Their only labour was to kill the time;
And labour dire it is, and weary woe,
They read more

Their only labour was to kill the time;
And labour dire it is, and weary woe,
They sit, they loll, turn o'er some idle rhyme,
Then, rising sudden, to the glass they go,
Or saunter forth, with tottering steps and slow.

Valor, gradually overpowered by the delicious poison of sloth,
grows torpid.
[Lat., Blandoque veneno
Desidiae virtus read more

Valor, gradually overpowered by the delicious poison of sloth,
grows torpid.
[Lat., Blandoque veneno
Desidiae virtus paullatim evicta senescit.]

Idleness and pride tax with a heavier hand than kings and governments.

Idleness and pride tax with a heavier hand than kings and governments.

Thus idly busy rolls their world away.

Thus idly busy rolls their world away.

That destructive siren, sloth, is ever to be avoided.
[Lat., Vitanda est improba--desidia.]

That destructive siren, sloth, is ever to be avoided.
[Lat., Vitanda est improba--desidia.]

How various his employments whom the world
Calls idle; and who justly in return
Esteems that busy read more

How various his employments whom the world
Calls idle; and who justly in return
Esteems that busy world an idler too!

I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely

I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely

Indolence is the sleep of the mind.
[Fr., L'indolence est le sommeil des esprits.]

Indolence is the sleep of the mind.
[Fr., L'indolence est le sommeil des esprits.]

Were't not affection chains thy tender days
To the sweet glances of thy honored love,
I rather read more

Were't not affection chains thy tender days
To the sweet glances of thy honored love,
I rather would entreat thy company
To see the wonders of the world abroad
Than, living dully sluggardized at home,
Wear out thy youth with shapeless idleness.