This text is part of:
Search the Perseus Catalog for:
Table of Contents:
In general one might say to the man who mourns, ‘Shall you at some
time cease to take this to heart, or shall you feel that you must grieve
always every day of your life ? For if you purpose to remain always in
this extreme state of affliction, you will bring complete wretchedness
and the most bitter misery upon yourself by the ignobleness and
cowardice of your soul. But if you intend some time to change your
attitude, why do you not change it at once and extricate yourself from
this misfortune ? Give attention now to those arguments by the use of
which, as time goes on, your release shall be accomplished, and relieve
yourself now of your sad condition. For in the case of bodily
afflictions the quickest way of relief is the better. Therefore concede
now to reason and education what you surely will later concede to time,
and release yourself from your troubles.’
Plutarch. Moralia. with an English Translation by. Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1928. 2.
The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.
This text was converted to electronic form by optical character recognition and has been proofread to a high level of accuracy.
Purchase a copy of this text (not necessarily the same edition) from Amazon.com