[9]
The reason of this is that even to be free from
evil is pleasant. Things which we hope for are pleasant, when their presence
seems likely to afford us great pleasure or advantage, without the accompaniment
of pain. In a word, all things that afford pleasure by their presence as a rule
also afford pleasure when we hope for or remember them. Wherefore even
resentment is pleasant, as Homer said of anger that it is “
Far sweeter than dripping honey;1
” for no one feels resentment against those whom vengeance clearly cannot
overtake, or those who are far more powerful than he is; against such, men feel
either no resentment or at any rate less.
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Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Vol. 22, translated by J. H. Freese. Aristotle. Cambridge and London. Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd. 1926.
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