Buie, Diane (2010)
There is also the idleness associated with the dejected state of mind. This is a type of idleness that is often
referred to as indolence: a lethargic state of mind that can be a symptom of melancholy. It is an apathetic
state which could quite easily be mistaken for laziness both by sufferers and those who cared for them.
Indolence does not appear until the 1756 edition of the Dictionary, where it is defined as Laziness;
inattention; ‘listlessness‘. It is the ‘listlessness‘ in particular which implies there is an involuntary aspect
to indolence, and because of this we should perhaps consider it as a symptom of an illness rather than a
reasoned decision to do nothing. Solomon suggests that ‗[t]he opposite of depression is not happiness but
vitality […]‘. He implies that lack of energy and motivation are indeed major debilitating symptoms of
today‘s depression. This is not the conscious decision to do nothing, but an overpowering sense of apathy.
It is interesting to see how often the idleness or indolence caused by the depressed state of mind is referred
to as ‘rust‘.