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I have 4/7 of these bastards nailed down but the last 3 I'm having difficulty attaching a body part to a sin.

This is how I understand the 7 sins:

  • Pride is Delusion
  • Envy is to Covet
  • Sloth is to Despair
  • Greed is to Hoard
  • Gluttony is to Waste
  • Lust is to Obsess
  • Wrath is to Obstinate

These are the body parts I managed to assign:

  • Pride: Brain & Spinal Cord
  • Envy: Eyes
  • Greed: Fingers / Hands
  • Gluttony: Mouth / Digestive Tract
  • Sloth: ???
  • Lust: ???
  • Wrath: ???
  • Most associate lust as something sexual, but I wanted to see if there was something more abstract out there to represent obsession.
  • Wrath is notable for anger but it's caused by an inability to adapt to negative situations, is there a way to potray this in a single body part?

Ultimately the goal is to have their physical representation not require a leap of logic or tiring explanation to make a connection. For example, Greed is represented by hands because they're are our main way of taking things, Pride has the brain because delusions are all in our head etc.

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    $\begingroup$ Isn't Pride the Neck, due to a refusal to be humble and bow down? $\endgroup$
    – Scott Downey
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 11:40
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    $\begingroup$ Obviously Sloth is the butt. $\endgroup$
    – Faerindel
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 11:43
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    $\begingroup$ Sloth could general physical weakness. Baring illness or mitigating condition, weak muscles are due to a lack of use. $\endgroup$
    – Jym
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 14:04
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    $\begingroup$ Seems obvious to me that lust would be the sexual reproductive organs. Not the most accurate, but easily the first that people will make a connection with. $\endgroup$
    – TylerH
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 15:17
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    $\begingroup$ I don't like using "brain" for any of them. It's participatory in all sins. Consider chest for pride -- puffed out, center of focus for anyone looking to project confidence, sexual overtones without being overt. "YEAH. I'm that good!" Works both male and female. $\endgroup$
    – SRM
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 15:29

12 Answers 12

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I would move a few things around.

  • Pride: Neck - Bible uses the phrase stiff necked to mean stubborn which is closely related to pride. Also Scott Downey made a good point with his comment about being humbled and bow down.
  • Envy: Eyes
  • Greed: Fingers / Hands
  • Gluttony: Stomach / Digestive Tract
  • Sloth: Body Fat & Butt - Reusing Overthinks' answer and Faerindel's comment since they are good answers.
  • Lust: Brain & Groin - Place where lust begins & place commonly associated with lust
  • Wrath: Mouth / Tongue - How many times have we said things in anger?

Edit: Added Butt, Tongue, and Groin as per multiple comments

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    $\begingroup$ All emotions originate in the brain, not just lust. $\endgroup$
    – MichaelK
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 15:31
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    $\begingroup$ This looks great, but Lust would be much better with heart(How we usually perceive the emotions coming from.), reproductive organs, or perhaps lips, and make wrath a tongue. $\endgroup$
    – akaltar
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 16:51
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    $\begingroup$ Lust would clearly originate in the groin. $\endgroup$
    – Samuel
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 18:04
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    $\begingroup$ Wrath should definitely be the mouth. Showing teeth is a sign of aggression in many species. $\endgroup$
    – ApproachingDarknessFish
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 20:10
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    $\begingroup$ @Anketam And wrath is not limited to harsh words. So why be specific there and not with lust? $\endgroup$
    – Samuel
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 22:01
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I would place them as following:

  • Pride: Hair or head in general (thus, could be brain, as you mentioned). Why? One holds ones head high if one is proud. A big, voluminous, flowing hair is often associated with something to be shown and to be proud of.
  • Envy: Eyes, I agree with you there. Why? One envy what one can see that others have.
  • Greed: Fingers or Hands, I agree with you there too. Why? Five finger discount
  • Gluttony: Mouth or only stomach. Imho, the whole digestive tract is too long. Why? Obviously one eat a lot if one falls for gluttony.
  • Sloth: Buttocks or back. Why? A lazy person sits or lies down often.
  • Lust: Genitals. Why? Well.... you know... [blushes]
  • Wrath: Heart. Why? Much (but not all) anger starts from the heart (at least if one is passionate about what one gets angry over). A common body reaction to anger is also increased heart rate and one can feel the heart beating harder if one gets angry. According to Wikipedia on anger, one can also read that Al-Ghazali (also known as "Algazel" in Europe) disagreed with Aristotle's view on the four humours, stating that animals do possess anger as one of the three "powers" in their Qalb ("heart").
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    $\begingroup$ I think they need to be something everyone generally has. Thus "hair" is out, in my opinion. $\endgroup$
    – SRM
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 0:22
  • $\begingroup$ Anger is usually the result of Passion, Because you cant be angry about something you do not care about. One thing that can be considered the opposite of Passion is Apathy, Which also means a lack of things such as love. I really like Wrath being the Heart because of this, but I agree with SRM, Hair is not really prideful. The head (excluding brain) being Pride sounds really good as well (head held high). I only wishe we had something else that could be a good representative of lust besides Genitals. $\endgroup$
    – Ryan
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 16:57
  • $\begingroup$ @Ryan I think there are some quite good alternatives in the other posts for Lust. I kinda like skin and hands; the tongue one is pretty good too, but perhaps on the limit of what one can show in some cultures (my own answer being a big no-no in those). And one can always go for heart for lust and move anger to some other part. As for the hair, I partially agree and partially not - we did develop big head hairs solely for pride display before mating, but I understand that a bald person can't really show much pride in such case. $\endgroup$
    – Mrkvička
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 18:49
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Sloth is fat cells or fat tissue in the body. If a body has almost no fat then they are either starving or no sloth.

Lust would be genitals and/or other sensory organs; possibly nose for pheromones or even skin.

Wrath could be adrenaline glands, blood, or our sharper teeth.

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    $\begingroup$ I disagree. If you are too slothful to even feed yourself, you might be skinny. $\endgroup$
    – Erin Thursby
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 14:32
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Why not resort to the Hippocratic humors theory?

Wrath is a choleric (from chole = bile) behavior. The ancient Greeks used to say that someone was digesting bile when they were holding a grudge. They used to associate bile with the spleen, but you could use the liver instead. Why?

Because "spleen" is also the name for a special kind of melancholy, like the blues. You could associate it with sloth. Or... you could use the thyroid, the pacemaker of the body. Hypothyroidism may lead to a slowing down of the body rhythm, akin to sloth.

Back to the humor theory, you could use melancholy (derived from black bile) or phlegmatic behavior (derived from phlegm) to describe sloth, which were associated with the gall bladder and the lungs, respectively.

As for lust, it would be sanguine behavior (hot blooded people) which was associated with the heart. Alternatively 1. the genitalia (which you want to avoid), 2. the kidneys (which on Hebrew symbolism, is also the location of human conscience and passions, just like the heart - confer the expression "gird your loins" or "the fruit of my loins"), 3. the lips (used for kissing and oral stimulation, and it also has second meanings - the lips wink wink nudge nudge), 4. the thighs or 5. the breasts.

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  • $\begingroup$ I think this answer is pretty underrated, maybe because it's quite meta, but I reckon it's really insightful. $\endgroup$
    – Legacy
    Commented Jan 11, 2017 at 5:31
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Pride is Pride (there's not much like it) The prideful aren't necessarily delusional. Like Tony Stark--he's definitely got pride down, but, that doesn't mean he isn't what he believes he is, which is a genius philanthropist billionaire playboy. He can be wrong and in age of ultron was wrong, but then he did the same thing again by creating Vision and fixed things. Still a prideful bastard.

Envy is to Covet. Yep.

Sloth is to lazy. The slothful can be perfectly happy and not in despair at all--but it's a sin because others can suffer because of it. I can see why you went that way, because there's an isolation factor in sloth that is also present in depression. But if you make it a matter of depression/despair, well--that is seen as an illness, NOT a sin. It's much more disturbing if they are perfectly happy. You really want to be careful with associating this with depression--and make it clear that this is not mental illness, but a choice.

Greed is to Hoard (this is all about wanting and acquiring more than you will ever need)

Gluttony is to addiction. This is all about consuming everything you can get your hands on. You had put waste, but an addict would never want to waste anything--they want to put it in them. Gluttony can be about more than food--wanting an experience, all the time, which isn't covered by lust, or wanting to consume all the time--it can be food or drugs or whatever.

Lust is to Obsess The lustful don't have to obsess over any one person, but they can obsess over the idea of sex.

Wrath is to Obstinate. Somebody cuts in front of you in line and you get angry. That doesn't make you obstinate. Anger is a response to an event. That can often mean a change but it can also be response to years of oppression. That's not stubbornness.

BODY PARTS LEFT YOU HAVEN'T ASSIGNED

Sloth: back or butt as Mrkvicka says. I disagree with fat, because the slothful might not eat much. Too much effort...

Lust: I'd just go with the obvious here. If you don't want to, then, sure, glands might do it.

Wrath: Again, Mrkvicka's suggestion of heart was my first instinct for the reasons they outlined.

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    $\begingroup$ Where are the body parts? $\endgroup$
    – Noctis Skytower
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 14:56
  • $\begingroup$ @NoctisSkytower Already on there, but I bolded and added a header so is more prominent. $\endgroup$
    – Erin Thursby
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 19:04
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Using the brain for any of the "seven deadly sins" is, perhaps, too easy. Any sin could come from the brain. Instead, I suggest the following:

  • Pride: Heart
  • Envy: Ears
  • Greed: Eyes
  • Gluttony: Mouth
  • Sloth: Gut (belly)
  • Lust: Hands
  • Wrath: Kidneys (adrenal glands)

Pride comes from the heart; it's an emotion, though often confused for "fact". Just because you feel you should be proud, doesn't mean there is actually a reason. It's even an involuntary reaction to stick out your chest as you inflate with pride.

Envy - desiring what others have - could come from eyes, but more often is a result of someone else bragging; thus, ears. Listening too long to braggarts will cause envy, more so than simply seeing someone's possessions.

Greed is the urge to collect, and keep, things for yourself. There is no use in the collecting; be it money, power, or otherwise, greed is about having, not using. Thus, the eyes, because the eyes can be pleased and not use a thing up, and eyes can experience vast wealth, and still want more.

Gluttony is about using something, and using it far past what would ever be needed. Be it overeating, binge-watching television, or exercising past the point of health, gluttony is about extremes. The mouth can eat all day; the jaw will chew and the tongue will taste, even if the stomach is full, even to the point of throwing up just to enjoy more food.

Sloth is the gut, the fat of the belly. The more energy goes unused, the more the gut grows; fat cells will expand indefinitely, overwhelming the rest of the body. Worse, that stored energy makes people less likely to get rid of it, as slothfulness promotes slothfulness.

Lust, beyond sex, is an unclean desire, a want for something unwholesome. More than a desire to simply see or hear, it is a need to experience, to feel, to be immersed. The more one experiences, the more one lusts for more. Just as we wash our hands to get rid of germs, ancient cultures would ritually wash their hands to show that they had cleansed themselves, purging the filth from their hands; what sin is more filthy than lust?

Wrath causes an immediate spike of adrenaline, turning peace into violence, turning anger into rage. Even silent and hidden, wrath burns in your mind and ignites your muscles, screaming, no matter how silently, to bring pain to others. The kidneys host the adrenal glands, which in turn regulate adrenaline; without them, wrath would quickly turn to apathy. Instead, they add fuel to the fires...

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I'm looting from all of the answers and comments thus far, but offering a unique Lust. All of these are exterior body parts.

Lust isn't about sex. It is WANTING sex. It is salivating about it and the seduction leading up to sex. The tongue is common to both sexes. And it is what changes a chaste kiss into something else.

  • Envy: eyes
  • Lust: tongue
  • Gluttony: belly
  • Wrath: right hand
  • Greed: left hand
  • Sloth: feet
  • Pride: chest
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The anime Full Metal Alchemist features enemies (called homunculi) representing the 7 sins and can be used as a example case. Each of these homunculi has a mark of homunculus on the body part and it is widely thought that the body part is associated with their sin. Without going much into details and spoilers here are where marks are for each sin and my take on it:

  • Pride: Forehead
    Somehow overlaps with your thought but kinda unsatisfying. Can't find a better place to put it though, except for maybe the nape.

  • Envy: Leg
    Makes no sense. I would go with eye.

  • Greed: Inside the palm.
    Makes more sense than being on the outside of hand.

  • Gluttony: On the tongue.
    I completely agree

  • Sloth: On their back.
    Makes sense because this character was forced ironically to do hard work like carrying stuff. I would also consider putting it on leg.

  • Lust: On her chest.
    Because of obvious reasons. I would put it near genitals or somehow painted onto the hair. Genitals wouldn't work if you wanted to show it to people.

  • Wrath:

    Mark is their pupil.

    Does not make sense for me. I would put it on their heart.

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I have a similar setup, where each body part is part of the physical manifestation of darkness, given to humans who then embody a Sin.

While Greed is the "Hand that Takes" - in this case the left arm, Wrath is the "Fist that Breaks" - the right arm.

For sloth I gave the bones (ever heard the term "lazy bones"?) .

Lust got the heart (The 'source' of love, thus the perversion of it would reside there too).

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The other answers give an excellent place to start. The association to the humors mentioned by Pedro was going to be my go to. Here's a few more ideas:

For Sloth: the feet

Often they are referred to colloquially when a person is being lazy they are "dragging their feet" or a person that kicks up their feet is showing they are not working.

For Lust: the skin

Lust is quite often associated with sensual pleasure, which would originate with tactile sense. The hands would also work quite well for the very negative connotations with Lust (those that Lust want to touch the thing of their obsession).

For Wrath: the teeth

When animals are angry they bare their teeth. People can do this too, but it's a symbol so universal that it transcends species. We also grit our teeth when we're mad, or refer to anger in terms of 'biting'.

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I mentioned the question for my partner, who got a bit interested in the subject. My partner gave some fairly new associations which I thought was interesting enough to warrant a second answer.

  • Pride: Nose. Why? If one is too proud, then one can be uppity, arrogant or snobbish; such a person walk around with their nose stuck up high in the air.
  • Envy: Teeth. Why? Not sure how common it is to say it in English, but there is a Slavic idiom that "one grinds ones teeth with envy" (skřípe zuby zavistí).
  • Greed: Cheeks. Why? If you want a lot of stuff, then you need to carry it somehow; you might ending up looking like this guy.
  • Gluttony: Belly. Why? If one eats too much, then one get a big belly.
  • Sloth: Feet Why? Because a lazy person drags their feet behind.
  • Lust: Heart Why? That's where the longing for someone resides.
  • Wrath: Eyes Why? Now the boar's anger flashed like lightning; flames blazed from his eyes.
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To me, nothing represents Wrath so much as a clenched fist.

Even if someone is managing to maintain a calm expression and appearance, if he is angry and wrathful, one or both hands are likely curled into fists.

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