Sloth (Desidia)

This print, one of seven entitled The Vices, illustrates the perils of laziness. The sleeping Desidia, or Lady Sloth, reclines in the center while various demonic creatures harass the human figures indulging in sloth throughout the scene. The inscription reads, “Sluggishness breaks strength, long idleness [breaks] the nerves. Sloth makes [man] powerless and dries out the nerves until man is good for nothing.”