Issue nº 140

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Fourth Deadly Sin: Wrath

According to the dictionary: feminine noun, from the Latin Ira. Choler, anger, indignation, rage, desire for revenge.

For the Catholic Church: Wrath is not only against others, but can turn back against someone who lets hate sow seeds in his heart. In this case usually he is led to suicide. We need to understand that punishment and its imposition belong to God.

In “Verba Seniorum” (The Word of the Ancients): Two wise men who lived in the same chapel in the Sahara desert, chatted one day: “Let’s fight so that we don’t become disassociated from the human being, or we will end up not understanding properly the passions that torture him", said one of them.

"I don’t know how to begin a fight".

"Well, we will do the following: I am putting this brick here in the middle, and you say to me: it’s mine. I will answer: no, this brick is mine. Then we will begin arguing and we will end up fighting".

And so they did. One said that the brick was his. The other argued, saying it was not. “Don’t let’s waste time over this, keep this brick," said the first. “Your idea for a fight was not very good. When we perceive that we have an immortal soul, it is impossible to fight over things".

In a laboratory study: Janice Williams followed up for six years 13,000 men and women aged between 45 and 64 years and, basing herself on their behavior, discovered that people who get intensely irritated, and frequently, have three times more chances of having a heart attack than those that face adversities more serenely (Williams, 2000).

That happens because, at each episode of Anger, the organism releases an extra load of adrenalin in the bloodstream. The high concentration of adrenalin raises the number of heartbeats and, at the same time, makes the blood vessels narrower, raising blood pressure. The repetition of such episodes may give rise to two problems usually associated to the heart attack: alteration of the heart rate and a sudden dilation of fatty deposits that might be in the arteries.(Source: Ballone G.J. – Anger and Hate, negative emotions)

In popular Brazilian music: While there is strength in my heart I don’t want anything else/ Just revenge! Revenge! Revenge! Crying out to the saints / You have to roll like the stones that roll on the road / without ever having a place of your own to be able to rest in. Lupicínio Rodrigues)

In the words of William Blake: I was angry with my friend: I mentioned this to him, and the anger went. I was angry with my enemy: I didn’t mention it to him, and the anger increased.

On hate for foreigners (xenophobia): “All Western countries are infiltrated by Moslems. Some of them are even able to talk amiably, while they wait for the moment to kill us. They say that the events of September 11 (2001) happened because of a shock of civilizations. That is a lie: a shock of civilizations calls for two distinct civilizations and that is not the case. There is only one civilization: ours. “ (Statements made by the leaders of the Danish People’s Party - – DPP – sowing the seeds of hate and the new Fascism, which Europe and the entire world are watching grow without taking serious steps)

Comment from the Tao Te King: All weapons are instruments of evil and are absolutely not the instruments of the wise prince. He uses them only when urged by necessity. Calm and repose are what he appreciates; victory by the force of weapons is undesirable for him

Considering it necessary is a sign that the man takes pleasure in killing other men, and he who takes pleasure in that killing may not run an empire.

When we want to weaken someone, we should first strengthen him. If we want to defeat him, we must first raise him. If we intend to deprive him, we must first give him presents. This is what is called subtle discernment.

Thus, the submissive and the weak will conquer the tough and strong.

(next: Gluttony)

"The Witch of Portobello" will be released in the UK on 4/23/07 and in India on 4/18/07. If you wish to read the Q&A with the author and soon the first chapters of the book, click here. The book will be released in the United States in May of 2007."