Sextus Empiricus: Ethics 393
lions seem to be naturally daring and courageous, and bulls, perhaps,
and some men and cocks, we say that as far as this is concerned cowardice
is by nature among the things worth choosing, since deer and rabbits
and many other animals have a natural impulse to it. And the majority
of men are observed to be cowardly. For rarely has someone sacrificed
himself for his country or has otherwise seemed inspired to do something
impetuous; on the contrary, the majority of men seem to avoid all
such deeds.
- Hence, the Epicureans believe that they show that pleasure is by
nature worth choosing, for they say that as soon as animals are born,
being uncorrupted, they have an impulse to pleasure and avoid pain.
- In reply to them one can say that that which is instrumental to the
bad could not be by nature good. And, of course, pleasure is instrumental
to bad things. For to every pleasure pain is fastened, and pain is, according
to them, bad by nature. For example, the drunkard experiences pleasure
when he is swilling wine, the gourmand when he is gorging himself, and
the fornicator when he is engaged in unbridled sexual encounters. But
these activities are instrumental to impoverishment and diseases which
are painful and bad, as they say. Therefore, pleasure is not good by
nature. 196. In a related way, that which is instrumental to good things
is not by nature bad, and pains produce pleasure. For we acquire knowl-
edge by painfully exerting ourselves and that is also how we acquire
wealth and the object of our sexual desire, and painful treatments lead
to health. Therefore, painful exertion is not by nature bad. For if pleasure
were by nature good and painful exertion bad, everyone would be similarly
disposed in regard to them, as we said. But in fact we observe many
philosophers choosing painful exertion and endurance, and disdaining
pleasure.
- Similarly, those who say that a life containing virtue is by nature
good, are overturned by the fact that some wise men choose a life contain-
ing pleasure, so that their claim that this or that is by nature [good] is
confuted by the disagreement among themselves.
Sextus PH 3.239-249 [III-49]
Ch. xxv Does There Exist a Craft of Living?
- It is evident from what has been said that there also could not
be a craft of living. For if there is such a craft, then it is a craft of
contemplating things good and bad and indifferent; and since these are
non-existent, the craft of living is non-existent. Moreover, since the
dogmatists do not all agree in locating the craft of living in one thing,
