Suffering Creates Beauty
Throughout the history of humanity a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and lifestyles have all interacted with the human experience in slightly different ways. No one person can be said to have had an exactly similar life to any other person. Even those that share similar identities can find it hard to relate to those around them. However, there is one thing every person has experienced and that is suffering. It is an inescapable feature of life on earth and is brought up in some form in almost all the writings of the ancient Greek philosophers. Empedocles states “The life of mortals is so mean a thing as to be virtually un-life; their doom is swift, they are blown away and vanish like smoke” (Empedocles, F1). From this quote one can tell the Greek’s view on life was pessimistic. They believed the best thing that could happen to a person was to not be born and the second best thing is to die (Cummins). Though the Greeks clearly viewed suffering as inescapable they did not view it as something to avoid or shy away from. In fact from the very early works of Hesiod all the way to the works of Plotinus, the Greeks and Romans viewed suffering as necessary for personal development. The philosophers view suffering as not only something to embrace but that it is necessary for personal growth, development, and makes each individual beautiful. As Friedrich Nietzsche said about the Greeks “What suffering this race must have endured in order to create such beauty” (Nietzsche). Both Nietzsche and the Ancient Greek philosophers view suffering and beauty as intertwined, individuals and people cannot have one without the other. In other words, suffering is necessary. What would life be and how little would one improve themselves without struggles, challenges, and hardships?
The first philosopher in our dialogue who discusses the importance of suffering in life comes from Hesiod. Hesiod is considered one of the oldest poets and authors in all of Western literature. Xenophon quotes Hesiod as saying “Evil can be found easily, smooth is the road. But sweat the gods have set upon the way. To Goodness: long and steep is the path to it and rough at first; but if you reach the summit thereafter it is easy, hard though it was” (Xenophon 2.1.14). In this quotation Hesiod warns about the dangers of embarking on a life that avoids suffering. The path to evil is a smooth road, it is full of pleasures and fulfilment of desires. However, the path of goodness is long and steep and the road is rough. There are many hardships that one must endure, but the end product is worth all the pain that an individual can experience along their journey. Hesiod in this short but insightful quote details two routes a human life can take. One can suffer on the road to goodness and in return benefit immeasurably. On the other hand one can take an easy road full of pleasures and fulfillment of desires. However, this road leads nowhere but an abyss of evil. Evil is not beauty, goodness is beauty, and suffering is the only route, according to Hesiod, to goodness.
Heraclitus is the next ancient philosopher who approaches the necessity for suffering with several different insightful quotes. He views suffering, or as he describes it strife, as essential to not only human life but the order of the entire universe. Heraclitus, in one of his many thought provoking fragments states “all things come to pass through the compulsion of strife” (Heraclitus F 26). Struggle is necessary for all things to come about, thus, there is no need to avoid suffering, but rather embrace it. He goes even further indicating that people should want bad things to happen to them, “Greater dooms win greater destinies” (Heracltus F 70). The worst of someone's situation in life is the better story they can tell when they succeed despite their disadvantages. They will have the benefit of having persevered through hardships, which allows for personal growth and development. Finally, in his most thought provoking quote he states “The best of men choose one thing in preference to all else, immortal glory in preference to mortal good; whereas the masses simply glut themselves like cattle” (Heraclitus F 85). The best of men will go out of their way to create hardships for themselves. These superior men will struggle and face challenges, they will fail countless times, embarrass themselves, and lose repeatedly. However, they chose to suffer in this life so as to receive immortal glory. The masses glut themselves with convenience following the herd. They choose Hesiod’s route of evil. They fulfil their immediate desires, avoid suffering, and take the easy road of life that leads to evil. Heraclitus reveals to us that if you want to be beautiful you must suffer, or end up like cattle.
Hesiod and Heraclitus detail two paths the human life can take, one of suffering and one of pleasure. They then detail the outcomes of these two paths. Similarly, in Xenophon's Memorabilia of Socrates the story of Prodicus’ choice reveals a similar decision all individuals must make. As Heracles approaches adulthood, he is approached by two women who give him a choice on the type of life he wants to lead. One woman offers him a life of vice. This life would be easy, he would always be full, his desires would always be met, and he would never have to suffer or work for anything. The woman of virtue then begins to speak and argues that work is the only thing that produces anything meaningful “If you want to be physically efficient, you must train your body to serve your reason, and exercise it with toil and sweat” (Xenophon, 3.28). A beautiful body can only come through toil and sweat, in other words suffering. Prodicus’ choice is further evidence of the Ancient Greek view that suffering is necessary for human fulfilment and it is the only thing that leads to beauty.
The Anonymous Iamblichi continues the development of Greek thinking on this topic with his statement on the importance of hard work in order to achieve success. He states “In order to achieve the very best results… he must be willing to work hard, beginning his studies very early in life” (Xenophon, 10.I[I]). The author clearly views hard work, in other words, suffering, as essential to one's success in their professional life. If one wants to become the best in their profession and embody beauty of that particular field they must suffer to achieve that goal. The Anonymous Iamblichi indicates that the result of suffering is success. Therefore, it must be the case that suffering and pleasure come hand in hand. The result of avoiding suffering must be the opposite of success, failure. When an individual reaches for either pleasure or suffering it is inevitable that the other will follow. As Socrates indicates, “ What a queer thing this pleasure, as they call it, seems to be, my friends! How remarkable is its relation to what we regard as its opposite, pain! They won't both come to us at the same time, but when we run after one of them we are practically compelled to grasp the other” (Plato Phaedo 12.2). Socrates views pleasure and pain as two creatures attached to a single head. Therefore, as it would logically follow based on Socrates' arguments, we should chase after suffering and pain, given that pleasure will likely follow with it.
In succession to Socrates comes Aristotle. He has a great deal to say about suffering, human life, and all of its implications. Though a great many years have passed from the time Heraclitus was writing to that of Aristotle, the ideas appear to be fairly similar. Aristotle states “virtue, like art, is constantly dealing with what is harder, since the harder the task the better is success” (Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics 20.2.3). Virtue, art, and life are all benefited by achieving the most difficult task possible. It is for this reason the more difficult a work of art is to accomplish the more beauty it obtains and the more awe it receives from viewers. Just like Heraclitus argued that greater hardships lead to better outcomes, so too does Aristotle articulate that the harder something is to accomplish the better the result. The more work, toil, and suffering humans put into art, life, or their profession, the better the outcome will be. In art, just like in life, the greater suffering the artist goes through the more beautiful the artwork is. The same can be said for the life of a human being.
Through the investigation of this topic it is evident the significant impact the Greeks had on Roman thinking and philosophy. Many of the works of Roman philosophers clearly indicate an embrace of many of these Greek ideas surrounding the inescapability of suffering and the benefits it can have on a human life. One of these Roman thinkers that was repackaging some of the ideas of early Greek philosophers was Seneca. Seneca discusses the importance of Honor in his letters, specifying that acting in an honorable way is of the utmost importance. When one acts in an honorable manner they always do what they believe to be right, not what is easiest. Seneca discusses this concept with a theoretical example. He argues that a man should give the ultimate sacrifice, his life, in defense of his country, home, and family. Even if no one recognized his deeds, it should still be done for he will answer his doubters with the following “All of that is beyond my job, and I only consider that; I know that this is honorable, and so I go wherever it leads and summons me” (Seneca, 76.29). The easy thing would be to abandon one’s home and be unwilling to die for their country and home. However, that is not the honorable action in this situation. Instead, Seneca argues that even if a man knows his deeds will be forgotten, he should still do the honorable thing. Seneca, similar to our previous Greek thinkers, feels that there is more benefit in suffering or choosing a path of honor than doing what is easy. When a man faced with a choice of defending his home chooses the honorable thing, initially, he suffers. However, the pleasure of doing what is right out shadows any that could come from being a coward and choosing the easy way out.
The final Roman thinker addressed in this paper is Plotinus. His summary of how to improve oneself is the perfect encapsulation of my thesis so far. A Roman Egyptian Platonist, his thinking mirrors that of many Greek writers previously discussed. When discussing the importance of the soul, he raises a common question of how one could improve their own soul and themselves. Plotinus gives an answer “If you do not find yourself beautiful yet, act as does the creator of a statue that is to be made beautiful: he cuts away here, he smooths there, he makes this line lighter, … until a lovely face has grown upon his work” (Plotinus Ennead 1.9). One becomes beautiful and virtuous through suffering. We must cut away parts of ourselves, smooth out rough areas, and lighten certain parts in order for something beautiful to result. All of life requires suffering and the answer from the Greeks is: embrace it, it makes you beautiful.
Bibliography:
Cummins Lecture 11/5/2024
Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. (1872) 2011. The Birth of Tragedy. Paw Prints.
