Seven Deadly Sin: Greed
Logo, a channel dedicate more or less to GLBT community, is having a Seven deadly sin theme. This got me think of the great sins. So I'm starting with Greed.
Greed
Greed (Latin, avaritia) also known as avarice is a sin of
excess. Greed is the inordinate desire to possess wealth, goods, or objects of
abstract value with the intention to keep it for one's self, far beyond the
dictates of basic survival and comfort. It is applied to a markedly high desire
for and pursuit of wealth, status, and power.
However, greed (as seen by the
church) is applied to a very excessive or rapacious desire and pursuit of
material possessions. Thomas Aquinas wrote "Greed is a sin against God,
just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake
of temporal things." In Dante's Purgatory, the penitents were bound and
laid face down on the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly thoughts.
Avarice is more of a blanket term that can describe many
other examples of greedy behavior. These include disloyalty, deliberate
betrayal, or treason, especially for personal gain, for example through
bribery. Scavenging and hoarding of materials or objects, theft and robbery,
especially by means of violence, trickery, or manipulation of authority are all
actions that may be inspired by greed. Such misdeeds can include simony, where
one attempts to purchase or sell sacraments, including Holy Orders and,
therefore, positions of authority in the Church hierarchy. Radix
malorum est cupiditas is a Biblical quotation in Latin that means "greed
is the root of evils!!!"
As defined outside of Christian writings, greed is an
inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one need, especially with
respect to material wealth. is typically used to criticize those who seek
excessive material wealth, although it may apply to the need to feel more
excessively moral, social, or otherwise better than someone else.
A famous explain of Greed is the story of King Midas
A famous explain of Greed is the story of King Midas
Midas was the pleasure-loving King of Macedonia, where he
ruled over the Brigians (also known as Moschians.) He was the first person ever
to plant a rose garden and he loved to spend his days feasting and listening to
music. King Midas' rose gardens were celebrated and he derived great pleasure
in their pristine beauty. Well, it happened that Dionysus, the celebrated God
of Wine, was leading his army of frenzied followers into India. The army of
Dionysus consisted in part of Satyrs. Silenus was an old friend of Chiron who had
been entrusted with the education of Dionysus, so the God of Wine was
particularly fond of him.
At a particularly rowdy party Silenus got drunk as shit,
which was quite normal for a Satyr, and he wandered away from the rest of his
mates, becoming hopelessly lost. Eventually he stumbled his way to King Midas'
palace and proceeded to pass out among the King's treasured rose bushes, where
he slept off his drunken fit.
In the morning Silenus was discovered among the flowers by
the King's gardeners, who didn't know what to make of this loudly-snoring fat
old man. All they knew was that their King wouldn't be too happy with having
his precious roses trampled, so they bound Silenus with garlands of flowers,
set a flowering wreath on his head, woke him up and brought him in this
ridiculous guise before Midas. It was a hilarious sight!
By now Silenus had sobered up and, when asked his identity
by King Midas, he told him that he was in the retinue of the great Dionysus,
and regaled him with tales of the expedition to Asia. He told the King
wonderful stories about an immense continent lying beyond the great Oceanus,
unlike any known before, where the inhabitants lived in rich and splendid
cities. These gigantic people enjoyed long and happy lives, Silenus said, and
their legal system was remarkably just. These people if you haven’t guess are
Atlanteans from Atlantis.
When he was ready to depart, the King ordered an armed
escort to escort the Satyr to Dionysus, who was worried out of his mind about
his beloved teacher. Needless to say, Dionysus was very happy and grateful to
see Silenus return unharmed, so he sent word to King Midas to name his reward -
he could have anything he wished for.
Ecstatic at his good fortune, King Midas impulsively replied
that he wished that anything he touched would turn to gold. What a wish!!
Who wants to be a millionaire? King Midas does! And did he
ever hit the jackpot! He went into his garden and picked up a stone and at once
it turned into gold. He could hardly believe his good fortune. As he touched them, they would turn to pure
gold...a tree - gold...a blade of grass - solid gold! The bench he sat on -
shining, precious gold! Same with the apple he plucked from the tree and the
nightingale that landed on his outstretched finger!
Wow, this is far too cool, he thought, knowing that he now
was the richest man who ever lived, with no end to his wealth. All he had to do
was lay his Kingly hands on an item and it would be transformed into glittering
gold!
Happy with his new-found power, King Midas went into his
banquet hall for the daily feast. Wouldn't you know it? As soon as he would
pick up a morsel to eat, it would turn into gold. Dying of thirst, his wine
would transform into liquid gold as soon as it touched his lips. King Midas
began to panic. This wasn't fun anymore, he was famished!
Alarmed at his predicament, his beloved daughter ran to hug
and comfort him, but as he wrapped his arms around her, she instantly turned
into a golden statue. That's when King Midas realized the severity of his
mistake and, hungry, thirsty and heartbroken, he begged Dionysus to release him
of his burden.
Dionysus couldn't help but be entertained and amused by the troubles
of King Midas...The merciful god of wine knew that the King had learned his
lesson, so laughing he told Midas to travel to the source of the river Pactolus
and to plunge his head and body in, rinsing off his "golden touch" in
the waters. Dionysus instructed King Midas to also wash off his daughter in the
same river, thus restoring her back to her living human form.
To this day the sands of the river Pactolus are bright with
gold, to commemorate King Midas and his Golden Touch. As for the King, now a
little bit wiser, he realized that there is much more to life than wealth and
gold.
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