Library

Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 3 In Chronological Order,...

THE GOOD CANNOT BE PLEASURE WHICH IS CHANGEABLE AND RESTLESS.

Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition Plotinus and Guthrie, Kenneth Sylvan
Open passage
Now when a being has attained the good it was pursuing it is sure of possessing it as soon as it feels that it is better, feels no regret, is satisfied, takes pleasure therein, and seeks nothing beyond. What shows the insufficiency of pleasure is that one does not always like the same thing; doubtless pleasure ever charms, but the object which produces it is not the same; it is always the newest object that pleases most. Now the good to which we aspire must not be a simple affection, existing only in him who feels it; for he who mistakes this affection for the Good remains unsatisfied, he has nothing but an affection that somebody else might equally feel in presence of the Good. Consequently no one will succeed in making himself enjoy a pleasure he has not achieved122; such as, for instance, rejoicing in the presence of an absent son; or, for a glutton to relish imaginary food; or, for a lover, to tremble at the touch of his absent mistress, or (to thrill in a theoretic) orgasm.

Source attribution

Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 3 In Chronological Order, Grouped in Four Periods, Project Gutenberg eBook #42932

THE TRUE GOOD IMPLIES A COUNTERFEIT GOOD. A THING'S GOOD IS ITS FORM; OR, ITS INTIMACY WITH ITSELF.