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Sextus Empiricus
Against the Ethicists, Book XI of Against the Learned Section 126
Section 126 of 257
Canonical reference 11.126
Ancient Greek
Hermann Mutschmann and Jürgen Mau, editors · adversus-grc
ὁ γὰρ τυχὼν τοῦ πλούτου οὐκέτι συντόνως ἐπιζητεῖ τὸν πλοῦτον, καὶ ὁ λαβόμενος τῆς ἡδονῆς λύσει τὸ σύντονον τῆς περὶ αὐτὴν σπουδῆς. καθάπερ οὖν τὰ κρημνοβατοῦντα τῶν ζῴων ὑπὲρ τοῦ πιεῖν δι’ ἀλγηδόνος ἵεται ἐπὶ τὴν ἡδονὴν καὶ ἅμα τῷ κορεσθῆναι παύεται τῶν πρὶν μόχθων, οὕτω καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐν μὲν τῷ ἐπείγεσθαι πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ὀχλεῖται, τυχὼν δὲ οὗ ἐπόθει καὶ τῆς ὀχλήσεως ἀπαλλάττεται.
English AI-generated translation, non-official
Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11
For, they might say, one who has obtained wealth no longer seeks it intensely, and one who has grasped pleasure relaxes his intense pursuit of it. Just as animals walking along precipices hasten painfully toward the pleasure of drinking and cease from their previous exertions once satisfied, so too a human being is necessarily distressed while hastening toward the good, but upon obtaining what he desired is released from distress.
French AI-generated translation, non-official
Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11
Car, diront-ils, celui qui a obtenu la richesse ne la recherche plus intensément, et celui qui a saisi le plaisir relâche l’intensité de son empressement. De même que les animaux marchant au bord des précipices s’élancent douloureusement vers le plaisir de boire et cessent leurs efforts antérieurs lorsqu’ils sont rassasiés, de même l’homme est nécessairement troublé lorsqu’il se hâte vers le bien, mais, lorsqu’il obtient ce qu’il désirait, il est délivré de son trouble.
Concepts in this passage
Equipollence
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Pleasure
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Suspension of judgment
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Virtue
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