12. We grant, however, that the pleasures claimed for the virtuous man
are neither those sought by debauchees, nor those enjoyed by the body.
Those pleasures could not be predicated of him without degrading his
felicity. Nor can we claim for him raptures of delight--for what would
be their use? It is sufficient to suppose that the virtuous man tastes
the pleasures attached to the presence of goods, pleasures which must
consist neither in motions, nor be accidental. He enjoys the presence
of those (higher) goods because he is present to himself; from that
time on he lingers in a state of sweet serenity. The virtuous man,
therefore, is always serene, calm, and satisfied. If he be really
virtuous, his state cannot be troubled by any of the things that we
call evils. Those who in the virtuous life are seeking for pleasures of
another kind are actually seeking something else than the virtuous life.
IN THE VIRTUOUS MAN THE PART THAT SUFFERS IS THE HIGHER; THEREFORE HE
REALLY DOES NOT SUFFER AS DO THOSE WHO SUFFER CHIEFLY PHYSICALLY.
13. The actions of the virtuous man could not be hindered by fortune,
but they may vary with the fluctuations of fortune. All will be equally
beautiful, and, perhaps, so much the more beautiful as the virtuous
man will find himself placed amidst more critical circumstances. Any
acts that concern contemplation, which relate to particular things,
will be such that the wise man will be able to produce them, after
having carefully sought and considered what he is to do. Within
himself he finds the most infallible of the rules of conduct, a rule
that will never fail him, even were he within the oft-discussed bull
of Phalaris. It is useless for the vulgar man to repeat, even twice
or thrice,[15] that such a fate is sweet; for if a man were to utter
those words, they are uttered by that very (animal) part that undergoes
those tortures. On the contrary, in the virtuous man, the part that
suffers is different from that which dwells within itself, and which,
while necessarily residing within itself, is never deprived of the
contemplation of the universal Good.