Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

​And wrath is an anger that is inveterate and resentful, yet waiting for an opportunity, which is shown by these verses: "For even if he swallows down his anger for the day itself, yet he still keeps rancor thereafter, until he accomplishes it." And rage is an anger that is just beginning. Pleasure is an irrational elation over what seems to be choice-worthy, under which are arranged charm, malice, delight, and dissipation. Charm, then, is a pleasure that enchants through the ears; malice is pleasure at another's misfortunes; delight is, as it were, a turning, a certain inclination of the soul toward relaxation; and dissipation is a dissolution of virtue.

​And just as certain infirmities are spoken of in the body, such as gout and arthritis, so also in the soul are ambition, love of pleasure, and things similar to these. For an infirmity is an illness accompanied by weakness, and an illness is an opinion of something that seems strongly choice-worthy. And just as certain proclivities are spoken of in the body, such as catarrh and diarrhea, so also in the soul are propensities, such as enviousness, excessive pity, contentious rivalry, and the like.

​And they say that there are also three good emotions: joy, caution, and wishing. And they say that joy is contrary to pleasure, being a rational elation; and caution to fear, being a rational avoidance. For the wise man will by no means fear, but will exercise caution. And they say that wishing is contrary to appetite, being a rational desire. Just as, then, certain species fall under the primary passions, in the same manner they do under the primary good emotions: under wishing are goodwill, kindliness, affection, and loving regard; under caution are modesty and purity; and under joy are delight, cheerfulness, and good spirits.

​And they say that the wise man is also free from passion, because he is not liable to fall into it; but the base person is also said to be passionless in another sense, spoken of on a par with hard and unbending. And the wise man is free from vanity; for he is equally disposed toward both good reputation and disrepute. But there is also another who is free from vanity, ranked among the thoughtless, who is base. And they say that all virtuous persons are austere, in that they neither converse for pleasure nor accept from others things directed toward pleasure. But another person is also called austere, spoken of in a way similar to austere wine, which they use for medicine, but not at all for banquet drinking.

​Virtuous persons are genuine, being guarded against presenting themselves in a better light through artifice that conceals faults and makes present goods appear. And they are unaffected; for they have stripped away affectedness in speech and appearance. And they mind their own business; for they avoid doing anything contrary to appropriate action. And they will become cheerful with wine, but will not become drunk. Furthermore, the wise man will not go mad; however, grotesque impressions may once fall upon him on account of melancholy or delirium, not according to the rational assessment of choice-worthy things, but contrary to nature. Nor indeed will the wise man grieve, because grief is an irrational contraction of the soul, as Apollodorus says in his Ethics.

​And they are divine; for they have within themselves, as it were, a god. But the base person is godless. And godless has a twofold meaning: the one spoken of as contrary to the divine, and the one that despises the divine; which latter does not apply to every base person. Virtuous persons are also pious; for they are experienced in the customs concerning the gods; and piety is knowledge of the service of the gods. What is more, they will sacrifice to the gods and remain pure; for they swerve away from offenses concerning the gods. And the gods admire them; for they are holy and just toward the divine. And only the wise are priests; for they have investigated sacrifices, foundations of temples, purifications, and the other matters proper to the gods.