Lettres à Lucilius Section 15

Adice, quod multa, quae bona videri volunt, animalibus quam homini pleniora contingunt. Illa cibo avidius utuntur, venere non aeque fatigantur, virium illis maior est et aequabilior firmitas. Sequitur, ut multo feliciora sint homine. Nam sine nequitia, sine fraudibus degunt. Fruuntur voluptatibus, quas et magis capiunt et ex facili sine ullo pudoris aut paenitentiae metu.

Ajoute que beaucoup de ces biens prétendus sont plus amplement répartis aux animaux qu’à l’homme. Leur appétit est plus vorace ; les plaisirs
de l’amour les lassent moins ; leurs forces sont plus grandes, plus également soutenues ; les voilà donc bien plus heureux que l’homme. Ils vivent en effet sans iniquités et sans fraudes ; ils jouissent de voluptés et plus pleines et plus faciles, sans craindre aucunement la honte ou le repentir.

Besides, many things which are wont to be regarded as goods are granted to animals in fuller measure than to men. Animals eat their food with better appetite, are not in the same degree weakened by sexual indulgence, and have a greater and more uniform constancy in their strength. Consequently, they are much more fortunate than man. For there is no wickedness, no injury to themselves, in their way of living. They enjoy their pleasures and they take them more often and more easily, without any of the fear that results from shame or regret.