly sins 7

Envy

EnvyArch in the naive with a gothic fresco from 1511

of a man with a dog-head, which symbolizesenvy (Dalbyneder Church, Denmark)

Like greed and lust, Envy (Latin, invidia) is characterized by aninsatiable desire. Envy is similar to jealousy in that they both feeldiscontent towards someones traits, status, abilities, or rewards. Thedifference is the envious also desire that entity and covet it.

Envy can be directly related to the Ten Commandments, specifically"Neither shall you desire... anything that belongs to your neighbour".Dante defined this as "a desire to deprive other men of theirs." InDante's Purgatory, the punishment for the envious is to have their eyessewn shut with wire because they have gained sinful pleasure fromseeing others brought low. Aquinas described envy as "sorrow foranother's good".[17]

Pride

Building the Tower of Babel was, for Dante, anexample of pride. Painting by Pieter Brueghel the

Elder

In almost every list, pride (Latin, superbia), or hubris (Greek), isconsidered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, andthe source of the others. It is identified as a desire to be more importantor attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work ofothers, and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of properposition toward God). Dante's definition was "love of self perverted tohatred and contempt for one's neighbour." In Jacob Bidermann'smedieval miracle play, Cenodoxus, pride is the deadliest of all the sinsand leads directly to the damnation of the titulary famed Parisiandoctor. In perhaps the best-known example, the story of Lucifer, pride(his desire to compete with God) was what caused his fall fromHeaven, and his resultant transformation into Satan. In Dante's DivineComedy, the penitents were forced to walk with stone slabs bearing down on their backs to induce feelings ofhumility.

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Historical sins

Acedia

Acediamosaic, Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière

Acedia (Latin, acedia) (from Greek ακηδία) is the neglect to take careof something that one should do. It is translated to apatheticlistlessness; depression without joy. It is related to melancholy: acediadescribes the behaviour and melancholy suggests the emotionproducing it. In early Christian thought, the lack of joy was regarded asa willful refusal to enjoy the goodness of God and the world Godcreated; by contrast, apathy was considered a refusal to help others intime of need.

When Thomas Aquinas described acedia in his interpretation of thelist, he described it as an uneasiness of the mind, being a progenitor forlesser sins such as restlessness and instability. Dante refined thisdefinition further, describing acedia as the failure to love God with all one's heart, all one's mind and all one's soul;to him it was the middle sin, the only one characterised by an absence or insufficiency of love. Some scholars havesaid that the ultimate form of acedia was despair which leads to suicide.

VaingloryVainglory (Latin, vanagloria) is unjustified boasting. Pope Gregory viewed it as a form of pride, so he foldedvainglory into pride for his listing of sins.The Latin term gloria roughly means boasting, although its English cognate - glory - has come to have anexclusively positive meaning; historically, vain roughly meant futile, but by the 14th century had come to have thestrong narcissistic undertones, of irrelevant accuracy, that it retains today.[18] As a result of these semantic changes,vainglory has become a rarely used word in itself, and is now commonly interpreted as referring to vanity (in itsmodern narcissistic sense).

Catholic Seven VirtuesThe Roman Catholic Church also recognizes seven virtues, which correspond inversely to each of the seven deadlysins.

Vice Latin Virtue Latin

Lust Luxuria Chastity Castitas

Gluttony Gula Temperance Temperantia

Greed Avaritia Charity Caritas

Sloth Acedia Diligence Industria

Wrath Ira Patience Patientia

Envy Invidia Kindness Humanitas

Pride Superbia Humility Humilitas

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Associations with demonsIn 1589, Peter Binsfeld paired each of the deadly sins with a demon, who tempted people by means of the associatedsin. According to Binsfeld's classification of demons, the pairings are as follows:• Lucifer: Pride (superbia)• Mammon: Greed (avaritia)• Asmodeus: Lust (luxuria)• Leviathan: Envy (invidia)• Beelzebub: Gluttony (gula or gullia)• Satan: Wrath (ira)• Belphegor: Sloth (acedia)This contrasts slightly with an earlier series of pairings found in the fifteenth century English Lollard tract Lanterneof Light, which differs in pairing Beelzebub with Envy, Abadon with Sloth, Belphegor with Gluttony and matchingLucifer with Pride, Satan with Wrath, Asmodeus with Lust and Mammon with Avarice.[19]

PatternsAccording to a 2009 study by a Jesuit scholar, the most common deadly sin confessed by men is lust, and forwomen, pride.[20] It was unclear whether these differences were due to different rates of commission, or differentviews on what "counts" or should be confessed.[21]

Cultural referencesThe seven deadly sins have long been a source of inspiration for writers and artists, from morality tales of the MiddleAges to modern manga series and video games.

Menninger on the Deadly SinsIn his 1973 book, Whatever Became of Sin?, Karl Menninger argued that the traditional list of the seven deadly sinswas incomplete; that most modern ethicists would include cruelty and dishonesty and probably would rate these asmore serious than some of the more traditional sins such as gluttony or sloth.

Culbertson on the Deadly SinsIn his 1908 book, How one is not to be, Andrew Culbertson argues that two further vices should be added to thedeadly sins: fear and superstition. Fear, in Culbertson's description, amounts to the modern psychiatric conditioncalled Delusional disorder, while superstition is, "Belief in things that one does not understand, to the point of givingmoney to frauds and spiritual confidence men."

ReferencesNotes[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn.1856. See also nn.1854–1864.[2] Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1866.[3] Boyle, Marjorie O'Rourke (1997) [1997-10-23]. "Three: The Flying Serpent" (http:/ / ark. cdlib. org/ ark:/ 13030/ ft2t1nb1rw/ ). Loyola's

Acts: The Rhetoric of the Self. The New Historicism: Studies in Cultural Poetics,. 36. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 100–146.ISBN 978-0-520-20937-4. .

[4] Proverbs  6:16–19[5][5] Galatians[6] Evagrio Pontico,Gli Otto Spiriti Malvagi, trans., Felice Comello, Pratiche Editrice, Parma, 1990, p.11-12.[7] Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults (http:/ / www. ccel. org/ ccel/ schaff/ npnf211. iv. iii. html)[8][8] Refoule, 1967

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[9] Introduction to Paulist Press edition of John Climacus: The Ladder of Divine Ascent (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/books?id=HiTaxR0EU2MC& lpg=PA201& ots=T8Cd_eRvZi& dq=ladder of divine ascent gregory deadly sins evagrius&pg=PA201#v=onepage& q=Gregory the Great& f=false) by Kallistos Ware, p63.

[10] Godsall-Myers, Jean E. (2003). Speaking in the medieval world (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=Hgw0WSuUZn4C& pg=PA27&dq=luxuria+ divine. comedy#v=onepage& q=luxuria& f=false). Brill. p. 27. ISBN 90-04-12955-3. .

[11] Katherine Ludwig, Jansen (2001). The making of the Magdalen: preaching and popular devotion in the later Middle Ages (http:/ / books.google. com/ books?id=tAxSQ7O4WogC& pg=PA194& dq=luxuria+ divine. comedy#v=onepage& q=luxuria& f=false). PrincetonUniversity Press. p. 168. ISBN 0-691-08987-6. .

[12] Vossler, Karl; Spingarn, Joel Elias (1929). Mediæval Culture: The religious, philosophic, and ethico-political background of the "DivineComedy" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=McIRAAAAMAAJ& dq=luxuria+ divine. comedy& q=luxuria#search_anchor). Universityof Michigan: Constable & company. p. 246. .

[13] "Catechism of the Catholic Church" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20080327080743/ http:/ / www. vatican. va/ archive/ catechism/p3s1c1a8. htm#V). Vatican.va. Archived from the original (http:/ / www. vatican. va/ archive/ catechism/ p3s1c1a8. htm#V) on 2008-03-27. .Retrieved 2010-07-24.

[14] Okholm, Dennis. "Rx for Gluttony" (http:/ / www. ctlibrary. com/ ct/ 2000/ september4/ 3. 62. html). Christianity Today, Vol. 44, No. 10,September 11, 2000, p.62

[15] "Gluttony" (http:/ / www. newadvent. org/ cathen/ 06590a. htm). Catholic Encyclopedia. .[16] "The Free Dictionary" (http:/ / www. thefreedictionary. com/ greed). The Free Dictionary. 1987-04-01. . Retrieved 2010-07-24.[17] "Summa Theologica: Treatise on The Theological Virtues (QQ[1] - 46): Question. 36 - Of Envy (four articles)" (http:/ / www. sacred-texts.

com/ chr/ aquinas/ summa/ sum291. htm). Sacred-texts.com. . Retrieved 2010-01-02.[18][18] Oxford English dictionary[19] Morton W. Bloomfield, The Seven Deadly Sins, Michigan State College Press, 1952, pp.214-215.[20] "Two sexes 'sin in different ways'" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ 7897034. stm). BBC News. 2009-02-18. . Retrieved 2010-07-24.[21] Morning Edition (2009-02-20). "True Confessions: Men And Women Sin Differently" (http:/ / www. npr. org/ templates/ story/ story.

php?storyId=100906920). Npr.org. . Retrieved 2010-07-24.

Bibliography• Refoule, F. (1967) Evagrius Ponticus. In Staff of Catholic University of America (Eds.) New Catholic

Encyclopaedia. Volume 5, pp644–645. New York: McGrawHill.• Schumacher, Meinolf (2005): "Catalogues of Demons as Catalogues of Vices in Medieval German Literature:

'Des Teufels Netz' and the Alexander Romance by Ulrich von Etzenbach." In In the Garden of Evil: The Vicesand Culture in the Middle Ages. Edited by Richard Newhauser, pp. 277–290. Toronto: Pontifical Institute ofMediaeval Studies.

Further reading• The Divine Comedy ("Inferno", "Purgatorio", and "Paradiso"), by Dante Alighieri• Summa Theologica, by Thomas Aquinas• The Concept of Sin, by Josef Pieper• The Traveller's Guide to Hell, by Michael Pauls & Dana Facaros• Sacred Origins of Profound Things, by Charles Panati• The Faerie Queene, by Edmund Spenser• The Seven Deadly Sins Series (http:/ / www. oup. com/ us/ collections/ 7_sins/ ?view=usa), Oxford University

Press (7 vols.)• Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies,

(Grand Rapids: BrazosPress, 2009)• Solomon Schimmel, The Seven Deadly Sins: Jewish, Christian, and Classical Reflections on Human Psychology,

(New York: Oxford University Press, 1997)