THE FOURTH HEAD OF THE EVIL BEAST OF HELL.
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.