Chapter VIII. On capital vices

St. Thomas,¹ treating of the causes of sins, and asking whether one sin can be the cause of another, also treats of capital vices. Following the footsteps of the Angelic Doctor, we indeed touch upon this matter here, but briefly, since we are going to treat of each of these vices when we speak of the virtues to which they are opposed.

¹ S. theol. 1, 2, q. 84.

406. Notions. A capital vice is that from which other vices and sins flow forth as from a fountain.

St. Thomas writes to the matter:² "Capital is said from head. But the head, properly indeed, is a certain member of an animal, which is the principle and directive of the whole animal. Hence metaphorically every principle and directive is called a head; and also men who direct and govern others are said to be heads of others. Therefore a capital sin is so called insofar as it metaphorically signifies the principle or directive of others; and thus a capital vice is called that from which other vices arise, and chiefly according to the origin of a final cause, which is the formal origin.... And therefore a capital vice is not only the principle of others, but is also directive, and in a certain way leading, of others.... Hence Gregory³ compares capital vices of this kind to leaders of armies."

The Angelic Doctor rather employs the word capital vice than capital sin, to signify that here the matter concerns evil habits or propensities which have arisen from repeated acts. Hence, for example, one who once or a few times has committed the sin of drunkenness is not yet properly to be called entangled in a capital vice. The same Angelic Doctor notes that other vices arise from capital vices chiefly according to the origin of a final cause, that is, other sins are committed for the sake of obtaining the end of the capital vice, or, to use the example of St. Gregory:⁴ a capital vice, for example a hardened propensity of lust, is as it were a tyrant, for whose satisfaction many subjects, that is, many other disordered acts, are forced to serve.

² L. c. a. 3.

³ Moral. l. 31, c. 17 a med.

⁴ Moral. l. 31, c. 45 (Migne, Patr. lat. 76, 620).

407. Number. After St. Gregory the Great seven capital vices are commonly enumerated: vain glory, avarice, lust, envy, gluttony, anger, sloth. By some pride is added, which nevertheless with St. Thomas⁵ is better called the queen and beginning of every sin. For "the end in acquiring all temporal goods is that through them a man may have a certain singular perfection and excellence. And therefore on this side pride, which is the appetite of excellence, is posited as the beginning of every sin." Some, who number pride among the capital vices, establish their number as eight.

The first who seems to have spoken of those eight vices and enumerated them all together is Evagrius Ponticus, died around 400:⁶ "There are eight chief kinds of vicious thoughts, under which every thought is contained: the first is of gluttony, the second of lust, the third of avarice, the fourth of sadness, the fifth of anger, the sixth of sloth, the seventh of vain glory, the eighth of pride."⁷

St. Thomas⁸ skillfully demonstrates that the sevenfold number of capital vices is fitting. There are four kinds of goods which man is wont to seek inordinately, and there are three goods which man flees inordinately on account of some evil joined to them. Therefore there are seven capital vices. The first good inordinately sought is man's own excellence, praise, and honor. From this arises pride and vain glory. Another good, which is very often inordinately desired, is the good of the body. But this good is twofold: the conservation of the individual, which is sought inordinately through gluttony, that is, the disordered use of food and drink; the conservation of the human species, in the appetite of which the vice of lust produces a great disorder. The fourth good which is irrationally coveted is riches, about which the vice of avarice is concerned. - But the goods which are fled inordinately on account of an evil joined to them are: 1. one's own spiritual good, which is abandoned on account of joined bodily labor. Such flight is sloth. 2. Another's good, which causes sadness, because it impedes our own excellence. That sadness is envy. 3. Another's good, insofar as it incites to disordered vengeance, and which produces anger.

⁵ S. theol. 1, 2, q. 84, a. 2 and a. 4 ad 4; 2, 2, q. 163, a. 8. "Pride can be considered in two ways: in one way according to itself, insofar, namely, as it is a certain special sin; in another way, according as it has a certain universal influence upon all sins.... And therefore some, considering pride according as it is a special sin, numbered it with the other capital vices. But Gregory, considering its universal influence, which it has upon all vices, did not number it with the other capital vices, but posited it as queen and mother of all the vices."

⁶ Around the same time Ioan. Cassianus, died around 435, discussed capital vices, De coenob. instit. l. 5, c. 1 (Migne, Patr. lat. 49, 201).

⁷ Περὶ τῶν ὀκτὼ λογισμῶν (Migne, Patr. gr. 40, 1271 sqq.). This author beautifully notes concerning the vice of sloth, which reigns in the monk: "The demon of sloth, who is also called the noonday demon, is the gravest of all demons." He then graphically describes this demon.

⁸ S. theol. 1, 2, q. 84, a. 4.

408. The malice of capital vices does not always exceed the malice of other sins, but on the contrary there exist sins much worse than they, for example hatred of God, blasphemy. Indeed it cannot rightly be said that any act whatever freely produced from a capital vice is a mortal sin. Thus, for example, there is, on account of smallness of matter, a light sin of anger. Nevertheless almost always he is in the state of mortal sin who knowingly and willingly fosters capital vices, that is, those vicious propensities, and does not vigorously fight against them. For he is in proximate voluntary danger of sinning even gravely; and this certainly is not licit and is already a grave sin.

Now each of the capital vices must be treated briefly. At the same time, however, we shall treat of pride and of vain glory, since they are related.