<P> This classification originated with the desert fathers , especially Evagrius Ponticus , who identified seven or eight evil thoughts or spirits that one needed to overcome . Evagrius ' pupil John Cassian , with his book The Institutes , brought the classification to Europe , where it became fundamental to Catholic confessional practices as evident in penitential manuals , sermons like `` The Parson 's Tale '' from Chaucer 's Canterbury Tales , and artworks like Dante 's Purgatory ( where the penitents of Mount Purgatory are depicted as being grouped and penanced according to the worst capital sin they committed ) . The Catholic Church used the doctrine of the deadly sins in order to help people stop their inclination towards evil before dire consequences and misdeeds occur ; the leader - teachers especially focused on pride ( which is thought to be the one that severs the soul from Grace , and one that is representative and the very essence of all evil ) and greed , both of which are seen as inherently sinful and as underlying all other sins ( although greed , when viewed just by itself and discounting all the sins it might lead to , is generally thought be less serious than sloth ) . To inspire people to focus on the seven deadly sins , the vices are discussed in treatises , and depicted in paintings and sculpture decorations on Catholic churches . Peter Brueghel the Elder 's prints of the Seven Deadly Sins and extremely numerous other works , both religious and non-religious , show the continuity of this practice in the culture and everyday life of the modern era . </P>
<P> This classification originated with the desert fathers , especially Evagrius Ponticus , who identified seven or eight evil thoughts or spirits that one needed to overcome . Evagrius ' pupil John Cassian , with his book The Institutes , brought the classification to Europe , where it became fundamental to Catholic confessional practices as evident in penitential manuals , sermons like `` The Parson 's Tale '' from Chaucer 's Canterbury Tales , and artworks like Dante 's Purgatory ( where the penitents of Mount Purgatory are depicted as being grouped and penanced according to the worst capital sin they committed ) . The Catholic Church used the doctrine of the deadly sins in order to help people stop their inclination towards evil before dire consequences and misdeeds occur ; the leader - teachers especially focused on pride ( which is thought to be the one that severs the soul from Grace , and one that is representative and the very essence of all evil ) and greed , both of which are seen as inherently sinful and as underlying all other sins ( although greed , when viewed just by itself and discounting all the sins it might lead to , is generally thought be less serious than sloth ) . To inspire people to focus on the seven deadly sins , the vices are discussed in treatises , and depicted in paintings and sculpture decorations on Catholic churches . Peter Brueghel the Elder 's prints of the Seven Deadly Sins and extremely numerous other works , both religious and non-religious , show the continuity of this practice in the culture and everyday life of the modern era . </P>
where do the seven deadly sins originate from
where do the seven deadly sins originate from
the desert fathers , especially Evagrius Ponticus
the desert fathers , especially Evagrius Ponticus