Did you know that Gluttony has Six Daughters?

I just got back from vacation in South Carolina. A beautiful place with lots of great food (when you visit, be sure to order “shrimp and grits”). I ate a bit too much – gained a couple of pounds. So I was reading on the topic and here’s what I found.

Did you know that the “deadly sin” of Gluttony is the proud mother of six? According to Saint Gregory the Great (Moralia, 31, 45), the capital sin of gluttony (eating and drinking too much) has “six daughters”. The daughters of gluttony are:

1. excessive joy
2. unseemly joy
3. scurrility (levity in behavior)
4. uncleanness (related to vomiting and sexual impurity)
5. loquaciousness
6. dullness of mind as regards the understanding

On this topic, Saint Thomas Aquinas reminds us of this verse: “I thought in my heart to withdraw my flesh from wine, that I might turn my mind in wisdom” (Ecc 2:3).

Time to go eat my salad for lunch…