Book 7
3
Of the dispositions described above, the deliberate avoidance of pain is rather a kindNot Softness strictly, which ranges with Unrestraint and is not deliberate. of Softness; the deliberate pursuit of pleasure is Profligacy in the strict sense.
4
Self-restraint is the opposite of Unrestraint, Endurance of Softness; for Endurance means only successful resistance, whereas Restraint implies mastery, which is a different matter: victory is more glorious than the mere avoidance of defeat. Hence self-restraint is a more valuable quality than Endurance.
5
One who is deficient in resistance to pains that most men withstand with success, is soft or luxurious (for Luxury is a kind of Softness) : such a man lets his cloak trail on the ground to escape the fatigue and trouble of lifting it, or feigns sickness, not seeing that to counterfeit misery is to be miserable.
