Note 117 — Chapter XXXII · PHILEBUS.

Plato, in Philêbus, p. 63 C-D, denounces and discards the vehement pleasures because they disturb the right exercise of Reason and Intelligence. Aristotle, after alluding to this doctrine, presents the same fact under a different point of view, as one case of a general law. Each variety of pleasure belongs to, and is consequent on, a certain ἐνέργεια of the system. Each variety of pleasure promotes and consummates its own ἐνέργεια, but impedes or arrests other different ἐνεργείας. Thus the pleasures of hunting, of gymnastic contest, of hearing or playing music — cause each of these ἐνεργεῖαι, upon which each pleasure respectively depends, to be more completely developed; but are unfavourable to different ἐνεργεῖαι, such as learning by heart, or solving a geometrical problem. The pleasure belonging to these latter, again, is unfavourable to the performance of the former ἐνεργεῖαι. Study often hurts health or good management of property; but if a man has pleasure in study, he will perform that work with better fruit and result.

This is a juster view of ἡδονὴ than what we read in the Philêbus. The illogical antithesis of Pleasure in genere, against Intelligence, finds no countenance from Aristotle.

See Ethic. Nikom. vii. 13, 1153, a. 20; x. 5, p. 1175; also Ethic. Magna, ii. p. 1206, a. 3.