Single Idea 523

[catalogued under 22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 3. Pleasure / f. Dangers of pleasure]

Full Idea

The brave man is not only he who overcomes the enemy, but he who is stronger than pleasures. Some men are masters of cities, but are enslaved by women.

Gist of Idea

It is as brave to master pleasure as to overcome the enemy

Source

Democritus (attrib) (reports [c.250 BCE], B214), quoted by John Stobaeus - Anthology 3.07.25

Book Reference

'Ancilla to the Pre-Socratic Philosophers', ed/tr. Freeman,Kathleen [Harvard 1957], p.111


A Reaction

I'm not sure if 'bravery' is the relevant virtue here.Sounds like self-control or temperance. I suspect that mastering a city is quite pleasurable, if that's your thing.