Lazy, worthless, work-dodging goldbrick artists! He knelt in fury, thumbing back the eyelids of the corpses.
The artists had preferred to steal from him than to perform well. 
mnli hypothesis: The artists had preferred to steal from him than to perform well.  premise: Lazy, worthless, work-dodging goldbrick artists! He knelt in fury, thumbing back the eyelids of the corpses.