The wisest are the most annoyed at the loss of time.

The line expresses a moral psychology common in medieval ethical writing: wisdom heightens one’s sensitivity to time’s value. Those who understand life’s brevity and the stakes of moral and spiritual progress feel sharper irritation when time is wasted or stolen, because lost time cannot be recovered and delays the pursuit of what matters. Read in a Dantean key, it aligns with the urgency that runs through the Commedia—souls and pilgrims alike are measured by how they use time toward repentance, virtue, and right ordering of desire. The “wisest” are not serene about squandered hours; their annoyance is a sign of clear judgment about ends and priorities.