Book 2, Chapter 15

35 “There is some distinction between toil and pain. They are very close, certainly, but there is still a difference. Toil is the mind’s or body’s performance of a demanding work or duty; pain is a harsh disturbance in the body, unwelcome to the senses. The Greeks, whose language is richer than ours, call both by one name. Thus they call industrious people enthusiasts for pain, or rather lovers of pain; we more aptly call them hardworking. To toil is one thing, to suffer pain another. Greece, how poor you sometimes are in words, though you always think you have so many! Suffering pain, I repeat, is one thing; toiling is another. When Gaius Marius had his varicose veins cut, he suffered pain; when he led his column through intense heat, he toiled. Yet the two have a certain likeness: becoming accustomed to toil makes it easier to endure pain.

36 “And so those who gave Greece its forms of government wanted the bodies of the young strengthened by toil. The Spartans extended this even to women, who in other cities live in the softest luxury, ‘hidden in the shadows of walls.’ But they wanted nothing like this

“‘Among the maidens of Laconia,“‘Who care more for wrestling-ground, Eurotas, sun, dust, toil,“‘And warfare than for the fertility of foreign women.’

“Pain, then, sometimes interrupts these strenuous exercises: they are shoved, struck, thrown down, they fall; and toil itself forms a kind of callus against pain.”

35 “Effort and pain aren’t quite the same. Close neighbors, yes, but there is a distinction. By effort I mean doing a fairly demanding job or task, mentally or physically. Pain, on the other hand, is a rough bodily disturbance that our senses find unwelcome. Greek has a bigger vocabulary than Latin, yet the Greeks give these two things just one name. Their term for people who work hard therefore means ‘keen on pain’—actually, ‘in love with pain.’ Our term, ‘hardworking,’ is more appropriate. To work isn’t the same as to hurt. Greece, sometimes you’re short of words, for all your claims always to have plenty! Again, hurting is one thing and working is another. When the surgeon cut Gaius Marius’ varicose veins, he hurt. Leading a column through intense heat was work. There is a resemblance, though: someone accustomed to demanding work finds it easier to withstand pain.

36 “That’s why the people who shaped the constitutions of Greece wanted young men’s bodies strengthened through hard work. The Spartans extended this to women too. In other cities, women are brought up in the greatest luxury, ‘hidden in the shade of walls.’ But the Spartans wanted nothing of that kind “‘Among the girls of Sparta, “‘Who care more for the training ground, the Eurotas, sun, dust, work, “‘And military service than for foreign women’s fertility.’ “So pain sometimes comes into these strenuous exercises too. They’re shoved, hit, thrown down, and fall. The effort itself forms a kind of callus against pain.”