Sloth has its origins in acedia, a Greek word little used in classical times but, when deployed, usually implying some sort of carelessness – including the virtuous variety praised by stoics as serenity. Acedia got heavier work when the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek in the second century BC. There, it denoted the “sorrow” or “heaviness” of the soul, as expressed in Psalm 118/9:28.

Before acedia could win its enduring place in Christian vocabulary, however, a further shift in is circumstances was needed. In the early 4th century, Constantine became a Christian and moved his capital to the Bosphorus. Christian perfectionists could no longer expect martyrdom. Instead, they could lead ascetic lives in one of the deserts with which eastern Christendom was well supplied.