The fourth head of the wicked beast is sloth, that is, idleness and
disinclination to do well. This sin is too evil a root, that casts many
evil boughs. This idleness, which is sloth, makes a man have evil
beginning, and more evil amending, and worse ending. Evil beginning has
the slothful through six sins. The first is thinness, when the man loves
our Lord little and lukewarmly, whom he should love ardently, and
therefrom it comes that he is feeble and lukewarm to do all good things.
The second is timidity, that is, disinclination of heart, which is the
devil’s bed, wherein he rests himself, and says to the man and to the
woman: ‘Thou hast been too softly drawn forth, thou art too feeble in
constitution, thou canst not do the great penances, thou art too tender,
thou wouldst very soon be dead;’ and therefore the wretch lets himself
fall to do the lusts of his flesh. The third is idleness, which is a sin
that causes much evil, as says the Scripture. For when the devil finds
the man idle he puts him to work, and causes him first to think evil,
and afterwards to desire villainies, ribaldries, lecheries, and to lose
his time and many good things that he might do, whereby he might win
paradise. The fourth is heaviness, when the man is so heavy that he
loveth not but to lie and rest and sleep: sometimes they are necessarily
so long (enough) awake, that they had rather lose four masses than a
sweat or a sleep. The fifth is wickedness, that is when the man lies in
sin, and feels the temptations of the devil and of his flesh that assail
him, and through downright wickedness will not raise the head to God in
sorrow, nor cry ‘Harou!’ (Norman cry for assistance) in shrift, nor
raise the hands in satisfaction (amends). The same is like the wretch
that would rather rot in a foul and stinking prison than have the
torment of steps to climb for his outgoing. The sixth is little will
(inertness). In this sin are those that have dread for naught, that dare
not begin to do well because they have dread that God will fail them,
which is the dread of the dreamers who have dread of their dreams. They
are like him that dare not go in the path because of the snail which
shows him his horns, and like the child that dare not go his way because
of the goose that blows.
These are the six vices that rob the man of good beginning. Because of
six other vices the slothful cannot have good beginning or amendment.
They are the bad habits of an evil servant, who causes that no good man
shall receive him (them) into his service when he is so slothful,
untrue, careless, forgetful, slack, and failing. The first vice is
untruth. For when God sets in the heart of man goodwill to do well, then
comes the devil and says to him: ‘Thou shalt easily recover it; thou art
young and strong; thou shalt live long,’ and so the devil makes him to
cease from doing well. Afterwards comes sloth; for he that does well and
does it delayingly, it is no wonder if he does it slothfully. That is a
vice whereby all the world is besmutted, (as) whoever takes good heed
[may see]. For few folk there are that are diligent in what they are
bound to do as regards God and their neighbour.
After sloth is forgetting. For whoever is slothful often forgets.
Because of these two sins of forgetting it often befalls that he cannot
be shriven; he forgets his shortcomings and his sins, which is great
peril. For none can have forgiveness without true shrift, which produces
repentance of heart, confession of mouth, obedience in deed; that is,
amending and reparation. There is no man so good that, if he saw well
his own shortcomings, would not find enough to say each day in his
shrift. But sloth and forgetting make the sinners blind, so that they
see not in the book of their conscience.