The seven deadly sins are discussed in treatises and depicted in paintings and sculpture decorations on Catholic churches as well as older textbooks.[1]
History
Greco-Roman antecedents
Roman writers such as Horace extolled virtues, and they listed and warned against vices. His first epistles say that "to flee vice is the beginning of virtue and to have got rid of folly is the beginning of wisdom."[3]
An allegorical image depicting the human heart subject to the seven deadly sins, each represented by an animal (clockwise: toad = avarice; snake = envy; lion = wrath; snail = sloth; pig = gluttony; goat = lust; peacock = pride).
Origin of the currently recognized seven deadly sins
These "evil thoughts" can be categorized as follows:[4]
physical (thoughts produced by the nutritive, sexual, and acquisitive appetites)
emotional (thoughts produced by depressive, irascible, or dismissive moods)
mental (thoughts produced by jealous/envious, boastful, or hubristic states of mind)
Ὑπερηφανία (hyperēphania) pride, sometimes rendered as self-overestimation, arrogance, or grandiosity[7]
Evagrius's list was translated into the Latin of Western Christianity in many writings of John Cassian,[8][9] thus becoming part of the Western tradition's spiritual pietas or Catholic devotions as follows:[4]
In AD 590, Pope Gregory I revised the list to form a more common list.[10] Gregory combined tristitia with acedia and vanagloria with superbia, adding envy, which is invidia in Latin.[11][12] (It is interesting to note that Pope Gregory's list corresponds exactly to the traits described in Pirkei Avot as "removing one from the world." See Pirkei Avot 2:16, 3:14, 4:28 and the Vilna Gaon's commentary to Aggadot Berakhot 4b.)[13]Thomas Aquinas uses and defends Gregory's list in his Summa Theologica, although he calls them the "capital sins" because they are the head and form of all the other sins.[14] Christian denominations, such as the Anglican Communion,[15]Lutheran Church,[16] and Methodist Church,[17] still retain this list, and modern evangelists such as Billy Graham have explicated the seven deadly sins.[18]
Historical and modern definitions, views, and associations
Lust or lechery (Latin: luxuria "(sexual) excess/dissipation") is intense longing. It is usually thought of as intense or unbridled sexual desire,[21] which may lead to fornication (including adultery), rape, bestiality, and other sinful and sexual acts; oftentimes, however, it can also mean other forms of unbridled desire, such as for money, or power. Henry Edward Manning explains that the impurity of lust transforms one into "a slave of the devil".[19]
Lust is generally thought to be the least serious capital sin.[22][23] Thomas Aquinas considers it an abuse of a faculty that humans share with animals and sins of the flesh are less grievous than spiritual sins.[24]
Gluttony (Latin: gula) is the overindulgence and overconsumption of anything to the point of waste. The word derives from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow.[25] One reason for its condemnation is that the gorging of the prosperous may leave the needy hungry.[26]
Medieval church leaders such as Thomas Aquinas took a more expansive view of gluttony,[26] arguing that it could also include an obsessive anticipation of meals and overindulgence in delicacies and costly foods. Aquinas also listed five forms of gluttony:[27]
In the words of Henry Edward Manning, avarice "plunges a man deep into the mire of this world, so that he makes it to be his god".[19]
As defined outside Christian writings, greed is an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs, especially with respect to material wealth.[28] Aquinas considers that, like pride, it can lead to evil.[29]
Sloth (Latin: tristitia, or acedia "without care") refers to a peculiar jumble of notions, dating from antiquity and including mental, spiritual, pathological, and physical states.[30] It may be defined as absence of interest or habitual disinclination to exertion.[31]
In his Summa Theologica, Saint Thomas Aquinas defined sloth as "sorrow about spiritual good".[29]
The scope of sloth is wide.[30] Spiritually, acedia first referred to an affliction attending religious persons, especially monks, wherein they became indifferent to their duties and obligations to God. Mentally, acedia has a number of distinctive components; the most important of these is affectlessness, a lack of any feeling about self or other, a mind-state that gives rise to boredom, rancor, apathy, and a passive inert or sluggish mentation. Physically, acedia is fundamentally associated with a cessation of motion and an indifference to work; it finds expression in laziness, idleness, and indolence.[30]
Unlike the other seven deadly sins, which are sins of committing immorality, sloth is a sin of omitting responsibilities. It may arise from any of the other capital vices; for example, a son may omit his duty to his father through anger. The state and habit of sloth is a mortal sin, while the habit of the soul tending towards the last mortal state of sloth is not mortal in and of itself except under certain circumstances.[19]
Emotionally, and cognitively, the evil of acedia finds expression in a lack of any feeling for the world, for the people in it, or for the self. Acedia takes form as an alienation of the sentient self first from the world and then from itself. The most profound versions of this condition are found in a withdrawal from all forms of participation in or care for others or oneself, but a lesser yet more noisome element was also noted by theologians. Gregory the Great asserted that, "from tristitia, there arise malice, rancour, cowardice, [and] despair". Chaucer also dealt with this attribute of acedia, counting the characteristics of the sin to include despair, somnolence, idleness, tardiness, negligence, laziness, and wrawnesse, the last variously translated as "anger" or better as "peevishness". For Chaucer, human's sin consists of languishing and holding back, refusing to undertake works of goodness because, they tell themselves, the circumstances surrounding the establishment of good are too grievous and too difficult to suffer. Acedia in Chaucer's view is thus the enemy of every source and motive for work.[32]
Sloth subverts the livelihood of the body, taking no care for its day-to-day provisions, and slows down the mind, halting its attention to matters of great importance. Sloth hinders the man in his righteous undertakings and thus becomes a terrible source of human's undoing.[32]
Wrath (ira) can be defined as uncontrolled feelings of anger, rage, and even hatred. Wrath often reveals itself in the wish to seek vengeance.[33]
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the neutral act of anger becomes the sin of wrath when it is directed against an innocent person, when it is unduly strong or long-lasting, or when it desires excessive punishment. "If anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is gravely against charity; it is a mortal sin." (CCC 2302) Hatred is the sin of desiring that someone else may suffer misfortune or evil and is a mortal sin when one desires grave harm (CCC 2302–03).[34]
People feel angry when they sense that they or someone they care about has been offended, when they are certain about the nature and cause of the angering event, when they are certain someone else is responsible, and when they feel that they can still influence the situation or cope with it.[35]
Henry Edward Manning considers that "angry people are slaves to themselves".[19]
Envy (invidia) is characterized by an insatiable desire like greed and lust. It can be described as a sad or resentful covetousness towards the traits or possessions of someone else. It comes from vainglory[36] and severs a man from his neighbor.[19]
According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the struggle aroused by envy has three stages: during the first stage, the envious person attempts to lower another's reputation; in the middle stage, the envious person receives either "joy at another's misfortune" (if he succeeds in defaming the other person) or "grief at another's prosperity" (if he fails); and the third stage is hatred because "sorrow causes hatred".[37]
Bertrand Russell said that envy was one of the most potent causes of unhappiness, bringing sorrow to committers of envy, while giving them the urge to inflict pain upon others.[38]
Detail of Pride from The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things by Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1500
Pride (superbia), also known as hubris (from Ancient Greekὕβρις) or futility. It is considered the original and worst of the seven deadly sins on almost every list, the most demonic.[39] It is also thought to be the source of the other capital sins. Pride is the opposite of humility.[40][41]
Pride has been labeled the mother of all sins and has been deemed the devil's most essential trait. C. S. Lewis writes in Mere Christianity that pride is the "anti-God" state, the position in which the ego and the self are directly opposed to God: "Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind."[42] Pride is understood to sever the spirit from God, as well as His life-and-grace-giving Presence.[19]
One can be prideful for different reasons. Author Ichabod Spencer states that "spiritual pride is the worst kind of pride, if not worst snare of the devil. The heart is particularly deceitful on this one thing."[43]Jonathan Edwards said: "remember that pride is the worst viper that is in the heart, the greatest disturber of the soul's peace and sweet communion with Christ; it was the first sin that ever was and lies lowest in the foundation of Satan's whole building and is the most difficultly rooted out and is the most hidden, secret and deceitful of all lusts and often creeps in, insensibly, into the midst of religion and sometimes under the disguise of humility."[44]
The modern use of pride may be summed up in the biblical proverb, "Pride goeth before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (abbreviated "Pride goeth before a fall", Proverbs 16:18). The "pride that blinds" causes foolish actions against common sense.[45] In political analysis, "hubris" is often used to describe how leaders with great power over many years become more and more irrationally self-confident and contemptuous of advice, leading them to act impulsively.[45]
Throughout history, artists have found inspiration in the timeless themes of morality and human nature, and the seven deadly sins have been a particularly fertile subject for exploration. These sins, traditionally categorized as pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust, have been depicted in a variety of ways, from allegorical representations to satirical observations of human behavior.
One of the most notable artists to tackle this subject was Pieter Bruegel the Elder, a Flemish painter of the Renaissance. His 1557 series of woodcuts, known as the "Seven Deadly Sins," vividly captures the essence of each sin through a series of grotesque and comical scenes. In "Sloth," a group of slovenly individuals sleep soundly, oblivious to the world around them. "Avarice" depicts a miser counting his coins with a miserly expression, while "Gluttony" shows a gluttonous man consuming an enormous meal, oblivious to his surroundings.
Other notable artists who have explored the seven deadly sins include:
Lucas Cranach the Elder: German painter of the Renaissance, known for his religious paintings and sensual portraits. His portrayals of Adam and Eve often emphasize their nakedness and vulnerability, reflecting the concept of lust.
Peter Paul Rubens: Flemish painter of the Baroque period, known for his dynamic compositions and vibrant colors. His painting "The Wrath of Achilles" depicts the Greek hero in a rage, his face contorted in anger as he prepares to slay a Trojan prisoner.
William Hogarth: English painter and printmaker of the 18th century, known for his satirical social commentary. His series of paintings "Marriage A-la-Mode" satirizes the follies and vices of the upper classes, with each panel depicting a different stage of a marriage that eventually ends in ruin.
Paul Cadmus: American painter of the 20th century, known for his social realist paintings. His series of paintings "The Seven Deadly Sins" depicts the sins in a more contemporary setting, using exaggerated figures and satirical humor to critique modern society.
Chris Ofili: British painter of the 21st century, known for his use of unconventional materials such as elephant dung and glitter. His series of paintings "The Seven Deadly Sins" utilizes these materials to create a visually striking and often disturbing depiction of the sins.
Yves Decadt: a Flemish artist, has created a series of artworks titled “Falling Angels: Allegories about the 7 Sins and 7 Virtues for Falling Angels and other Curious Minds”. The series explores the topic of morality, sins, and virtues, which have dominated Western cultures for more than 2000 years. In this work, Decadt follows in the footsteps of Pieter Breughel, who made a series of sketches on the 7 sins and 7 virtues about 500 years ago. The work takes the viewer on an adventurous trip through time and across the barriers and edges of reality, mythology, religion, and culture.
Acedia (Latin, acedia "without care";[30] from Greek ἀκηδία) is the neglect to take care of something that one should do. It is translated to apathetic listlessness; depression without joy. It is related to melancholy; acedia describes the behaviour and melancholy suggests the emotion producing it. In early Christian thought, the lack of joy was regarded as a willful refusal to enjoy the goodness of God. By contrast, apathy was considered a refusal to help others in times of need.
Acēdia is the negative form of the Greek term κηδεία (Kēdeia), which has a more restricted usage. 'Kēdeia' refers specifically to spousal love and respect for the dead.[46]
Pope Gregory combined this with tristitia into sloth for his list. When Thomas Aquinas described acedia in his interpretation of the list, he described it as an "uneasiness of the mind", being a progenitor for lesser sins such as restlessness and instability.[47]
Acedia is currently defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as spiritual sloth, believing spiritual tasks to be too difficult.[48] In the fourth century, Christian monks believed that acedia was primarily caused by a state of melancholia that caused spiritual detachment instead of laziness.[49]
Vainglory (Latin, vanagloria) is unjustified boasting. Pope Gregory viewed it as a form of pride, so he folded vainglory into pride for his listing of sins.[11] According to Aquinas, it is the progenitor of envy.[36]
The Latin term gloria roughly means boasting, although its English cognate glory has come to have an exclusively positive meaning. Historically, the term vain roughly meant futile (a meaning retained in the modern expression "in vain"), but by the fourteenth century had come to have the strong narcissistic undertones which it still retains today.[50]
Confession patterns
According to a 2009 study by the Jesuit scholar Fr. Roberto Busa, the most common deadly sin confessed by men is lust and the most common deadly sin confessed by women is pride.[51] It was unclear whether these differences were due to the actual number of transgressions committed by each sex or whether differing views on what "counts" or should be confessed caused the observed pattern.[52]
Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality, money, or power. It can take such mundane forms as the lust for food as distinct from the need for food or lust for redolence, when one is lusting for a particular smell that brings back memories. It is similar to but distinguished from passion, in that passion propels individuals to achieve benevolent goals whilst lust does not.
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhealthy habit. Vices are usually associated with a fault in a person's character or temperament rather than their morality.
Gluttony means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food or drink.
Sloth is one of the seven deadly sins in Catholic teachings. It is the most difficult sin to define and credit as sin, since it refers to an assortment of ideas, dating from antiquity and including mental, spiritual, pathological, and conditional states. One definition is a habitual disinclination to exertion, or laziness. Views concerning the virtue of work to support society and further God's plan suggest that through inactivity, one invites sin: "For Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do.".
"The Parson's Tale" seems, from the evidence of its prologue, to have been intended as the final tale of Geoffrey Chaucer's poetic cycle The Canterbury Tales. The "tale", which is the longest of all the surviving contributions by Chaucer's pilgrims, is in fact neither a story nor a poem, but a long and unrelieved prose treatise on penance. Critics and readers are generally unclear what rhetorical effect Chaucer may have intended by ending his cycle in this unlikely, extra-generic fashion.
The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things is a painting attributed to Hieronymus Bosch or to a follower of his, completed around 1500 or later. Since 1898 its authenticity has been questioned several times. In 2015 the Bosch Research Conservation Project claimed it to be by a follower, but scholars at the Prado, where the painting is on display in a sealed case, dismissed this argument. The painting is oil on wooden panels and is presented in a series of circular images.
7 Sins is a life simulation video game where the player must get to the top of the social ladder and make decisions related to the seven deadly sins. The game is set in the fictional Apple City. Throughout the game, the player makes decisions based on pride, wrath, greed, envy, lust, sloth and gluttony. Once a relationship has been built new missions are unlocked. In total there are seven chapters and one hundred non-player characters to interact with.
Evagrius Ponticus, also called Evagrius the Solitary, was a Christian monk and ascetic from Heraclea, a city on the coast of Bithynia in Asia Minor. One of the most influential theologians in the late fourth-century church, he was well known as a thinker, polished speaker, and gifted writer. He left a promising ecclesiastical career in Constantinople and traveled to Jerusalem, where in 383 AD he became a monk at the monastery of Rufinus and Melania the Elder. He then went to Egypt and spent the remaining years of his life in Nitria and Kellia, marked by years of asceticism and writing. He was a disciple of several influential contemporary church leaders, including Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Macarius of Egypt. He was a teacher of others, including John Cassian and Palladius of Galatia.
Acedia has been variously defined as a state of listlessness or torpor, of not caring or not being concerned with one's position or condition in the world. In ancient Greece akidía literally meant an inert state without pain or care. Early Christian monks used the term to define a spiritual state of listlessness and from there the term developed a markedly Christian moral tone. In modern times it has been taken up by literary figures and connected to depression.
Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better is a radio comedy programme starring Mark Watson. It started on BBC Radio 4 on 13 February 2007. The show is recorded in front of a live audience and has the format of stand-up comedy from Watson interspersed with songs and poetry.
Seven Deadly Sins is a series of young kids' novels written by Robin Wasserman. The plot follows a group of bankrupt teens living in the town of Grace, California. The series was published starting in 2005 through Simon Pulse and consists of seven books, each one named after one of the seven deadly sins. The books by release date are Lust, Envy, Pride, Wrath, Sloth, Gluttony, and Greed.
The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, is the name of a group of fictional demon characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They debuted in Whiz Comics #2 and were created by C.C. Beck and Bill Parker.
The Seven Deadly Sins is a 1952 French/Italian co-production motion picture drama. The film stars Michèle Morgan, Françoise Rosay, Viviane Romance, Maurice Ronet, Louis de Funès, Isa Miranda, Henri Vidal and Gérard Philipe. It has seven separate sections: with five episodes from France, and two episodes from Italy.
Die 8. Sünde is a German pornographic film, and the winner of the Venus Award for Best Film 2003.
Wicked Appetite is a 2010 novel by Janet Evanovich set in Salem, Massachusetts. Elizabeth Tucker is a baker at Dazzle's Bakery, specialising in cupcakes. Lizzie has recently moved to Salem after inheriting her aunt's house. Diesel appears out of thin air in Dazzle's Bakery after Lizzie has been accosted by Gerwulf Grimoire, otherwise known as Wulf.
The Praktikos is a guide to ascetic life written by the early Christian monk Evagrius Ponticus. It was originally written in Greek, but also has Syriac and Armenian versions. This work is the best preserved of all the Evagrian writings due to the relatively large number of manuscripts and wide distribution.
Seven and a Half is a 2006 Serbian dark comedy film directed by Miroslav Momčilović.
Lord Cromwell Plays Suite For Seven Vices is the second studio album by the Italian progressive rock band Opus Avantra, released in 1975.
Seven Deadly Sins is a 1993 Australian television anthology series examining the dark side of human nature in seven episodes: "Lust", "Pride", "Wrath", "Sloth", "Greed", "Envy", and "Gluttony"—the seven deadly sins.
The House of Pride is a notable setting in Edmund Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queene. The actions of cantos IV and V in Book I take place there, and readers have associated the structure with several allegories pertinent to the poem.
References
1 2 Tucker, Shawn (2015). The Virtues and Vices in the Arts: A Sourcebook. Cascade. ISBN978-1625647184.
1 2 Refoule, F. (1967) "Evagrius Ponticus," In New Catholic Encyclopaedia, Vol. 5, pp. 644f, Staff of Catholic University of America, Eds., New York: McGraw-Hill.
↑ Evagrio Pontico, Gli Otto Spiriti Malvagi, trans., Felice Comello, Pratiche Editrice, Parma, 1990, p.11-12.
↑ "For pride is the root of all evil, of which it is said, as Scripture bears witness; Pride is the beginning of all sin. [Ecclus. 10, 1] But seven principal vices, as its first progeny, spring doubtless from this poisonous root, namely, vain glory, envy, anger, melancholy, avarice, gluttony, lust." Gregory the Great, Moralia in Iob, book XXXI
1 2 DelCogliano, Mark (18 November 2014). Gregory the Great: Moral Reflections on the Book of Job, Volume 1. Cistercian Publications. ISBN9780879071493.
↑ Tucker, Shawn R. (24 February 2015). The Virtues and Vices in the Arts: A Sourcebook. Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers.
↑ Armentrout, Don S. (1 January 2000). An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians. Church Publishing, Inc. p.479. ISBN9780898697018.
↑ Speidel, Royal. "What Would a United Methodist Jesus Do?". UCM. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2017. Thirdly, the United Methodist Jesus reminds us to confess our sins. How long has it been since you have heard reference to the seven deadly sins: pride, gluttony, sloth, lust, greed, envy and anger?
↑ The American Lutheran, Volumes 39–40. American Lutheran Publicity Bureau. 1956. p.332. The world-renowned Evangelist, Billy Graham, presents in this volume an excellent analysis of the seven deadly sins which he enumerates as pride, anger, envy, impurity, gluttony, avarice and slothfulness.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Manning, Henry Edward. Sin and Its consequences.
↑ Martin Chemnitz (2007). Ministry, Word, and Sacraments: An Enchiridion; The Lord's Supper; The Lord's Prayer. Concordia Publishing House. ISBN978-0-7586-1544-2.
↑ "greed". American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5thed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2019– via The Free Dictionary.
↑ Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott. A Greek-English Lexicon. Revised by Sir Henry Stuart Jones and Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1940.
Schumacher, Meinolf[de] (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 Vices and Culture in the Middle Ages. Edited by Richard Newhauser, pp.277–290. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
