24: An Interpolated Episode: An Introduction to the Seven Deadly Sins

Seven deadly sins: They almost seem like a cliché these days: lust, gluttony, sloth, avarice, anger, pride, and envy.

This list wasn't always so certain in Christian doctrine.

Nor in fact is it so certain for Dante. Let’s talk that through.

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Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:01] What are the seven deadly (or mortal) sins? Or while we’re at it, what is a "sin"?

[06:17] A bit about Evagrius, one of the church's great ascetics, and his list of eight evil thoughts, developed in the late 300s CE.

[09:09] A bit about Pope Gregory I and the notion of the seven deadly sins in 590 CE--including two new ones: sloth and envy.

[15:06] Dante plays fast and loose with the seven deadly sins in INFERNO.

FOR MORE STUDY

  1. If you’d like to know more about Evagrius (of Pontus or “Ponticus”), I can’t imagine a better guide than Joel Kalvesmaki’s website which you can find here. Or you can check out this feature article in COMMENT magazine.

  2. I advanced my thesis about love and fences by saying that the sins (or even Evagrius’ evil thoughts) are ways to mark off a pasture. What if you were tasked to come up with a list of the most grievous human errors? What would you choose? You needn’t stick to seven and you needn’t have even seven. FYI, I’ve done this thought experiment with students in Dante classes. Before class, I have each student prepare a personal list of what they consider “sins” with a brief rationale for each entry; then in class, I break the students into small groups and let them hash out an agreed-upon, consensual list. It’s wild what gets kept and what gets cut. It’s also wild how a student may be certain of one sin before class but switch gears when they get in discussion with other students. And it’s telling when students won’t budge on an entry and will even exit the group to maintain the purity of their list.

Interpolated EpisodesMark ScarbroughComment