Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony & Sloth
Trivialised in more recent times by a range of Magnum Ice Cream flavours and with reference to a band of Japanese anime knights, the original idea of the seven deadly sins is linked to the works of the fourth-century Christian monk Evagrius Ponticus, who actually listed EIGHT evil thoughts in Greek … later translated into Latin in the many writings of John Cassian (another monk), thus becoming part of the Western tradition's spiritual “pietas” or Catholic devotions as follows:
-
Gula (gluttony)
-
Luxuria/Fornicatio (lust, fornication)
-
Avaritia (avarice/greed)
-
Tristitia (sorrow/despair/despondency)
-
Ira (wrath)
-
Acedia (sloth)
-
Vanagloria (vainglory)
-
Superbia (pride, hubris) < Ed: Isn’t Superbia a good word!
In AD 590, Pope Gregory I revised the list by combining tristitia with acedia (a nice Greek word with an approximate meaning “to despond”) and vanagloria with superbia, and adding envy (which is invidia in Latin). Got all that?
Gregory's list became the standard list of sins that we all now commit on a fairly regular basis.
The seven deadly sins exist in a theological tug of war with the seven capital virtues: chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness, patience and humility.
In combination the sins and virtues comprise the original self-help book: an instructional balancing act of what to do, what not to do, how to behave, how not to behave; an attempt from long ago to tell us how to live, what to aim for and how to be one's best self.
_________________________
Postscript
We have a long relationship with the Seven Deadly Sins at REMO. Back in 1989 they were celebrated in a T Shirt design created for us by New York based designer Douglas Riccardi (then working with Tibor Kalman at the M&Co. Design Group). The original phrenology-head-inspired design (still available from REMO online here) was silk screened in black with the Seven Deadly Sins printed on one side and the Seven Heavenly Virtues printed on the other. Then in 1991 Remo had the fiendishly mercantile idea to replace the sins and virtues with new category words to create an enduring symbol and logo for the REMO General Store.
_________________________
References
wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins
wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_virtues
britannica.com/topic/Desert-Fathers
Images
1. Seven Deadly Sins. REMO T Shirt Graphic. Original Art by Douglas Riccardi, 1989.
2. Seven Deadly Sins Infographic. Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. / Patrick O'Neill Riley.
3. Hiëronymus Bosch: Table of the Seven Deadly Sins. Table of the Seven Deadly Sins, oil on poplar panel by Hiëronymus Bosch, 1505–10; in the Prado Museum, Madrid.
4. 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). By Henri Moreau.
5. Seven Heavenly Virtues. REMO T Shirt Graphic. Original Art by Douglas Riccardi, 1989.
6. Streets Magnum Deadly Sins Ice Creams
7. The Seven Deadly Sins is a licensed Netflix Original anime series based on the 2015 manga of the same name by author Nakaba Suzuki.
8. General Thinker [39]. Genesis of REMO Logo. Order Book HERE.
9. Seven Deadly Sins Merchandise Available at REMO HERE
