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Sloth Revisited

Sin: I think we can all benefit from thinking about sin, even if we don't believe in  a supreme being, even if we don't accept notions of divine punishment, of heaven and hell. The concept of sin is usually thought to be a religious concept, the deliberate violation of the will of God. I want to think of sin without religious references, with regard to a broader definition. I want to examine sin in the sense of personal failure, of the harm we can do to ourselves. In this sense, sin will still include violation of rules but not necessarily rules imposed by religion. I want to examine sin as violation of rules of good conduct, violation of rules which are designed to make our lives better. Of course sin will often include harm to others but I urge that the harm we do to others by our conduct is usually exceeded by the harm we do to ourselves.

 We all know the seven deadly sins: If not religious, we know the popular songs or pop groups referring to the deadly sins. The seven deadly sins are pride, avarice, luxury, envy, appetite,  anger and sloth. The list of seven deadly sins is a good list of things to avoid if we want to be happier and lead better lives.  We don't need to be religious to see the value in not hurting  ourselves and others. So I've decided occasionally to write about these sins and also, in contrast, about the classic virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, justice, faith, hope and love.

                                            As I wrote before, the traditional definition of sloth is an aversion to religious exercises, the joyless discharge of duty. My dictionary tells me that sloth includes laziness, a disposition to avoid exertion, indolence. Sloth is the opposite of enthusiasm, the opposite of enjoyable activity. Sloth can include inactivity but inactivity is not necessary slothful; inactivity which is slothful arises from disinterest, an inability to enjoy. Needed rest is not slothful.

                                            Now Wendy Wasserstein, in the latest of the New York Public Library Seven Deadly Sins series I’ve read, approaches sloth from a humorous perspective. She points out the dangers of sloth by pretending to extol the virtues of sloth. She points out that sloth is the enemy of concepts of right and wrong, of motivation, of every productive impulse. Sloth takes away any reason to live.

                                            I enjoyed reading Ms. Wasserstein’s work because I enjoy humor, because I love irony and because she reminds us of why sloth is a sin without attaching blame. By pretending to advocate sloth, she very effectively teaches us to avoid it.

2-14-05

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