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And so we should say that man is more entirely given up to his

passions who pursues excessive pleasures, and avoids moderate

pains, being either not at all, or at least but little, urged by

desire, than the man who does so because his desire is very

strong: because we think what would the former be likely to do if

he had the additional stimulus of youthful lust and violent pain

consequent on the want of those pleasures which we have

denominated necessary?

Well then, since of desires and pleasures there are some which

are in kind honourable and good (because things pleasant are

divisible, as we said before, into such as are naturally objects

of choice, such as are naturally objects of avoidance, and such

as are in themselves indifferent, money, gain, honour, victory,

for instance); in respect of all such and those that are

indifferent, men are blamed not merely[11] for being affected by

or desiring or liking them, but for exceeding in any way in these

feelings.