The Seven Deadly Sins

The Seven Vices

Lust

Gluttony

Greed

Sloth

Wrath

Envy

Pride

The Seven Virtues

Chastity

Temperance

Charity

Diligence

Patience

Gratitude

Humility

Cast of Characters:

Soqedziel= Angel of temptation, a deceiver (So-keydz-E-el)

Peliel= Angel of virtue, a virtuous worrier (Pel-E-el)

A/N: the angels can change their form and sex. Hopefully, I have described them well enough that you are able to keep up with who they are.

The angels, Soqedziel and Peliel, sat on a mail coach bound from Gravesend for Romford still dressed as demobbed soldiers. Their fellow carriage passengers slept as the coach crept on; the time was near midnight.

Soqedziel sighed, "well, you won that one four to three."

"Yes," replied Peliel with a satisfied breath, "but where are we to go now? That assignment was remarkably short."

"The town of Meryton," noted Soqedziel.

"What guise shall we take this time?" asked Peliel, who thumped at his leg, and the stains on the white uniform trousers.

"How about two sisters? Two young, virginal sisters," proposed Soqedziel. "We'll need a mother to look after us, of course. But there's something about playing a virgin that I love." The suggestion on the face of a man who had three or four days' growth of whiskers was so odd that is was a good thing that their fellow passengers were sleeping.

"What do we know about being a virgin or about sex? We're celestial messengers. We know nothing about sex; we, neither of us, are allowed to experience the physical pleasures that humans do," argued the angel Peliel. He sounded affronted at the idea.

"But it's fun to pretend that we are knowledgeable about the subject, or in this case, to not be knowledgeable, and ooze Lust, Envy, or even a little Gluttony when we play virgins," contended Soqedziel.

"I think you enjoy this job too much." Peliel's voice took on a worried tone.

"It isn't a job," cried his companion. "It is our raison d'etre!"

"Our reason for being? For sure, we are beings, but celestial beings, not human. I'm not sure we can use such a phrase to describe ourselves," asserted the other angel.

"I think we can use what we need, or do anything we want, so long as we get these mortals to look at themselves," insisted Soqedziel.

"Sometimes, I think we only make their situations worse," worried Peliel. He was given to more profound thoughts, or at least to getting humans to look deeper into themselves in an attempt to appeal to their virtuous side.

"That's what makes it fun," was the retort that came across the dark carriage.

"Are we allowed to have fun?" Peliel's voice sounded like a growl. "Are celestial beings allowed to experience fun if we can't experience pleasure?"

"We may not be able to experience physical pleasure, but Joy is at the top of our all-time list, please!"

"I guess you're right. But, I worry," was Peliel's reply.

"Don't worry, it'll be fun," asserted his companion.

"Again, can we experience fun? Joy is different than…fun." Peliel sounded worried and skeptical.

"Yes, we can have fun," pacified Soqedziel. "Maybe we've been down here for so long that we're becoming more human-like."

"That would be against all our teachings; why we've been sent down here!" declared Peliel, affronted.

"Why have we been sent here?" Soqedziel almost sounded naïve.

"To steer mankind away from the seven deadly Sins and towards the seven heavenly Virtues," stated Peliel all in a rush.

"You rattled that off too quickly. I can tell you are still following the company line," huffed Soqedziel.

"The company line? This is God's word and message we're talking about. I didn't think we were permitted to deviate from our task!" Peliel was even more affronted. "What would the archangels say?" he whispered.

"No, no," placated the other angel, "but it doesn't mean we can't have fun while we do our job. Besides, we have our running bet."

"Yes, that's true," smiled Peliel. It was a small, crooked smile. Perhaps this angel (who was an angel of virtue) had also been on earth and among humans too long as he seemed to have brightened—literally—as he was glowing slightly at the mention of their bet. Soqedziel had fewer qualms about rules and rule-breaking. It was the nature of being a tempter angel.

"So…two virgins?" prompted Soqedziel. Perhaps, it could be argued, the angel of deception.

"Enough with the virgins, but I like the idea of being sisters. I didn't like being soldiers in that last town. I don't think that I am formed to be a military man."

"We aren't formed!" guffawed Soqedziel loud enough that the man next to him stirred as if waking. He held a hand to his lips before continuing in a softer voice. "It means we can change our form into what we need to be, for whatever the circumstance. So, two sisters? I'll be the younger one if you wish, and you can be in charge this time, all right?" The angel raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" asked the other, still skeptical.

"Yes, I will be sappy and vapid and just generally flirtatious." That hand moved to the side of his head; the fingers splayed out. The eyelashes were batted. Again, such gestures on the face of a rather dirty soldier were just wrong.

"You sound like you want to lose your virginity." Peliel pointed an accusatory finger.

"No, no." The hand came down in front of his chest then. "Let's stop at an inn before we reach Meryton. We need a cover story. So…Harriet, how about the name, Harriet? I don't know that I've ever been an Harriet before."

"Hmm, I need a name too. Mary?" proposed Peliel.

"You always use Mary!" Soqedziel accused. The man next to him stirred again, then settled.

"It's my back-up name!" protested Peliel.

"But you can't seem to deviate from being extremely virtuous even when we are called to tempt—or rather test—a human being's strengths, and see if they've mended their ways and are taking the virtuous path," explained the other angel.

"But the Mother of our Lord!" protested Peliel.

"Another name please!" growled Soqedziel.

"Faith?" suggested Peliel.

"Try again," huffed Soqedziel, who tapped his hands on his knees.

"Something faith-ful then: Penelope?" asked Peliel.

"I can accept that one. Penelope and Harriet. We need a cover story; our mother is moving to this Meryton with us in tow. She's recently widowed, or long-term widowed?" mused the other angel.

"Long-widowed, more pathetic, more sympathetic," argued Peliel.

"I'd think recently widowed would be more sympathetic," murmured Soqedziel. "I'm sure we will find another unsuspecting widow who doesn't realize she is surreptitiously doing God's work and doesn't even realize we aren't her daughters."

"Are we being deceitful, using people like this?" It was a frequent complaint from Peliel.

"But they are always better off than before; we ensure that they are. Besides, they get a fast pass to Heaven once they are ready," Soqedziel pointed out.

"I know, but it still seems deceitful." Peliel pursed his lips.

"Don't worry so much and let's set our sights on Meryton." That hand reached out.

"Meryton, right!" Agreed Peliel and shook Soqedziel's hand in agreement.

In Romford, they found a Mrs. Harrington, recently widowed, who was seeking cheaper accommodations. It was only the matter of a little persuasion by Soqedziel and Peliel to convince the widow that they were her daughters: Harriet and Penelope. By then, they had changed forms from the demobbed soldiers of before to young, pretty girls.

They were able to persuade Mrs. Harrington that they were on their way to Meryton because of some slight acquaintance who had invited all three of them to consider residing there. Mrs. Harrington would be welcomed with open arms to settle among friends in her recent widowhood. It would be a place too where her daughters would have ready-made friends. It was not difficult to obtain inexpensive lodgings in the village. They settled in their rooms, and the two angels began to scan the assortment of creatures before them. Sorting them, as they always did, into the Sinners and the Virtuous.

There was one young woman of average stature, thin, quiet, and plain, who appeared as though she never got enough to eat. She looked as if she came from a house full of so many people that there were too many children, and the angels discovered this to be true. She was quite sociable, this Miss Charlotte Lucas, and very welcoming which Penelope and Harriet discovered was symbolic of the entire Lucas clan, who seemed to welcome anyone new into their arms. It was as though congeniality was at the core of the Lucas Family's makeup.

It was this Miss Charlotte Lucas who was the first person that the angels identified as embodying either a Vice or a Virtue as Miss Lucas had an infinite amount of Patience given she was the oldest child of a large household. The two angels found it interesting that the first to be identified as a candidate had a strong Virtue and not a Vice. Usually, Vices hung in the air like breath on a cold day, or lay around a person's neck, like jewelry.

"I wonder if we might tempt her to Wrath?" Harriet-Soqedziel remarked one evening when they were sitting in the Lucas' drawing room, having been invited for an evening of entertainment. Soqedziel was better at testing humans than Penelope-Peliel. Peliel often felt sorry for people and struggled with testing or challenging the Virtuous lest they fall even farther from grace. And sometimes, testing a sinner only led them into a new sin. She was an angel of Virtue, after all. (Though there were times when a swift kick in the pants was needed, metaphorically, to turn a human away from sin.)

"I don't know," replied Penelope. "There are times when I can sense a human's proofing (what convictions lie beneath and what faults they have). People are often fluid with their emotions. For example, they can be Prideful, but still, express Humility on Sunday. However, I think Miss Lucas is Patient all the seven days of the week."

"It's difficult to consider what we might do to induce her to Wrath," remarked Harriet-Soqedziel. "Let us wait and see how things play out." This angel was not one to give up on her task of Temptation as a means of making humans see their faults.

Lust was easy to find—it was the easiest of the vices to identify at any place or time. Most people had a secret spot in their heart for it, both men and women. For the angels, it was often a matter of choosing the particular person who would be the most diverting to follow, and who would provide the most sport as they tested the person's fortitude.

"You don't suppose we will ever get in trouble, because we like to make bets on our results do you?" asked Penelope-Peliel.

"It's what we're charged to do!" argued Harriet-Soqedziel, brushing her off. "There is nothing that can be done to us. Not really...except assigning us to northern Scotland again. Besides, it's our job to induce as many towards good, virtuous behavior—towards the seven Graces. Yet, we also recognize the failings of human nature and that they so often fall short of such virtues. I don't see why we shouldn't make bets on it. Humans love to bet all the time. I don't know why we can't do the same."

"I worry," murmured Penelope, who looked at the people playing cards all around her.

"How many evenings do humans play at cards and bet on them?" asserted Soqedziel, the tempter angel. "I think we ought to add to our wager. Let us find a Lustful lady in this town. I am tired of following Lustful gentlemen. All too often we only follow them around from one conquest to another, but Lustful ladies are a different matter. They are a little more guarded about giving in to those inclinations of the flesh. They may acknowledge their sexual appetites, but are more cautious about their expression."

"Agreed," said Penelope-Peliel. She was quiet for many moments. "You don't suppose we will ever find someone who represents Chastity do you? In our centuries of years of looking, we never have." The two looked at each other with compressed smiles before they began to giggle. Their card partners frowned at these two foolish and ridiculous girls.

The Harrington sisters had not been a wholesome and welcome addition to Meryton society. Vapid and ignorant, their only virtue seemed to be their pretty faces, neither had any dowry to speak of. They were only hangers-on at any evening get-together; they were not the cream of Meryton society.

While the two angels kept their eyes open for a libidinous lady, they continued to compile their knowledge of the Meryton neighborhood and its inhabitants.

Some of the other sins were more difficult to identify, Envy and Sloth were two which took time to ferret out. Sloth was challenging because a lazy person never did anything, so the angels never came across such a creature. Envy could be a subtle one. It took a lot of observation on their part. Envy hid beneath layers and was often disguised beneath, or was displayed in conjunction with, one of the other sins. Someone whom you mistook as Prideful sometimes seethed underneath with Envy. Greedy people were often also Envious.

But in point of fact, Sloth was easy for them to discover. They had not been in Meryton more than a fortnight and had been visited by a number of people, expanding their social circle (along with their fictitious mother, Mrs. Harrington, who was just as social as the good-natured Lucas family) when they were invited to a dinner party. There they met Mrs. Bennet and were compelled to listen to her complain to Lady Lucas about her husband who had not bothered to attend the party that evening.

"And he never does come!" Mrs. Bennet's voice was shrill and loud and carried over to Penelope and Harriet sitting with a new circle of friends.

There were a lot of Bennet daughters which the angels were still sorting out. With such an assortment, there seemed likely candidates for vices or virtues among them, particularly the beautiful Jane Bennet. Anyone who was fair of face often hid a vice or two underneath. But both angels turned their attention to the noise that this Mrs. Bennet was making.

"He never comes! He can never leave his book room. He is the Laziest man, ever! Sometimes, it takes all of my effort to get him to even come to dinner. He will be so lost in a book that he will demand a tray sent into him. He can't even bother to be the head of his family. How much I have suffered over the years!" bellowed Mrs. Bennet, wringing her hands in exasperation.

There was a long soliloquy from her then about how much the Laziness, the indolence, the lack of foresight, and inactivity of her husband had made them destitute, for there was not enough money for proper dowries for the five daughters. Mrs. Bennet was sure she would be tossed into the hedgerows the day her husband died. The property was entailed, none of her daughters were married, and Mrs. Bennet wasn't sure why she had married the man in the first place. Had she known he was so Lazy, she would have looked elsewhere. Mr. Bennet was to be their candidate for Sloth!

Harriet-Soqedziel and Penelope-Peliel turned back to observe the Bennet sisters, and in particular, the eldest, Jane Bennet to see if they could ascertain Envy, Greed, or especially, Pride there. But Miss Bennet was sweet, honest, complacent, and bland. Jane Bennet appeared to be only what she presented. They could find no hidden vices even though they spent the rest of the evening surveying her.

Over the next few days, they examined the other four daughters. The next oldest daughter was far more interesting. She was impertinent, spoke her mind, and was a great deal more complex. She definitely could be hiding vices, but the angels reserved judgment. This daughter, Elizabeth Bennet, definitely appeared to be a creature that they needed more experience of, one day's observation would not be enough.

There was a preachy sister. And another who was insecure and had no definition of herself unless she was in the company of her sisters. She did not know what to do unless she was told what to do or was assured that she was valued because someone said so.

But the youngest (who was not even sixteen) was a remarkable bundle of Lust—one they had not seen in someone so young for many a decade. She was bold, brash, flirtatious, and did not seem to understand society's rules on how to behave. Whenever she was in the vicinity of any young man, she put on a display of her wares as if a flower that opened under the influence of the sun. The angels marked Lydia Bennet for further study. Such a creature was a Lustful candidate and one of the most interesting that they had come across for years.

There was a militia in town. It was always amusing to observe any young women who lived near an encampment and the Meryton misses' reactions to the officers and enlisted men who were nearby was the same as it was anywhere else. The soldiers provided strong, but overly easy marks for the angels. While militiamen or soldiers were interesting to observe, Soqedziel and Peliel often did not pay attention to them as candidates for vice. Soldiers were never candidates for virtue.

There was to be an assembly ball, and the angels (in their guises as Harriet and Penelope) looked forward to attending. Vices were often on display at balls (sometimes virtues were too), though they were hidden behind fans, under the guise of things like dance and conversation, or even behind manners. Humans displayed their vices for others to see and consume, perhaps to mimic, and definitely to respond to.

The angels had come to a certain familiarity with most of the residents after many months in Meryton. They felt the same excitement that their neighbors did, therefore, when news spread around town about new residents. Someone had let Netherfield Hall: a young man of large fortune from the north of England was to live among them. This young gentleman had all of the mothers in town in a dither, even if it did not excite the young women nearly as much. That company of militia officers was far more exciting as they were present.

Young ladies' hearts beat blood through their veins when they looked at young men with longing. It was a physical longing. The young woman would have to wait to see this new tenant of Netherfield Hall. Lust generally took precedence over Greed as far as young females were concerned. But the mothers with marriageable daughters in Meryton had Greed in their eyes, pure and simple. Mr. Bingley was the name of the new tenant of Netherfield, and he was worth four or five thousand a year. The matrons were sure he would be a catch for one of their daughters.

By hook or by crook, the mothers sent their servants out to discover as much information as could be gathered from Mr. Bingley's servants in the days following his move to Netherfield Hall. They sent their husbands to call on him, and welcome him to the neighborhood, all smiles when they did—and in some cases with sincerity. Particularly in the case of Sir William Lucas, who had many children, including Patient Charlotte (who at twenty-seven was not likely to ever be married).

There was concern among all those Mammas when they heard that Mr. Bingley had five sisters. They worried that he would bring all of them to the assembly ball—so many ladies! It was mortifying to think of such a crowd. Such a surfeit of women, there never were enough men to partner with the ladies the first place, but extras! That was unwarranted and unwanted. But it was a general relief amongst the neighbors when only a party of five appeared from Netherfield: Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, and two other gentlemen.

Mr. Bingley proved handsome and charming, and he moved about the room with friendly smiles as Harriet and Penelope studied him.

"Well," commented Harriet-Soqedziel. "He seems kind enough. Tolerably handsome, but rather blank. He's personable, but not very interesting overall."

"He lacks any passion for fitting one of our Vices, nor does he have a steadfastness of character to have one of our Virtues," declared Penelope-Peliel, twisting her smile sideways in disappointment. Being the angel of Virtue, she always hoped to find exemplary candidates.

"However, his sisters seem to have inspired Envy in every woman in the room," pointed out Harriet, which was true. Mr. Bingley's two sisters were wealthy women. Their clothes were elegant; the lace was expensive. There was not a single woman in the room who did not look at them and their style and level of dress without Envy. "That was just what we needed," continued Harriet. "We needed those beacons to better hone in on our candidate for Envy."

Before coming to Earth, centuries ago—millennium ago, Harriet-Soqedziel's job in Heaven had been as an angel who weighed the merits of a person's soul. She was used to considering the nuances of sin.

"But they all do!" cried Penelope voicing the problem.

"An issue," agreed Harriet.

"It is," sighed Penelope who tapped her finger against her lip. She turned to look at a group of young women nearby. The Bennet sisters had been in a conference about the two Bingley sisters: Mrs. Hurst and Miss Caroline Bingley. One of the gentlemen in the party was her husband, Mr. Hurst; there was also a Mr. Darcy, a friend to Mr. Bingley.

But four Bennet sisters stood together. There was the usual lack of sufficient seating at the assembly, and the four young women were all commenting about the elegance of the ladies' dresses while they watched their eldest sister, Jane, dance with Mr. Bingley.

"The trouble is, they all sigh in equal measure over the cut of a sleeve or about the of lace at a neckline," announced Harriet-Soqedziel. But there was something about Elizabeth Bennet that caught the angel's eye. She looked again at that quartet of women who were glancing without any deceit at the two new female visitors. Soqedziel shared her thoughts with Peliel, and they honed in to watch the one sister, Elizabeth, a little more closely.

Elizabeth Bennet was just as much an observer of human nature as the two angels. She seemed to hide her Envy of those elegant women as if it didn't matter too much to her that they had more substantial dowries and could spend their money on such beautiful clothes. But Soqedziel thought that underneath, it was concerning, and Elizabeth did Envy them their lot in life. She would not, however, admit to such prejudice if it were ever brought before her. Sometimes Envy is hidden below other expressions of emotion. A person with opinions and strong preferences about others and their behaviors is actually Envious underneath. Friends might encourage such a person by telling her she is clever and observant, when in fact her prejudiced views hide her Envy of others.

Even though Mr. Bingley had only brought two of his sisters, there still was not a sufficient number of gentlemen to keep all the ladies happy who wished to dance. The angels noticed, later in the evening, that Miss Elizabeth was obliged to sit out for a set of dances—and then they found Pride.

Harriet-Soqedziel and Penelope-Peliel were standing together, having given up their seats to a couple tired from the dance. The two angels had also passed over having their hands solicited for the later dances—the better to observe—when they witnessed a scene between Mr. Bingley's friend and Elizabeth Bennet. It wasn't exactly a scene between that gentleman and that lady, but it involved him saying condescending things about her. That, you might say, is not precisely an example of Pride. The way he spoke was, for he was talking to his friend.

Mr. Darcy had been standing by himself. He had only danced with Mr. Bingley's two sisters and refused to dance with any other lady because he refused to be introduced to any of the multitudes of young women in the room. Mr. Bingley came off of the dance floor to solicit him to reconsider. Bingley expounded on the topic of the dance, the young women, and how attractive the prospect of dancing was! How could Mr. Darcy possibly refuse such a delight? Mr. Darcy, glowing with Pride, and self-satisfied that he knew his place (and it was not to be introduced to anyone at such a place as a country dance), refused to join the entertainment or consider dancing! Darcy was above everyone there.

"How can you say such a thing?" Mr. Bingley said to him. He argued that surely there must be a pretty girl to tempt him?

That is when the thunderbolt struck, for Mr. Bingley had pointed out Elizabeth Bennet (who was sitting nearby) as a potential dance partner. Mr. Darcy and his Pride had replied, "She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men."

Soqedziel and Peliel actually clapped their hands. Very gently. Not as if clapping for a performance, but simply in acknowledgment at having found another one of their candidates.