“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
No comments:
Post a Comment