Gluttony: Seven Deadly Sins and Catholic Encyclopedia

Let’s Eat! How much is too much? To find that answer, we must look to the deadly sin of Gluttony. The definition of gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires. Although the sin focuses mostly on the consumption of food, it also relates to the pleasures that the body experiences. The punishment for committing the sin of gluttony is that you after your death, you will be force-fed snakes, rats, and toads. The animal that represents the sin of gluttony is the pig, and the color that represents it is orange. There are five different ways in which the sin of gluttony can be committed. There is Prae-propere, which is eating too soon. Secondly there is laute, in which one is eating too expensively. There is nimis, where a person is eating too much food. Another way is ardenter, which is eating too eagerly. Finally, there is studiose in which someone is eating too daintily. (The Catholic Encyclopedia) Although there are five main ways to commit the sin of gluttony, there are still plenty of other ways to be gluttonous. If a person is using food in order to cause harm to themselves, is definitely guilty of committing the sin of gluttony. Also, if a person is only eating for pleasure or for the experience, then they are also committing the sin of gluttony. (The Catholic Encyclopedia) On the other hand, there is the virtue of Temperance. Temperance is the opposite of gluttony in that it “brings order to the concupiscible appetite, and thus to the emotions of love, hate, sensible satisfaction, desire, aversion and sorrow as they bear upon a pleasant good.” Temperance is all about being able to make yourself hold back from taking more then you need, whether it is in eating, or in the pleasures of the body. The first part of temperance is abstinence, which is a cutting back of food. Unlike gluttony, temperance is a little more flexible. Having a big breakfast could be seen as gluttonous, or temperate all depending on the context of

Cited: 7 Deadly Sins, 7 Heavenly Virtues. 21 February 2003. 2 January 2013 . McManaman, Douglas. The Virtue of Temperance. January 2006. 2 January 2013 .  Delany, Joseph. "Gluttony." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6.New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 2 Jan. 2013.