The Slothful of Dante's Inferno

"Beneath the slimy top are sighing souls
who make these waters bubble at the surface;
your eyes will tell you this—just look around.

Bogged in this slime they say, 'Sluggish we were
in the sweet air made happy by the sun,
and the smoke of sloth was smoldering in our hearts;

now we lie sluggish here in this black muck!'
This is the hymn they gurgle in their throats
but cannot sing in the words that truly sound."

(VII.118-126)













Works Cited:
Dante. Inferno. Trans. Mark Musa. New York: Penguin, 1984.