1. Webster’s dictionary defines tedium as “the quality or state of being wearisome, tiresome or dull”. But there is also the word used in the spiritual literature of almost all the western languages, namely, acedia, the meaning of which is basically that of apathy (as opposed to diligence) and boredom (as opposed to joy).

Ce mot en français peut signifier peine, ennui extrême, désintérêt ou dégoût.

2. The Latin version by Saint Jerome, the Vulgate, says: Dormitavit anima mea prae taedio (literally, “My soul slept from boredom”: Ps.118/119:28). We should note that the Greek word in the Septuagint, which Jerome translates as taedio (tedium, or boredom) is our word, “acedia.” What is the Hebrew word which underlies the Greek?

Voyons maintenant deux textes bibliques qui ont un lien avec notre sujet.