Gluttony. (Art by Thiago Lehmann)
Gluttony is one of the Seven Deadly Sins and means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth items to the point of extravagance or waste.
Overview[]
In some Christian denominations, it is considered to be a misplaced desire of food or its withholding from the needy. Gluttony is associated with Beelzebub, one of the Seven Princes of Hell and it's counterpart virtue is Temperance.
Description[]
Medieval church leaders (e.g., Thomas Aquinas) took a more expansive view of gluttony, arguing that it could also include an obsessive anticipation of meals, and over-indulgence in delicacies and costly foods.
Aquinas listed five forms of gluttony:
- Laute – eating too expensively
- Studiose – eating too daintily
- Nimis – eating too much
- Praepropere – eating too soon
- Ardenter – eating too eagerly
Of these, ardenter is often considered the most serious, since it is a passion for a mere earthly pleasure, which can make the committer eat impulsively, or even reduce the goals of life to mere eating and drinking.