I didn't know, until today, that making a list of the Seven Deadly Sins (Envy, Gluttony, Greed (or Avarice), Lust, Pride, Sloth, Wrath.) is or was a Christian practice. A moment's reflection... Thus I may be ignorant which - mercifully - isn't one of the Sinful Septet.
To me sins become dangerous when considered as single words. Their meanings and implications are multifarious; they need qualification.
Pride. I may be proud of an act of charity, but not of trying to defeat someone in argument.
Envy. I envy no one. Even if I openly accept I boast, show off, am frequently intolerant, love expensive wine more than cheap wine, don't envy the late Michael O'Shea who was married to the late Virginia Mayo, am criminally forgetful, and lots more. Question: But should I want to be more like Sir David Attenborough, James Joyce and/or Franz Schubert?
Gluttony. Once I gorged, now, in old age, hardly at all; even Hereford-made sausages.
Avarice. Hands-up confession: I scan our growing savings account as if it were a poem.
Lust. Depends on detectable evidence. I may look pleasurably at a photo of the late Virginia Mayo but am horrified at even imagining the role of stalker.
Wrath. The present UK government angers me but wrath suggests a visible and/or audible display, a waste of energy. I'd rather analyse, give reasons, arrive at unexpected conclusions. From which wrath may be inferred, of course, but there are better words.
Sloth. I previously got domestic jobs done quickly; now I postpone them. In defence, at 88, I lack energy. Intellectual sloth, however, includes refusing to pursue facts and deserves contempt.
I am presently in my hotel room in Victoria, BC at 3:28 am preparing to leave for the airport for the journey home. Sometime over the weekend I will make a suitable riposte to this note and perhaps even offer my own reactions to these deadly sins(?). Until then…..
ReplyDeleteSloth. Perhaps you should pray for extra energy to avoid this one, especially for the itellectual version (the other is something almost to take rebellious pleasure in.)
ReplyDeleteFrom: Lord Behold us with ty Blessing.
"Break temptation’s fatal power,
Shielding all with guardian care,
Safe in every careless hour,
Safe from sloth and sensual snare;"
Sir Hugh: I always thought sloth and sensual snare were mutually exclusive.
DeletePerhaps not if the order is reversed and the acts not simultaneous?
DeleteSir Hugh: Neither is an act.
DeleteHaving grown up in a Jewish household the seven deadly sins were never part of our story. I've seen this list before, and I'm sure there is something comparable in the Jewish teachings, but I also grew up in a household of non-religious beliefs.
ReplyDeleteThe seven deadly sins are always lurking around the corner in my world. They were pounded into my head by nuns and priests. I have no problem limiting their control over me. The corresponding 7 capital virtues are actually more terrifying: Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Kindness, Patience, and Humility.
ReplyDeleteAlso referred to as the 7 cardinal virtues, and the 7 heavenly virtues.
DeleteColette: Ah, to live a controlled life. Would that we all could. And you're right about the virtues. So obviously self-serving and mostly overrated. Ask present-day people in Morocco and Libya about being patient, now that their lives - other than their mere existance - have been taken away from them.
DeleteI am back home from my all-too-brief vacation on glorious Vancouver Island and ready to have a go at this.
ReplyDeleteEnvy - Having been follicularly (did I just invent a word?) deprived since my late thirties I am certainly envious of those who still retain flowing locks, especially those who can artfully use them to convey a patrician air.
Gluttony - On this score I can claim to be quite virtuous - unless finely prepared calamari, or Veuve Clicquot is on the table.
Greed (not avarice) - full confession as you say above. When my wife and I were both younger and the pleasures of her gender were in seemingly unlimited supply, I could have been accused of greed. Now there's a real confession for you!
Lust - ditto
Pride - I am inordinately proud that my daughter, under my tutelage primarily, has become a fine and dedicated naturalist.
Sloth - a daily sin for me, I 'm afraid, especially when it comes to exciting activities like cleaning the oven and such.
Wrath: I am very angry at the treatment of the planet, the implication for environmental collapse, the refusal of governments to do anything about it, and the lack of will by global citizenry to press their leaders hard enough.
DMG: I'm not sure whether you were deprived of follicles as well as hair. Not being bald I've rarely pondered baldness but, being more or less confined to quarters as I am, I have experimented with its opposite state - an overwhelming thatch. There is no doubt one's personality changes as one's face retreats behind a mass of greyish-white, sometimes I look fiercer, sometimes more benign. Such changes are an aid to writing fiction.
DeleteLimiting oneself to The Widow suggests a generous baronial estate. The great thing about champagne is it can't carry the name unless it's produced according to the méthode champenoise somewhere in and around Reims. During the last decade there's been greater competition at the bottom end and the German supermarkets, Lidl and Aldi, both now well established in the UK, offer quite acceptable stuff at under £15. It is now possible for the lower middle-classes in Britain to get drunk on champage. Some compensation for the UK's present status internationally.
Yes to that expression of greed. But I don't think it's all that rare. Never thought to hear of it from Canada. How many...? No, on second thoughts, that would be a question too far.
whether or not these are sins is a matter of degree. anything taken to extreme could be said to be a sin. but what is sin? just something cranky old men decided they didn't want other people doing. who hasn't, who doesn't experience all of these throughout their lives. sometimes wrath is justified, sloth is just a matter of how much mess you tolerate, why is pride in ourselves or others for accomplishments bad, without lust there would be far fewer babies born and a lot less enjoyment in bed, gluttony of a favorite food rarely had or getting sloshed with friends may leave you feeling not your greatest but was it really sinful, and envy, who doesn't wish something for themselves that someone else has achieved like getting accepted in the juried show that your friend got in and you didn't, still happy for the friend but still envious that you didn't. those things carried to extremes, maybe not a sin but definitely detrimental to yourself.
ReplyDeleteellen abbott: Christians found it necessary to posit The Devil so it isn't entirely surprising they also devised a list of what they believed to be the Devil's work.
DeleteAs I said at the beginning of my post, the words themselves need some form of qualification to ensure we are singing from the hymn sheet. Gluttony, for instance, does - as you suggest - mean eating to excess; to me there's also a hint of bad table manners. Lust is more than just sexual desire (which most of us are born with anyway); it's allowing the urge to become obsessional, possibly leading to rape. Sloth is not just laziness, it implies an unwilllingness to apply one's mind to difficult matters.
You may be right about "cranky old men". The list was enumerated in the Fourth Century CE (an abbreviation new to me) by the Christian ascetic, Evagrius Ponticus and is bound up with something known as Hellenistic cosmology. When in doubt blame the Greeks. Not much chance of women getting a look in back then