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avaritia

Avaritia is the Latin noun for greed or avarice, the excessive desire for wealth or material possessions. The abstract noun avaritas denotes greed as a moral vice, and the term has been used in Latin literature and Catholic theology to discuss miserliness and compulsive accumulation.

In Christian tradition, avarice is one of the seven deadly sins. It is treated as an inordinate

Literary and artistic works have shaped and preserved the notion of avaritia. A well-known example is Dante

In contemporary usage, avaritia remains a core reference in ethics, philosophy, and cultural critique as a label

attachment
to
earthly
wealth
that
can
distort
justice,
charity,
and
the
common
good.
The
virtuous
counterpoint
is
generosity
or
liberality.
In
medieval
and
Renaissance
writings,
avarice
is
analyzed
alongside
other
vices,
often
with
attention
to
its
social
and
spiritual
harms.
Alighieri’s
Purgatorio,
where
the
avaricious
and
the
prodigal
occupy
a
terrace
and
push
heavy
weights
as
a
form
of
penance,
symbolizing
the
wrong
direction
of
wealth
and
attachment
to
riches.
for
greed,
hoarding,
or
excessive
consumerism.
While
the
term
is
rooted
in
Latin
and
medieval
discourse,
it
is
frequently
invoked
in
discussions
of
wealth,
social
inequality,
and
the
critique
of
materialism.
The
concept
continues
to
appear
across
religious,
literary,
and
scholarly
contexts
as
a
concise
designation
of
unchecked
desire
for
money
and
possessions.