Personification of Sloth

A partially undressed woman stands in a listless pose, leaning against a rocky bank within a landscape. She holds a snail in her hand as a symbol of her slow nature, while a reclining donkey beside her reinforces the theme of animal-like sluggishness and stupidity.

This engraving represents one of the Seven Deadly Sins, a recurring theme in Renaissance moral philosophy used to contrast the 'vita activa' with the dangers of spiritual apathy. In the esoteric and theological tradition, acedia was known as the 'noonday demon' and was closely linked to the phlegmatic temperament and the failure of the soul to pursue divine work.