The Deadly Sin of Sloth

Dorothy Sayers (1853–1957):

The sixth deadly sin is named by the Church acedia or sloth.

In the world it calls itself tolerance; but in hell it is called despair.

It is the accomplice of the other sins and their worst punishment.

It is the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, loves nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive only because there is nothing it would die for.

We have known it far too well for many years. The only thing perhaps that we have not known about it is that it is a mortal sin.

—Dorothy L. Sayers, “The Other Six Deadly Sins,” in Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine (reprint, Thomas Nelson, 2004), 98.