“By all the pleasure which the philosopher can procure when he is conscious of having obtained them by his own exertions, and especially by getting rid of the many prejudices which make of the majority of men a troop of grown-up children.”
“What is pleasure? What is meant by prejudices?”
“Pleasure is the actual enjoyment of our senses; it is a complete satisfaction given to all our natural and sensual appetites; and, when our worn-out senses want repose, either to have breathing time, or to recover strength, pleasure comes from the imagination, which finds enjoyment in thinking of the happiness afforded by rest. The philosopher is a person who refuses no pleasures which do not produce greater sorrows, and who knows how to create new ones.”
“And you say that it is done by getting rid of prejudices? Then tell me what prejudices are, and what must be done to get rid of them.”
“Your question, my dear girl, is not an easy one to answer, for moral philosophy does not know a more important one, or a more difficult one to decide; it is a lesson which lasts throughout life. I will tell you in a few words that we call prejudice every so-called duty for the existence of which we find no reason in nature.”
“Then nature must be the philosopher’s principal study?”
“Indeed it is; the most learned of philosophers is the one who commits the fewest errors.”
“What philosopher, in your opinion, has committed the smallest quantity of errors?”
“Socrates.”
“Yet he was in error sometimes?”