[PW] Seven Societal Ills

[Doty, Fadia]

Literary works inspired by the seven deadly sins

John Climacus (7th century) in The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Dante's (1265-1321 A.D.) The Divine Comedy
William Langland's (c. 1332-1386) Vision of Piers
Geoffrey Chaucer's (c. 1340-1400) Canterbury Tales
Christopher Marlowe's (1564-1593) The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
Edmund Spenser's (1552-1599), The Faerie Queene
Garth Nix's "The Keys to the Kingdom" is a seven-book children's series

fd

-----Original Message-----
From: project-wombat-open-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org [mailto:project-wombat-open-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org] On Behalf Of Edward Franchuk
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 1:10 PM
To: list at project-wombat.org
Cc: shaber at mcls.org
Subject: Re: [PW] Seven Societal Ills


Shari wrote:
~~~~~~~~
I am helplessly spinning my wheels, and I am hoping that somebody can recognize what I am looking for from my patron's decidedly scanty memory. Years ago, in an English class, an English professor read to them from a book a list of seven causes that "society went bad." One of the causes was "man's inhumanity to man," and she wishes to know what the other six causes were. She does not remember any other details about what they were studying that might shed some light on this problem. I came up with suspects such as ignorance, prejudice, poverty, greed , political repression, disease, etc., but could not find a set "list" that would make me realize, hey--this is what I am looking for. Does anybody know what my patron is referring to? Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. TIA.~~~~~~~~
If you Google the phrase she remembers, the very first hit gives you this:
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This phrase, which is always used with a sense of regret, was coined by Robert Burns and used in his poem From Man was made to Mourn: A Dirge, 1785:

'Many and sharp the num'rous illsInwoven with our frame!More pointed still we make ourselvesRegret, remorse, and shame!And Man, whose heav'n-erected faceThe smiles of love adorn, - Man's inhumanity to manMakes countless thousands mourn!

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Given that this was an English class, I think this is probably what the patron is looking for: the application to society could have come up in the teacher's comments or in class discussion, and the number seven count be a misremembering.

The complete poem can be found at http://www.robertburns.org/works/55.shtml.Edward Franchuk \\\\=^..^=//// Royal Military College St-Jean
See my latest book at: http://www.gomidas.org/books/Tork%20Angegh.htm.
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