The seven deadly sins are a classification of the most objectionable vices that were originally used in early Christian teachings to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen man's tendency to sin. The capital vices are: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. The Roman Catholic Church also recognizes Seven Virtues which correspond inversely to each of the seven deadly sins. The sins are punished with eternal suffering in hell.
In almost every list pride is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and the ultimate source from which the others arise. Pride is either a high sense of the worth of one's self and one's own, or a pleasure taken in the contemplation of these things. In Dante's ‘Divine Comedy’, the penitents were forced to walk with stone slabs bearing down on their backs in order to induce feelings of humility. Pride was what caused Lucifer’s fall from Heaven, and his resultant transformation into Satan. Pride leads Greek mythological character Icarus into death, as well as Faustus in ‘The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus’ by Christopher Marlowe. An opposite of pride – humility – is a virtue, which can prevent from failures and misery.
Pride is a characteristic of one of the main personages in Robert Graves’ story ‘The Shout’ - Charles Crossley.…
