The Sluggard

For the bronze statue of Giuseppe Valona, by Lord Frederick Leighton, see Frederick Leighton

"The Sluggard" is a moralistic poem by Isaac Watts which depicts the unsavory lifestyle of a slothful individual as a negative example. It reflects the Biblical verse "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise." (Proverbs 6:6).

Lewis Carroll parodied Watts' poem in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with "'Tis the Voice of the Lobster." Carroll's version replaces the sluggard (a negative example of laziness) with a fearful lobster (a negative example of weakness).

The Poem

'Tis the voice of the sluggard; I heard him complain,
"You have waked me too soon, I must slumber again."
As the door on its hinges, so he on his bed,
Turns his sides and his shoulders and his heavy head.

"A little more sleep, and a little more slumber;"
Thus he wastes half his days, and his hours without number,
And when he gets up, he sits folding his hands,
Or walks about sauntering, or trifling he stands.

I pass'd by his garden, and saw the wild brier,
The thorn and the thistle grow broader and higher;
The clothes that hang on him are turning to rags;
And his money still wastes till he starves or he begs.

I made him a visit, still hoping to find
That he took better care for improving his mind:
He told me his dreams, talked of eating and drinking;
But scarce reads his Bible, and never loves thinking.

Said I then to my heart, "Here's a lesson for me,"
This man's but a picture of what I might be:
But thanks to my friends for their care in my breeding,
Who taught me betimes to love working and reading.

External links

• Full Text