Editing Seven deadly sins (section)

==Historical and modern definitions and perspectives==
According to [[Anglican|Catholic prelate]] [[Henry Edward Manning]], the seven deadly sins are seven ways to [[Hell in Christianity|eternal death]] (or Hell).<ref name="Manning">{{Cite book|title=Sin and Its consequences|last=Manning|first=Henry Edward}}</ref> The Lutheran divine [[Martin Chemnitz]], who contributed to the development of Lutheran systematic theology, implored clergy to remind faithful congregations about the seven deadly sins.<ref name="Chemnitz2007">{{cite book |author1=[[Martin Chemnitz]] |title=Ministry, Word, and Sacraments: An Enchiridion; The Lord's Supper; The Lord's Prayer |date=2007 |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |isbn=978-0-7586-1544-2 |language=en}}</ref>

In order of increasing severity according to Pope Gregory I, the seven deadly sins are as follows:

=== Lust ===
{{Main|Lust}}Lust or lechery is intense longing. It is usually viewed as intense or unbridled [[sexual desire]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lust|title=Definition of LUST|website=www.merriam-webster.com|access-date=4 May 2016|archive-date=15 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715092256/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lust|url-status=live}}</ref> which may lead to [[fornication]] (including [[adultery]], [[rape]], or [[bestiality]]), and other sinful and sexual acts; however, lust can also denote 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 in Christianity|devil]]".<ref name="Manning"/>

Lust is generally thought to be the mildest capital sin.<ref name="DLSintro652">[[Dorothy L. Sayers]], ''Purgatory'', Introduction, pp. 65–67 (Penguin, 1955).</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uf62BQAAQBAJ|title=William Blake's Illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy: A Study of the Engravings, Pencil Sketches and Watercolors|last=Pyle|first=Eric|date=31 December 2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476617022|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VeP7kg-blnIC&q=lust%2520summa%2520theologica&pg=PA1819|title=Summa Theologica, Volume 4 (Part III, First Section)|last=Aquinas|first=St Thomas|date=1 January 2013|publisher=Cosimo|isbn=9781602065604|language=en}}</ref>

=== Gluttony ===
{{Main|Gluttony}}

[[File:Albert_Anker_-_Stillleben_-_Unmässigkeit.jpg|thumb|''Still life: Excess'' ([[Albert Anker]], 1896)]]

Gluttony is the overindulgence and [[overconsumption]] of anything to the point of excess. The word derives from the Latin {{lang|la|gluttire}}, meaning 'to gulp down' or 'to swallow'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Latin Definition for: gluttio, gluttire, -, – (ID: 21567) – Latin Dictionary and Grammar Resources – Latdict |url=https://latin-dictionary.net/definition/21567/gluttio-gluttire |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=latin-dictionary.net}}</ref> One reason for condemning gluttony is that gorging by prosperous people may leave needy people hungry.<ref name="Okholm 2000">Okholm, Dennis. [http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2000/september4/3.62.html "Rx for Gluttony"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324175340/http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2000/september4/3.62.html |date=2016-03-24 }}. ''[[Christianity Today]]'', Vol. 44, No. 10, 11 September 2000, p.62</ref>

Medieval church leaders such as [[Thomas Aquinas]] took a more expansive view of gluttony,<ref name="Okholm 2000"/> arguing that it could also include an obsessive anticipation of meals, as well as overindulgence in delicacies and costly foods. Aquinas listed five forms of gluttony:<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06590a.htm|title=Gluttony|encyclopedia=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2007-09-18|archive-date=2010-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613024328/http://newadvent.org/cathen/06590a.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

* {{lang|la|Laute}} – eating too expensively
* {{lang|la|Studiose}} – eating too daintily
* {{lang|la|Nimis}} – eating too much
* {{lang|la|Praepropere}} – eating too soon
* {{lang|la|Ardenter}} – eating too eagerly

=== Greed ===
{{Main|Greed}}
[[File:The_worship_of_Mammon.jpg|thumb|''The Worship of [[Mammon]]'' (1909) by [[Evelyn De Morgan]]]]

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".<ref name="Manning"/>

Avarice, or ''greed'' as it came to be known, has many forms. When Pope Gregory I revised the sins, he defined greed as "treachery, fraud, deceit, perjury, restlessness, violence and hardnesses of heart against compassion." This definition would evolve into the modern interpretation: outside Christian writings, greed is an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs, especially with respect to [[material wealth]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/greed|title=greed| encyclopedia=American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language|edition=5th|year=2016|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|via=The Free Dictionary|access-date=4 February 2019}}</ref> Aquinas believed that greed, like pride, can lead to evil.<ref name="Aquinas">{{Cite book |last=Aquinas |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YiJCBAAAQBAJ |title=Summa Theologica (All Complete & Unabridged 3 Parts + Supplement & Appendix + interactive links and annotations) |date=20 August 2013 |publisher=e-artnow |isbn=9788074842924 |language=en |author-link=St Thomas Aquinas}}</ref>

=== Sloth ===
{{Main|Sloth (deadly sin)}}
[[File:Abraham Bloemaert - Parable of the Wheat and the Tares - Walters 372505.jpg|thumb|''[[Parable of the Tares|Parable of the Wheat and the Tares]]'' (1624) by [[Abraham Bloemaert]], [[Walters Art Museum]]]]
''Sloth'' refers to many related ideas, dating from antiquity, and includes spiritual, mental, and physical states.<ref name="Lyman-1989">{{Cite book|title=The Seven Deadly Sins: Society and Evil|last=Lyman|first=Stanford|year=1989|isbn=0-930390-81-4|pages=5|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield }}</ref> The definition has changed considerably since it was first recognized as a sin. Today it can be defined as the absence of interest in or habitual disinclination to exertion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/sloth?s=t|title=the definition of sloth|website=Dictionary.com|access-date=3 May 2016|archive-date=17 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617033740/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/sloth?s=t|url-status=live}}</ref> Originally, however, Christian theologians believed it to be a lack of care for performing spiritual duties.

In his ''Summa Theologica'', [[Saint Thomas Aquinas]] defined sloth as "sorrow about spiritual good".<ref name="Aquinas"/>

The scope of sloth is wide.<ref name="Lyman-1989"/> In a spiritual sense, ''acedia'' first referred to an affliction attending religious persons, especially monks, wherein they became indifferent to their duties and obligations to [[God]]. In a mental sense, ''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. In a physical sense, ''acedia'' is fundamentally associated with a cessation of motion and an indifference to work; the sin finds expression in laziness, idleness, and indolence.<ref name="Lyman-1989"/>

Sloth includes ceasing to use the seven gifts of grace given by the [[Holy Spirit (Christianity)|Holy Spirit]]; these gifts are [[Wisdom]], [[Understanding]], Counsel, [[Knowledge]], [[Piety]], [[Courage|Fortitude]], and [[Fear of the Lord]]. Such disregard may lead to slower spiritual progress towards eternal life, neglect of multiple duties of [[Charity (practice)|charity]] towards a [[neighbourhood|neighbor]], and animosity towards those who love God.<ref name="Manning"/>

The other deadly sins are sins of committing immorality; by contrast, sloth is a sin of avoiding responsibilities. The sin may arise from any of the other capital vices: for example, a son may avoid his duty to his father because of anger. The state and habit of sloth is a mortal sin; but the habit of the soul tending towards the last mortal state of sloth is not mortal in and of itself, except under certain circumstances.<ref name="Manning"/>

Emotionally, and cognitively, the evil of ''acedia'' (or sloth) finds expression in a lack of feeling for the world, the people in it, or 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. Nevertheless, a lesser yet more harmful 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'', reckoning 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 sin consists in languishing and holding back, refusing to undertake works of goodness because (people 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.<ref name="Lyman">{{Cite book|title=The Seven Deadly Sins: Society and Evil|last=Lyman|first=Stanford|pages=6–7}}</ref>

According to Stanford Lyman, sloth subverts the maintenance of the body, taking no care for its daily needs; sloth also slows down the mind, diverting its attention away from important matters. Sloth hinders a person in moral undertakings, and it thus becomes a significant source of a person's ruin.<ref name="Lyman" />

=== Wrath ===
{{Main|Wrath}}
[[File:Jacques_de_l'Ange_-_A_young_Man_with_a_Sword_restrained_by_a_young_Woman,_'Anger'.jpg|thumb|''Wrath'', by [[Jacques de l'Ange]]]]
Wrath can be defined as uncontrolled feelings of anger, rage, and even hatred. Wrath often reveals itself in the wish to seek vengeance.<ref name="Landau-2010">{{Cite book|title=The Seven deadly Sins: A companion|last=Landau|first=Ronnie|isbn=978-1-4457-3227-5|date=30 October 2010|publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref>

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". Hatred is the sin of desiring that someone else may suffer misfortune or evil, and it is a mortal sin when one desires grave harm.<ref>{{CCC|pp=2302|pp_range=2302-3}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Anger pg 290">International Handbook of Anger. p. 290</ref>

Henry Edward Manning considers that "angry people are slaves to themselves".<ref name="Manning"/>

=== Envy ===
{{Main|Envy}}Envy is characterized by an insatiable desire such as greed and lust. It can be described as a sad or resentful covetousness towards the traits or possessions of another person. Envy stems from [[Vanity|vainglory]]<ref name="books.google.com">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A7Cf9Bt1DWsC |title=Summa Theologica, Volume 3 (Part II, Second Section) |last=Aquinas |first=Thomas |author-link=St Thomas Aquinas |date=1 January 2013 |publisher=Cosimo, Inc. |isbn=9781602065581 |language=en}}</ref> and cuts a person off from their neighbor.<ref name="Manning"/>

According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the struggle aroused by envy has three stages: 

# During the first stage, the envious person attempts to lower another person'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)
# the third stage is hatred because "sorrow causes hatred"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/sum291.htm |title=Summa Theologica: Treatise on The Theological Virtues (QQ[1&#93; – 46): Question. 36 – Of Envy (four articles) |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=2 January 2010 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182651/http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/sum291.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[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.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Conquest of Happiness |url=https://archive.org/details/conquestofhappin0000russ |url-access=registration |last=Russell |first=Bertrand |author-link=Bertrand Russell |publisher=[[Horace Liveright|H. Liverwright]] |year=1930 |location=[[New York City|New York]] |page=86}}</ref>

=== Pride ===
{{Main|Pride}}
[[File:Jheronimus Bosch Table of the Mortal Sins (Superbia).jpg|thumb|Detail of ''Pride'' from ''The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things'' by Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1500]][[Pride]] is known as [[hubris|''hubris'']] (from the [[Ancient Greek]] {{wikt-lang|grc|ὕβρις}}) or futility. Strictly within the historical context of Judeo-Christian theology, it is considered the original and worst of the seven deadly sins — the most demonic — on almost every list <ref name="Climacus 62–63">{{Cite book |last=Climacus |first=John |author-link=John Cliamcus |title=The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Translation by Colm Luibheid and Norman Russell |pages=62–63}}</ref>, often associated with the fall of Lucifer, who is said to have rebelled out of pride <ref>Isaiah 14:12–15; see also Milton, John. ''Paradise Lost'', Book I</ref>. Pride, within this very context, is also thought to be the source of the other capital sins. Pride is viewed as the opposite of [[humility]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Humility vs Pride And Why The Difference Should Matter To You {{!}} Jeremie Kubicek |url=https://jeremiekubicek.com/humility-vs-pride/ |access-date=2 March 2018 |website=jeremiekubicek.com |language=en-US |archive-date=18 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175743/https://jeremiekubicek.com/humility-vs-pride/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Acquaviva |first=Gary J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qAtNAPteVk0C&q=Pride+is+generally+associated+with+an+absence+of+humility&pg=PA31 |title=Values, Violence and Our Future |date=2000 |publisher=Rodopi |isbn=9042005599 |language=en}}</ref>
For a broader discussion of the modern behavioural trait often contrasted with humility, see [[Arrogance]]

[[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 Lucifer became wicked: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind."<ref>Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis, {{ISBN|978-0-06-065292-0}}</ref> Pride is understood to sever the human spirit from God, as well as from the life and grace given by God's presence.<ref name="Manning" />

A person 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."<ref name="Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers-1895">{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers|year=1895|pages=485}}</ref> [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]] wrote: "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 Lucifer'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."<ref>{{Cite book |title=To Deborah Hatheway, Letters and Personal Writings (Works of Jonathan Edwards Online Vol. 16) |last=Claghorn |first=George}}</ref>

Modern use of the term ''pride'' may be captured in the [[Book of Proverbs|biblical proverb]], "Pride goeth before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (which is abbreviated as "Pride goeth before a fall" in [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]] 16:18). The "pride that blinds" causes foolish actions against common sense.<ref name="Hollow-2014">{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/6081830 |title=The 1920 Farrow's Bank Failure: A Case of Managerial Hubris |journal=[[Journal of Management History]] |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=164–178 |publisher=[[Durham University]] |access-date=1 October 2014 |last1=Hollow |first1=Matthew |doi=10.1108/JMH-11-2012-0071 |year=2014 |issn=1751-1348 |archive-date=14 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714204331/https://www.academia.edu/6081830 |url-status=live }}</ref> In political analysis, ''hubris'' is often used to describe how powerful leaders become irrationally self-confident and contemptuous of advice over time, leading them to act impulsively.<ref name="Hollow-2014" />