Literary notes about Sluggard (AI summary)
The term "sluggard" has long served as a pointed emblem of laziness and moral failing in literature. In religious and moral texts such as John Bunyan’s works ([1], [2], [3], [4]), it functions as a cautionary reminder—urging readers to emulate the hardworking ant—while writers like Aesop ([5]) and Victor Hugo ([6]) deploy it as a sharp rebuke against indolence. Meanwhile, in more playful or satirical contexts, authors such as Lewis Carroll ([7]) and Walter Scott ([8]) reinvent the term to either humorously chide or critically reflect on a character’s lack of vigor. This enduring use across genres, from G.K. Chesterton’s commentaries ([9], [10]) to even modern literary juxtapositions ([11]), underscores the versatility and deep cultural resonance that "sluggard" maintains as a symbol of inertia and the call to action.
- Now, as he was sleeping, there came one to him, and awaked him, saying, Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise.
— from The Pilgrim's Progress from this world to that which is to come by John Bunyan - Now, as he was sleeping, there came one to him, and awaked him, saying, "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; [3] consider her ways, and be wise."
— from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan Every Child Can Read by John Bunyan - "The soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing."
— from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan Every Child Can Read by John Bunyan - "The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing."
— from The Pilgrim's Progress from this world to that which is to come by John Bunyan - His master one day, pretending to be angry and shaking his stick at him, said, “You wretched little sluggard!
— from Aesop's Fables by Aesop - if thou know'st not to rise; Sit up, thou tortured sluggard!
— from Poems by Victor Hugo - ‘Stand up and repeat “‘ Tis the voice of the sluggard ,”’ said the Gryphon.
— from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - “I hope, Sir Knight,” said the hermit, “thou hast given no good reason for thy surname of the Sluggard.
— from Ivanhoe: A Romance by Walter Scott - The wise king told the sluggard to watch the ant, a charming occupation—for a sluggard.
— from What's Wrong with the World by G. K. Chesterton - The wise king told the sluggard to watch the ant, a charming occupation—for a sluggard.
— from What's Wrong with the World by G. K. Chesterton - A government post driver could hardly have coped with it, much less an incompetent sluggard like Grigory.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov