Luther did not invent the curvitas image: it was a well-worn motif in the Augustinian tradition, signifying pride, self-seeking, and rebellion against God. But, as Anders Nygren noted, there is a significant difference in the way Augustine and Luther employ this image. While Augustine speaks of sinners as bent or crooked, curved and bowed down to the earth, Luther makes the self, not just earthly goods, the supreme object of this distorted curvature.25 In other words, Luther deepens and radicalizes