Book 7
1.114
Wrath is anger which has long rankled and has become malicious, waiting for its opportunity, as is illustrated by the linesIl. i. 81, 82.: Even though for the one day he swallow his anger, yet doth he still keep his displeasure thereafter in his heart, till he accomplish it. Resentment is anger in an early stage.
1.114
Pleasure is an irrational elation at the accruing of what seems to be choiceworthy; and under it are ranged ravishment, malevolent joy, delight, transport. Ravishment is pleasure which charms the ear. Malevolent joy is pleasure at another’s ills. Delight is the mind’s propulsion to weakness, its name in Greek (τέρψις ) being akin to τρέψις or turning. To be in transports of delight is the melting away of virtue.
1.115
And as there are said to be certain infirmities in the body, as for instance gout and arthritic disorders, so too there is in the soul love of fame, love of pleasure, and the like. By infirmity is meant disease accompanied by weakness; and by disease is meant a fond imagining of something that seems desirable. And as in the body there are tendencies to certain maladies such as colds and diarrhoea, so it is with the soul, there are tendencies like enviousness, pitifulness, quarrelsomeness, and the like.
