Literal translation
idleness is the father of all vices
Meaning
idleness is the root of all vices
Explanation
The saying sets idleness up as the first cause, almost the begetter, of every moral flaw that can affect a person, inactivity leaving free rein to all the bad inclinations that regular occupation would otherwise keep in check. The Provençal wording uses the word paire (father), in the masculine, whereas the commonly transmitted French version uses the mother of all vices; this variation in grammatical gender, with no bearing on the moral substance of the saying, simply shows that oral traditions do not always fix the same gender for the same image, each language or version keeping its own wording. The word òci means precisely idleness, doing nothing, and vice translates without change of form between the two languages. This saying, of moral and religious inspiration, belongs to a long Western tradition warning against inaction, often quoted in an educational setting or to justify the importance of work. It is quoted in a sententious register, sometimes with a touch of humor when gently mocking one's own laziness.