pain. (1) Some of these
arise out of a transition from one state of the body to another, as from
cold to hot; (2) others are caused by the contrast of an internal pain
and an external pleasure in the body: sometimes the feeling of pain
predominates, as in itching and tingling, when they are relieved by
scratching; sometimes the feeling of pleasure: or the pleasure which
they give may be quite overpowering, and is then accompanied by all
sorts of unutterable feelings which have a death of delights in them.
But there are also mixed pleasures which are in the mind only. For are
not love and sorrow as well as anger 'sweeter than honey,' and also full
of pain? Is there not a mixture of feelings in the spectator of tragedy?
and of comedy also? 'I do not understand that last.' Well, then, with
the view of lighting up the obscurity of these mixed feelings, let
me ask whether envy is painful. 'Yes.' And yet the envious man finds
something pleasing in the misfortunes of others? 'True.' And
ignorance is a misfortune? 'Certainly.' And one form of ignorance is
self-conceit--a man may fancy himself richer, fairer, better, wiser than
he is? 'Yes.' And he who thus deceives himself may be strong or weak?
'He may.' And if he is strong we fear him, and if he is weak we laugh
at him, which is a pleasure, and yet we envy him, which is a pain? These
mixed feelings are the rationale of tragedy and comedy, and equally the
rationale of the greater drama of human life. (There appears to be some
confusion in this passage. There is no difficulty in seeing that in
comedy, as in tragedy, the spectator may view the performance with mixed
feelings of pain as well as of pleasure; nor is there any difficulty in
understanding that envy is a mixed feeling, which rejoices not without
pain at the misfortunes of others, and laughs at their ignorance of
themselves. But Plato seems to think further that he has explained the
feeling of the spectator in comedy sufficiently by a theory which only
applies to comedy in so far as in comedy we laugh at the conceit or
weakness of others. He has certainly given a very partial explanation of
the ridiculous.) Having shown how sorrow, anger, envy are feelings of
a mixed nature, I will reserve the consideration of the remainder for
another occasion.

Next follow the unmixed pleasures; which, unlike the philosophers of
whom I was speaking, I believe to be real. These unmixed pleasures are:
(1) The pleasures derived from be