Ms. Lyon Sophomore English The Seven Deadly Sins Ms. Lyon Sophomore English

History of The Seven Deadly Sins Can be traced back to the 4th century when a monk named Evagrius Ponticus generated a list of sins, likely stemming from problems he saw in his own day.

Evagrius’ original list His list included the following sins: gluttony, fornication/prostitution, greed, pride, sadness (i.e. envy – sadness at another’s good fortune), wrath, boasting (i.e. a verbal proclamation of inner pride), and dejection (i.e. gloominess, depression). Evagrius' list proved to have staying power in the Church and was translated from Greek into Latin and used for educational and devotional purposes.

Pope Gregory I In 590 Pope Gregory I revised Evagrius’ list, although the essence remained the same. Gregory’s list included sloth (a combination of three of the sins on Evagrius’ list), greed, pride, lust, gluttony, wrath, and added envy. Gregory also emphasized an order to the list: (1) lust, (2) gluttony, (3) greed, (4) sloth, (5) wrath, (6) envy, and (7) pride.

Cardinal Sins A Cardinal sin is any one of the Seven Deadly Sins There were two categories of these sins (also known as Capital Vices.) 1. Venal sins – these are minor that are able to be forgiven, but do not jeopardize salvation if they are unrepented. (gossip, etc. Do not break God’s law, only man’s law.) 2. Mortal sin – destroy the spiritual life of the soul. Jeopardize eternal life if they are unrepented. These sins break God’s law.

European artists depicted the Seven Deadly Sins as a popular theme European artists depicted the Seven Deadly Sins as a popular theme. Hiernymus Bosch’s The Seven Deadly Sins and the Last Four Things.

The Seven Deadly Sins The Seven Deadly Sins each have an opposite Holy Virtue. Sin Virtue Pride Humility Envy Kindness Wrath Compassion Sloth Diligence Greed Charity Gluttony Temperance Lust Chastity

Bible vs. Dante’s Inferno The Bible does not refer to the Seven Deadly Sins specifically, but Dante’s Divine Comedy, Purgatorio, is the best source for identifying each sin. By categorizing the sins, The Divine Comedy helped priests figure out how to get people to repent and how to punish them so they wouldn’t go to hell. Dante listed specific punishments in hell for each sin.

Gluttony Derived from Latin “to gulp down or swallow.” Over-indulgence or over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. In Dante’s hell, they had to eat rats/toads/snakes.

Greed Avarice Includes disloyalty, deliberate betrayal Hoarding of materials or objects. Robbery, especially by means of violence or trickery. Dante – bound face down on a board for thinking earthly thoughts.

Sloth Laziness, unwillingness to act or care. Not working, sharing in the labor or contributing to a group. Dante’s Purgatorio make slothful penitents run at top speed – never stopping!

Envy Like Greed, envy has greed for material goods. Those who are envious covet or want something someone else has or something they think they lack. They are always comparing themselves to others and desiring what they do not have. Dante’s hell has the Envious’s eyes sewn shut with wire because the have gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low.

Green with Envy Early Catholic church leader St. Thomas Aquinas described envy as “sorrow for another’s good.” The color green is associated with this sin. This is where the term “green with envy” comes from.

Wrath (anger) Uncontrolled feelings of hatred. The desire to do evil or to harm others. The desire to seek revenge or commit acts of vengeance. Murder, suicide and genocide. In Dante’s hell, sinners of wrath were dismembered while still alive.

Lust Obsessive thoughts or desires of a sexual nature. In Dante’s hell, sinners of lust had to walk through the flames to purge themselves of lustful thoughts. Love and Lust are two very distinct things. Love is a virtue, while LUST is a sin.

The WORST sin This is the sin that is usually depicted as the trunk of the “sin tree.” It is the most deadly of the seven sins. Pride is thinking one is better than others or deserves more because of an attribute, accomplishment or social status. Something so bad that the sinners who committed this sin in Dante’s hell had to walk with stone slabs bearing down on their backs to induce humility.

PRIDE Pride could be the downfall of the young, old or even cartoon characters. It is sometimes referred to as VANITY.

Who suffers from which sin?

The Sins of Binkini Bottom