“Their only labour was to kill the time;
And labour dire it is, and weary woe,
They sit, they loll, turn o'er some idle rhyme,
Then, rising sudden, to the glass they go,
Or saunter forth, with tottering steps and slow.”

— James Thomson (poet), The Castle of Indolence

Canto I, Stanza 72.
The Castle of Indolence (1748)

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James Thomson (poet)50

Scottish writer (1700-1748) 1700–1748

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“Their only labour was to kill the time;And labour dire it is, and weary woe,They sit, they loll, turn o'er some idle rhyme,Then, rising sudden, to the glass they go,Or saunter forth, with tottering steps and slow.”

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James Thomson (poet)50

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“Their only labour was to kill the time;
And labour dire it is, and weary woe,
They sit, they loll, turn o'er some idle rhyme,
Then, rising sudden, to the glass they go,
Or saunter forth, with tottering steps and slow.”