Key ideas 

1. Pleasure comes with virtue, but virtue is neither the cause nor the reward for being virtuous. 
2. Virtue gives the strength of mind, wisdom, high-mindedness, sound judgment, freedom, harmony, and beauty. 
3. Therefore, virtue is its own reward. 

Pleasure is a by-product of practicing virtue 

The challenger says: 

But you only practice virtue because you hope to derive some pleasure from it. 

First, even though virtue may give us pleasure, we don’t practice virtue for that reason. Virtue does not give us this but gives us this in addition. It is not virtue’s aim, but we gain this as well while working towards a different objective. When we till the soil and plough for corn, we may see some flowers as well. Yet we did not work to produce these posies that charm our eye. When we sow the field, we had a different thing on our mind and we gained it. This is over and above that. So, pleasure is neither the reward for nor the cause of virtue, but it comes with it. We don’t choose virtue for pleasure, but virtue gives pleasure when we choose it. 

The highest good lies in the act of choosing virtue. In the attitude of the highest minds, once it has done its job, established itself within its own limits, and has attained the highest good, it needs nothing more. There is nothing outside of the whole, anymore than there is something beyond the end. You are mistaken, therefore, when you assume the reason I practice virtue. I have my sight on something above the highest. 

Virtue is the highest good 

Would you like to know what I seek from virtue? Virtue itself. Nothing is better. Virtue is its own reward. Doesn’t it look great enough, when I tell you that the highest good is a firm strength of mind, wisdom, high-mindedness, sound judgment, freedom, harmony, and beauty? Do you still ask me for something greater over and above these? Why do you talk about pleasure to me? I am looking to find what is good for human beings not for their belly. Cattle and whales have larger bellies than humans. 

Think about this 

So pleasure is neither the reward for nor the cause of virtue, but it comes with it. We don’t choose virtue for pleasure, but virtue gives pleasure when we choose it. 

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In the NINTH chapter of his discourse ON THE HAPPY LIFE, Seneca tells us that, to be happy, we should stop pursuing pleasure, but instead pursue virtue. This is an excerpt from Stoic Happiness, a plain English version of Seneca’s On the Happy Life, published by The Stoic Gym. 

https://amzn.to/2I0mbVW 

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