The Seven Deadly Sins: Greed

Greed is the self-serving desire for the pursuit of money, wealth, power, food, or other possessions, especially when this denies the same goods to others. It is generally considered a vice, and is one of the seven deadly sins in Catholicism.

Canto VII

As sails billowed by the wind collapse
Into a tangled heap when the mainmast cracks,
15 So the ruthless beast fell to the ground.

At that we moved on down to the fourth crater,
Taking in more of that grief-stricken slope
Which stacks all the evil of the universe.

Ah, justice of God! Who has heaped up so many
20 Of the fresh trials and tortures that I saw?
Why does our guilt devour us like this?

Just like the wave, there over Charybdis,
Breaking itself against the wave it strikes,
So must the people here reel out their dance.

25 Here I saw more shades than I saw above,
On one side and the other, with piercing howls,
Rolling weights shoved forward with their chests.

They smashed against each other. On the spot,
Each whipped around and, rolling the weight back,
30 Yelled, "Why do you hoard?" or "Why do you splurge?"

With that they wheeled about the dismal circle
On either arc to the opposing point,
Screaming over again their scornful verses.

When they had reached the end of one half-circle,
35 Each turned around to face the following joust.
And I — my heart all but pierced by the sight —

Spoke up, "My master, now instruct me here.
Who are these people? Were they all clergy,
The tonsured ones there on the left-hand side?"

40 And he replied, "All these were so squint-eyed
Mentally, in the first life, that they
Were never even-handed in their spending:

"Their voices bark this truth out clearly
When they come to the two points of the circle
45 Where contrary guilts set them against each other.

"These were the clergy who have no crown of hair
On their heads, both popes and cardinals,
Within whom avarice runs to its extreme."

And I: "Master, among the likes of these
50 Surely I should recognize some souls
Who were befouled by these same misdeeds."

And he told me, "You entertain vain thoughts.
The imperceptive lives that dirtied them
Now blacken them beyond all perception.

55 "Forever they will come to double butt:
These men shall rise up from the sepulcher
With tight fists and those men, with shaven heads.

"Ill-giving and ill-keeping stole from them
The lovely world and put them to this strife.
60 I will not lose fair words describing it.

Greed
Punishment in hell: put in cauldrons of boiling oil
Animal: Frog
Color: Yellow


Demon: Mammon

It typically denotes the excessive urge of a person to possess innumerable earthly wealth and possessions that denies individuals of the legitimate to access their fair share as well. More on gaining material things on the expense of others welfare.

The bets example for greed are the corrupt politicians. They deny the people of their right to have a better living. Instead of having the money contributed to such agencies that would benefit the citizens, they just put it in their pockets to make their asses bigger than the usual.

For the Buddhists;

They believe greed is based on incorrectly connecting material wealth with happiness. This is caused by a view that exaggerates the positive aspects of an object; that is, acquiring material objects has less impact than we imagine on our feelings of happiness. This view has been corroborated by studies in the field of happiness economics, which confirm that beyond the provision of a basic level of material comfort, more wealth does not create greater happiness.

While according to the Bible;

Greed is considered as idolatry as the greedy person values money and his earthly possessions rather than God.

This sin is more self-explanatory..

xoxo