

Sloth has also been defined as failing to do one’s duty. By the 17th century, this deadly sin referred to was believed to be the failure to utilize one’s talents and gifts. Sloth: refers to spiritual apathy and plain laziness. In Dante’s Purgatory, penitents are bound and lay face down on the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly desires. Greed: also known as avarice, the sin of greed is an excessive or rapacious desire for and pursuit of material possessions. This sin can be interpreted as selfishness essentially placing one’s own interests above the well-being or interests of others. Gluttony usually refers to food, but can also pertain to material goods. Gluttony: consuming too much of something that might be acceptable in moderation. In Dante’s Inferno, unforgiven lustful souls are blown about in restless hurricane-like winds symbolic of their own lack of self-control to their lustful passions in earthly life.


Lust could involve the intense desire for money, food, fame, power, or sex. The Modern Definitions of the Seven Deadly Sins

The three beasts that terrify Dante are a leopard (Lust), a lion (Pride), and a wolf (Avarice), in line with the symbolism of medieval bestiaries.
#The seven deadly sins full
The Italian poet Dante Alighieri describes human life as an intricate forest full of pitfalls and temptations to sin.Īt the beginning of The Divine Comedy, Dante crosses the selva oscura (a dark forest) and comes upon three wild beasts, personifications of the seven deadly sins. It was intended to be used as an instructional guide for theologians and a compendium of all of the main theological teachings of the Catholic Church. The Seven Deadly SinsĪ list of the seven deadly sins was created by Pope Gregory the Great (540 AD – 605 AD) and elaborated in the 13th century by the medieval theologian Tommaso d’Aquino in his best-known work the Summa Theologica. According to the Church, a deadly sin threatens one with eternal damnation. The Catholic Church divides sin into two categories: venial sins, in which guilt is relatively minor, and the more severe mortal sins. They are classified as “ deadly” not merely because they constitute serious moral offences, but also because they spur other sins and further immoral behaviour.
#The seven deadly sins code
This code was created in the Middle Ages by the Catholic Church to warn the faithful of the danger of the seven deadly sins.Īlso known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, the seven deadly sins are a classification of vices that has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct Christians about fallen humanity’s tendency to sin. More information on the original can be found at the novel Inferno by American author Dan Brown, the acronym Saligia refers to the seven deadly sins in Latin, namely: superbia, avaritia, luxuria, invidia, gula, ira, and acedia. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore.
