The Death of Marcus Aurelius

The Death of Marcus Aurelius

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Boethius, The Consolation 3.18


“And now what am I to say of the pleasures of the body? The desires of the flesh are full of cares, their fulfillment is full of remorse. What terrible diseases, what unbearable griefs, truly the fruits of sin, do they bring upon the bodies of those who enjoy them!

“I know not what pleasure their impulse affords, but any who cares to recall his indulgences of his passions, will know that the results of such pleasures are indeed gloomy. If any can show that those results are blessed with happiness, then may the beasts of the field be justly called blessed, for all their aims are urged toward the satisfying of their bodies' wants.

“The pleasures of wife and children may be most honorable; but Nature makes it all too plain that some have found torment in their children. How bitter is any such kind of suffering, I need not tell you now, for you have never known it, nor have any such anxiety now. Yet in this matter I would hold with my philosopher Euripides, that he who has no children is happy in his misfortune.”

—from Book 3, Prose 7

Boethius has considered how we follow all sorts of incomplete, imperfect, and conditional goods, and he has seen how pursuing various aspects of wealth, honor, influence, or popularity can never bring us to happiness. He now turns to the longing for pleasure, so base yet so powerful in its pull.

In one sense, we might say that pleasure can often stand behind so many of the other ends we seek; after all, we may want to have money, or power, or fame because their possession makes us feel good. For some of us, the appreciation of our worldly position is only valuable for the gratification it provides, that rush that comes from being important and influential.

However we stack the order of means and ends in our lives, surely nothing is worthwhile if it doesn’t lead to enjoyment? Boethius can sound like a killjoy here, because he appears to be suggesting that it is somehow shameful to have fun. Yet just as it was with all the other incomplete goods, so it is also with pleasure.

Wealth, influence, or honor can certainly be used well, but they can also be used poorly, and this is the necessary distinction we too often overlook. Whether they benefit us or harm us will depend completely upon how they help us to live well, and this follows from our understanding of why their presence or absence can be of advantage. 

Pleasure is no different. Some pleasures lift us up, and others bring us down; it is the merit of the actions from which they proceed that determine their worth. Since the value is relative, it can never be something good in and of itself, and it cannot be an end. It isn’t that pleasure is bad, but that seeking it for its own sake is bad.

The argument is perfectly reasonable, but if my passions are excited, I may foolishly choose to push aside the voice of reason. In that case, I can appeal to the immediate facts of cold, hard experience.

Let me ask myself, with all honesty, if wanting to be gratified, to the greatest degree possible, has actually made me happy or miserable? Has running after the satisfaction of the senses left me in a better or a worse state? I know the answer right away, as reluctant as I may be to admit it. I have my own nightmares about the suffering that comes from sloth, gluttony, and lust, and you will also have your own. I know that crippling sensation, often right before the dawn, where my intemperance makes me curse my very existence. There’s no pain like an unbridled pleasure.

It is perfectly natural for an animal to be driven only by its appetites, but for a man it is an abomination. Decisions moved by feeling without sound thinking won’t leave us feeling all that sound.

I may object that some pleasures are inherently good, like the pleasures of hearth and home. “You must be so happy,” I hear people say to one another, “you have a family!” Even there, however, a man can be in pain, because joy will come from virtue, and misery will come from vice.  Once again, the pleasure in something is only as good as the character behind it. It isn’t a family that is satisfying, but a caring family.

I need to look beyond pleasure alone, because it must always be tempered by an awareness of truth and a commitment to love.

Written in 9/2015

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