proverb · Words worth keeping
Sloth is the mother of poverty.
Sloth is the mother of poverty.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying warns that avoidable neglect can contribute to need. Calling sloth the mother of poverty exaggerates one possible cause into a general explanation.
What the words are saying
The mother image makes poverty appear to arise directly from inactivity. It can prompt attention to a particular task that someone has the means to complete but keeps neglecting. It must not be used to label people in poverty as lazy. Opportunity, illness, disability, care responsibilities and unfair conditions can matter. The useful question concerns a feasible action and its barriers, not a judgment about a whole group’s character.
Everyday example
A group addresses a neglected request it can complete, while distinguishing that omission from the circumstances of people denied opportunities.
When to use it
Use it for an identifiable avoidable omission, not to explain poverty as a whole.
What it does not mean
Poverty does not prove laziness, and rest or limited capacity is not a moral failure.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1454 · Sloth
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English