The Sin of Sloth

Spiritual sloth is a sluggishness of the soul in the exercise of virtue. If the reason for the sluggishness is the labour and difficulty which accompany the practice of virtue, sloth will be a mortal sin whenever on account of it a grave precept is violated; otherwise it will be a venial sin. If sloth makes the friendship of God tedious and irksome because of the trouble it takes to preserve it, it is a mortal sin, inasmuch as it is directly against our obligation of loving God with our whole heart.

The predominant individual motives for sin are as numerous as the different characters of those addicted to sin, and hence it is impossible to classify them. The predominant general motives for sin, on the contrary, can be assigned according to the principal goods that most often move or repel with wills of all who commit sin, as follows: (a) goods of the soul, such as praise and honor, inordinately pursued (the vice of pride); (b) goods of the body, inordinately desired (the views of lust and gluttony); (c) goods that are external, unduly loved (the vice of avarice); (d) one’s own good, not sufficiently wished (the vice of sloth); (e) the neighbor’s good, not suffiviently desired (the vices of envy and anger).

Certain acts of fear or sadness must not be mistaken for despair: (a) acts that are praiseworthy, like servile and filial fear spoken of above (see 1048 sqq.), grief over sin, etc.; (b) acts that are a trial from God, such as spiritual desolations in holy persons, scruples about forgiveness of sins, anxieties about predestination, perseverance, or the Judgment; (c) acts that are sinful, such as worldly fear, fear of God that is purely servile, timidity (i.e., an excessive dread of death or other evils). Those who fear that, on account of their frailty, they may not acquire a good habit or overcome an evil one, are guilty of pusillanimity. Those who, on account of sadness, neglect prayer are guilty of spiritual sloth.

The Sin of Sloth.—Sloth is a sadness or dejection of the will about the divine good one possesses, and arises from a want of esteem for one’s Last End and the means thereto.

(a) Sloth is a sadness of the will. Hence, the sin of sloth differs from the passion of sadness, and also from bodily weariness. The passions (as said in 121) are not evil in themselves, but become evil when exercised immoderately, or turned to an evil object. Weakness or weariness of body is not sinful, but it disposes one for the passion of sadness, and this in turn may tempt the will to sloth, when duties owed to God are to be attended to.

(b) Sloth is a sadness about good, and so it differs from sadness about the smallness of one’s good. Humility demands that one be sensible of one’s own shortcomings and of the greater merits of those who are better. But it is not humility but ingratitude and sloth to depreciate and grieve over the good which one has received from God, such as the gift of faith, membership in the Church, etc.

(c) Sloth is sadness about the divine good, which is loved by charity. Thus, the sin of sloth differs from the circumstance of sloth, which is found in every sin. There is no sin that does not contain a sadness or disgust about the act of the opposite virtue; the very thought of moderation is depressing to the glutton, and religion is associated with gloom by the irreligious. But what is special to the sin of sloth is, that it grieves about that divine good itself over which charity rejoices, and which is the end of all the other virtues.

(d) Sloth is a sadness about the divine good as shared by self, that is, about the end offered oneself and the means thereto, such as eternal beatitude, the friendship of God, the Sacraments, the Commandments, good works and other divine gifts which should be esteemed and received with gladness. Sloth thus differs from hatred of God, which is a sadness over God’s own goodness; and from envy, which is a sadness over the good of the neighbor.

(e) Sloth is a sadness over the divine good, which is considered by one as an evil. The sin of sloth looks upon the joys of heaven or the practice of virtue with contempt; it directly spurns them as unworthy of love (cfr. Num., xxi. 4). Hence, sloth differs from laziness or idleness, for this latter sin dislikes the exercise of virtue, not because it considers virtue as evil, but because it has a dread of the labor and exertion which virtue entails, and is overmuch in love with repose and ease.

Sloth is a sin. (a) It is forbidden by God: “Bow down thy shoulder and bear wisdom, and be not grieved with her bands” (Ecclus., vi. 26). (b) It is an evil sorrow, for it grieves over good. (c) It has evil effects, since it keeps man from his duty, swallowing him up with overmuch sorrow (II Cor., ii. 7).

Qualities of the Sin of Sloth.—(a) Sloth is a special sin, since, as explained above, its individual objects differentiate it from the general slothfulness that is found in every sin, as well as from hatred, envy and laziness. But it is a sin, by comparison, rarely committed. (b) It is a mortal sin, from its nature, since it is a horror and detestation for the divine good. It is implicitly forbidden in the Third Commandment, (c) It is a capital sin (i.e., a vice naturally productive of others), for sadness inclines man to many evils as means of escape from sorrow or of consolation in sorrow.

In the following cases sloth is not a mortal sin. (a) It is not a mortal sin if in the object there is not grave matter. When a person is grieved at the thought that he will be forced to some spiritual good which is not of precept but of counsel, he does not sin thereby, for one does not sin by not choosing the counsels. Strictly speaking, however, this grief is not the sin of sloth, which is a sorrow over the divine good that one is bound to accept with joy. (b) Sloth is not a mortal sin, if in the subject there is not sufficient reflection or full consent. Hence, mere bodily weariness in serving God, is no sin at all, and a feeling of disgust for spiritual things, not consented to, is only a struggle of the flesh against the spirit, and at most a venial sin.

Sins that Spring from Sloth.—(a) To escape his sadness about divine things, the slothful man avoids or flees the things that sadden him—his last end (sin of despair) and the means thereto (sins of cowardice and carelessness). He also attacks the causes of his grief—the persons who would lead him to God (sin of rancor) or the spiritual things themselves (sin of malice). (b) To console himself for the want of joy in spiritual things, he seeks comfort in forbidden things: his mind is unquiet and curious about that which does not concern him, his talk is excessive, his bodily movements are restless, and he must be continually moving from place to place.

The Conquest of Sloth.—(a) Flight is a suitable form of resistance to temptation, whenever the temptation grows stronger by thinking over the matter, as is the case with temptations against purity (I Cor., vi. 18). (b) Attack is a suitable form of resistance, when the temptation becomes weaker as one thinks over the matter (see 257). This is the case with sloth, for, the more one gives oneself to the consideration of spiritual things, the more pleasing do they become.

The prohibitions of uncharitableness are as follows: (a) against hatred: “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart” (Lev, xix. IT); (b) against sloth: “Bow down thy shoulder and hear her (wisdom), and be not grieved with her bands” (Ecclus., vi. 26); (c) against envy: “Let us not be made desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another” (Gal., v. 26), (d) against discord: “Speak the same things and let there be no schisms among you” (I Cor., i. 10); and (e) against scandal: “Put not a stumbling-block or a scandal in your brother’s way” (Rom., xiv. 13).

“28. Weariness of spiritual things is good, since through it self-love is purged. — 29. When the inward soul loathes discourses about God and the virtues, and remains cold, feeling no fervor in itself, it is a good sign.” Propositions of Michael de Molinos condemned by Innocent XI.

565. Acedia is a certain aggravating sadness, namely, one that so depresses the soul that it pleases one to do nothing; and therefore acedia implies a certain weariness of working or a certain torpor of mind neglecting to begin goods.⁸⁴ Acedia, insofar as it is a special vice, can be defined: disgust and sadness concerning spiritual goods or concerning the means of eternal salvation, on account of the difficulty experienced in acquiring and using them. Taken in this sense, acedia is a mortal sin from its genus, as directly opposed to charity, which not only is not saddened but rather rejoices concerning spiritual and divine goods and fervently pursues them according to that of the Psalm: "I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord."⁸⁵ Cf. those things said above, n. 434 sqq., concerning the malice, effects, and remedies of acedia.

⁸⁴ S. theol. 2, 2, q. 35, a. 1.

⁸⁵ Ps. 121, 1.

S. Th. II-II, q. 35; de Malo, q. 11.

949. Acedia is sadness concerning spiritual good, especially divine good. For acid things are cold; whence acedia imports weariness or tepidity of acting, which so depresses the soul of man that he is pleased to do nothing. Hence spiritual acedia denotes torpor, languor, tepidity, weariness concerning spiritual things, which are therefore troublesome because they require bodily labor. Whence it is sadness concerning spiritual things because they impede bodily rest and delight: for acedia prefers doing nothing rather than impeding the rest of the body, and thence is born flight from, horror of, and detestation of spiritual things. This sadness is always a sin: a) by reason of the object: for to be saddened concerning evil is good, but to be saddened concerning that which is apparently evil but truly is good, is a sin, because good does not deserve that we be saddened concerning it; b) by reason of the effect: for it withdraws man from due works.

Acedia is twofold: 1. that by which we are saddened concerning the good of any virtue whatever; this is not a special sin, even if it is done on account of bodily labor annexed, but is a circumstance of every sin, because every vice flees the opposite spiritual good also insofar as it impedes bodily rest; 2. that by which we are saddened concerning the spiritual good to which all other things are ordered, namely, concerning divine good, not in itself, but insofar as it is internal to us or pertains to us and seems evil to us: namely, if someone is saddened concerning beatitude or concerning the friendship of God, because they must be preserved through laborious exercises of virtues and so he does not care for that friendship; or if, on account of labor, he is saddened concerning the means to it, for example, concerning the sacraments, the grace of God, good works, divine precepts, etc., insofar as they are necessary or useful for the friendship of God. This is a special sin because it has a special object and directly opposes the special act of a special virtue: for it is opposed to joy concerning the divine good, in which charity delights.

950. The gravity of acedia. - 1. Acedia, as it is a general sin, is mortal or venial according as the sin of which it is a circumstance is grave or light.

2. Special acedia is a mortal sin from its genus, because according to its proper character it is opposed to charity. For the proper effect of charity is joy concerning God; whence acedia, by which we are saddened concerning the divine good, is directly opposed to charity. Nevertheless it can be venial if it is not perfectly deliberate, or even, as it seems, when it is concerned with goods not necessary for salvation.

This acedia is also a capital sin, as was declared above, in the treatise on Sins, n. 513.

ACEDIA is a Greek word, ἀκηδία, which signifies carelessness, or negligence. Then also a certain sadness that aggravates and oppresses the soul, so that it brings forth that carelessness. Now that sadness can be either of sense, or of the will. Here it is taken for the sadness of the will, bringing forth carelessness in the good work.

Now this can be described, from D. Thom. art. 1. and D. Bonavent. p. 1. Centil. sect. 21. and in Diaeta, tit. 2. cap. 7. and in the Declaratione terminorum Theologiae, where Latius also describes its daughters in the speculo animae, cap. 3.: Acedia is the sadness of the will concerning a good, in some measure divine and ours, esteemed as an evil of one's own, on account of the difficulty joined to obtaining it, bringing forth in consequence carelessness and torpor in salutary works.

From these you have, first, that Acedia is a sin, since it is sadness about good. Hence you will find this tepidity rebuked in Scripture, Proverb 8. How long, sluggard, wilt thou sleep? Then: The sluggard wills, and wills not. Ecclesiast. 6. Subject thy shoulder, and bear it, that is, spiritual discipline, and be not grieved with its bands. Matth. 3. Every tree that doth not bring forth good fruit shall be cut down, etc. Therefore at Matth. 25. and Lucae 19. the servant is gravely punished, because he hid the talent dug in the earth, as the S. Doct. shows in the speculo animae, cap. 3., where he also observes that that lukewarm one is to be vomited forth, Apoc. 3.; and on 8. Lucae, him who puts the lamp under a bushel. See many Fathers in D. Bonavent. lib. 2. Pharetrae, cap. 10.

You HAVE secondly, that this sin is opposed to the virtue of Charity: for it is contrary to its joy, as S. Bonav. teaches, p. 1 Centiloq. loc. cit.

You HAVE thirdly, that it is mortal of its genus, if it be about a good divinely commanded, etc., as D. Thom. notes, art. 3. ad secundum. And D. Bonav. in the Speculo animae, cap. 3. and lib. 3. Compendy Theol. cap. 25. But if it be about a good not commanded, it is venial.

You HAVE fourthly, that this is a capital vice; for, as the Philosopher says, 8. Eth. cap. 6.: No one can long remain in sadness without delight: So much so that those who are vexed with sadness do something else, that they may seek pleasure. Thus it is named by D. Gregory, 21. Moral. cap. 17. in D. Bonav. in the speculo animae, cap. 3.

The REMEDY of acedia Cassianus assigns, lib. 10. de Institut. Coenobiorum, cap. ultimo. And Climacus grad. 21. in D. Bonav. de pugna spirituali, cap. 7. Bernardus serm. 3. de Ascensione: resist gravely, and undertake and pursue the work strenuously. D. Bonav. loc. cit. Diaetae assigns a variety of occupations, never idling, but working variously, now praying, now reading, now singing. See D. Bonav. de pugna spirituali, loco citato.

From these you will understand many definitions of acedia, related by D. Bonav. p. 1. Centil. sect. 1. The first from D. August.: Acedia is weariness of the internal good. The second from Richard: It is tepor of the soul, neglecting to begin the good. The third from Damascene, lib. 1. de fide, cap. 14.: It is an aggravating sadness. The fourth from many Masters: Acedia is diffidence about one's own powers and the help of God for fulfilling arduous things, or commandments.

From these S. Bonaventure elicits that Acedia is essentially indeed opposed to the joy of charity; but not insofar as diffidence is opposed to Hope, inasmuch as it is weariness of the internal good, from which pusillanimity is generated: It is opposed to Fortitude: Inasmuch as it esteems all things difficult, even the easier; It is opposed to Charity, which makes all things easy.

Now, since Acedia is a capital vice, it has many sons and daughters. The first is malice, which is the will, impatient of burden, scheming evil against him whom it esteems to be inflicting that burden on it. The second is rancor, which is the will, embittered by the impotence of repelling the burden, manifesting by an external sign the bitterness shut up within. The third is pusillanimity, which is the will immoderately fearing the burden in undertaking things to be done, or immoderately diffiding in its own powers. The fourth is despair, which is the will, oppressed by burden, diffiding in the help for acting, or in the divine remuneration on account of the sustaining of the burden, which is diffiding in the fulfilling of the commandments. The fifth is Torpor, which is the will succumbing to the burden, tepid or sluggish toward the completion of things undertaken: The sixth is the wandering of the mind about illicit things, which is the will, destitute of internal joy, seeking rest or consolation in illicit exterior things.

ACCORDING to Isidorus, lib. in Deuter. cap. 16., some are daughters of sadness; others of acedia; for he himself calls sadness the will, inasmuch as it turns itself away from a grave duty.

But he calls acedia the will, inasmuch as it converts itself to undue rest. He says first: From sadness go out rancor, pusillanimity, bitterness, despair; From acedia arise otiosity, somnolency, importunity, disquietude of mind, instability of body, curiosity. S. Bonav. has all these loc. cit. p. 1. Centiloquii.

In the Diaeta tit. primo, cap. 7. he names fifteen daughters of acedia, and they are: Tepiditas, mollicies, somnolentia, otiositas, dilatio, tarditas, negligentia, imperfectio, remissio, dissolutio, ignavia, indolentia, tristitia, taedium vitae, desperatio. He says these vices were expressed by the fifteen cubits by which the water ascended above the mountains in the deluge, Genes. 7.; thus they submerge and suffocate the acedious within these vices.

¶ There the S. Doctor has most illustrious things against Acedia for sermons, which it would be too prolix to transcribe here.

He heaps up very many Scriptures for it in the Bibliis pauperum, cap. 117.

But the S. Doctor teaches in the confessional, cap. 2. particula 5., how the penitent is to be interrogated about Acedia: Whether through weariness he omitted that good, even though commanded: Whether in doing evil he began to take joy: Whether he deterred others from the good by mocking, etc. See the S. Doctor himself, discussing all the daughters of Acedia, distinguished by thoughts, words, and deeds.