Book 3, Chapter 7

14 “The courageous person is also confident—I use this word because faulty usage makes ‘overconfident’ a term of blame, though it is derived from having confidence, which deserves praise. Whoever is confident certainly does not take fright, for confidence is incompatible with fear. But anyone liable to distress is also liable to fear: the things whose presence distresses us are the very things we fear when they threaten and approach. Thus distress is opposed to courage. It is therefore reasonable that anyone liable to distress should also be liable to fear, and indeed to a broken and downcast spirit. Whoever is liable to these is liable to submit and at some point to acknowledge himself defeated. Anyone who admits these things must also admit cowardice and faintheartedness. But these do not befall the courageous person; therefore neither does distress. Yet no one is wise without being courageous; distress, then, will not befall the wise.

15 “Moreover, whoever is courageous must also be great in spirit; whoever is great in spirit, unconquered; whoever is unconquered must look down on human affairs and consider them beneath him. But no one can look down on things on account of which he can suffer distress. It follows that the courageous person never suffers distress. All the wise are courageous; therefore distress does not befall the wise. And just as a troubled eye is not in a proper condition to perform its function, and the other parts or the whole body fail in their duty and function when displaced from their proper state, so a troubled soul is unfit to perform its function. The soul’s function is to use reason well; and the wise person’s soul is always so disposed as to make the best use of reason. Therefore it is never disturbed. But distress is a disturbance of the soul; therefore the wise person will always be free of it.”

14 “A courageous person is also confident. I use fidens for ‘confident,’ because bad usage has made confidens mean something blameworthy, though it comes from ‘being confident,’ which deserves praise. Someone who is confident certainly doesn’t become frightened: confidence is incompatible with fear. But anyone capable of distress is also capable of fear. We fear the approach and arrival of the very things whose presence distresses us. It follows that distress conflicts with courage. So it’s reasonable that anyone capable of distress is also capable of fear, and of having their spirit broken and brought low. Anyone capable of those things is also capable of submitting, and of admitting defeat when it comes. Anyone who accepts these possibilities must also accept cowardice and a lack of spirit. But these aren’t possible for a courageous person. So distress isn’t possible either. And no one is wise without being courageous. So a wise person won’t experience distress.

15 “Here’s another argument. Courage requires greatness of spirit; greatness of spirit requires being unconquerable. Being unconquerable in turn means treating human affairs as beneath you and looking down on them. You can’t look down on anything that has the power to distress you. A courageous man, therefore, never feels distress. Since wisdom always includes courage, the wise can’t experience distress. Think also of the eye: an upset eye isn’t in the right condition for its work. Any other part, or the body as a whole, fails to perform its task once its normal state is disrupted. An upset mind is similarly unfit for its task. What does a mind do? It makes good use of reason. The wise always have their minds in the state that allows the very best use of reason, so their minds are never upset. Distress, however, is an upset of the mind. It must always be absent from someone wise.”