Book 4, Chapter 7

“They hold, however, that all disturbances arise through judgment and belief. Accordingly they define them more closely, to make clear not only how defective they are but also how much they lie within our power. Distress, then, is a fresh belief in a present evil, at which it seems right for the soul to sink and contract; delight is a fresh belief in a present good, at which it seems right to be elated; fear is a belief in an impending evil which seems unbearable; lust is a belief in a future good which it would be advantageous to have here and present now.

15 “But when I spoke of the judgments and beliefs belonging to disturbances, they do not say that disturbances consist in these alone, but also in the effects the disturbances produce. Thus distress produces a kind of painful bite; fear, a withdrawal and flight of the soul; delight, an outpouring of high spirits; lust, an unbridled appetite. The belief we have included in all the preceding definitions they understand to be a weak assent.

16 “Under each disturbance, however, several subdivisions of the same kind are placed. Under distress come enviousness—we must use a less usual word for the sake of instruction, since ‘envy’ can refer not only to the person who envies but also to the person envied—emulation, jealousy, pity, anguish, bereavement, sorrow, tribulation, pain, lamentation, anxiety, vexation, affliction, despair, and any others of the same kind. Under fear come reluctance, shame, terror, alarm, panic, dismay, confusion, dread. Under pleasure come malice rejoicing in another’s misfortune, sensory delight, vaunting, and the like. Under lust come anger, a flare of temper, hatred, enmity, discord, craving, longing, and the rest of that kind.”

“In their view, judgment and belief produce every disturbance. Their tighter definitions aim to show both the wrong involved and the control we have over it. They describe distress as a newly held belief that an evil is here, coupled with the view that sinking and shrinking in spirit is the right response. For delight, the newly held belief is that a good is here, and getting carried away seems the right response. In fear, we believe an evil threatens us and think it beyond endurance. In craving, we believe a good is coming and think our interests require its arrival and presence right now.

15 “But when I called disturbances judgments and beliefs, they don’t mean that disturbances consist of these alone. They also include the effects of the disturbances. Thus distress produces something like a bite of pain; fear, a retreat and flight of the mind; delight, overflowing cheerfulness; craving, an unbridled appetite. As for ‘belief,’ which we included in all the definitions above, they mean a weak assent.

16 “There are several varieties within each disturbance. Distress includes envying—a less familiar expression is needed for this lesson, since ‘envy’ describes the envied person’s situation as well as the envier’s. It also includes emulation and jealousy; pity and anguish; bereavement and sorrow; hardship and pain; lamentation and worry; lasting trouble, self-torment, despair, and any others belonging to that class. Fear covers reluctance and shame, terror and dread, panic and loss of nerve, bewilderment and lasting fright. Pleasure covers ill will that rejoices at another’s misfortune, sensory enjoyment, swaggering, and similar states. Craving covers anger and its flare-up, hatred and enmity, discord, insatiable want, longing, and whatever else resembles these.”