“Procrastination is the thief of time,” wrote English poet Edward Young in 1742. Thus the evils of procrastination worked their way into the oft-repeated adages of the new capitalist era. Procrastination not only forestalled salvation in the next life but also the goal of financial well-being in this one. With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, Christian moralism fused with commercial pursuits. A 1553 sermon spoke of dire consequences for “he that doth prolong or procrastinate” the confession of sins, while a 1582 tract on “The Foolishness of Men” warned, “Take heed therefore, that by procrastinating repentance … thou wittingly and of purpose, do not tempt the Lord.” But procrastination soon took on a dire new meaning: Christians used the term to remind sinners that postponing the repentance of one’s wicked ways may lead to damnation. When procrastinate and procrastination began appearing in English in the mid-16 th century (a time when Latinisms were flooding the language, mostly via French), the words suggested the classical repugnance toward inaction at critical moments.
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