Sloth as "the ultimate cause of 'work for work's sake'"

"At the zenith of the Middle Ages . . . it was held that sloth and restlessness, 'leisurelessness', the incapacity to enjoy leisure, were all closely connected; sloth was held to be the source of restlessness, and the ultimate cause of 'work for work's sake'. . . .  the restlessness at the bottom of a fanatical and suicidal activity . . . [was thought to] come from the lack of will to action".

     Josef Pieper, Leisure:  the basis of culture III, par. 1, trans. Alexander Dru ((San Francisco:  Ignatius Press, 2009 [1952]), 43).