slept, and woke up again, and found my grief
not a little assuaged": and quotes the words from the hymn of Ambrose
[*Cf. Sarum Breviary: First Sunday after the octave of the Epiphany,
Hymn for first Vespers], in which it is said that "Sleep restores the
tired limbs to labor, refreshes the weary mind, and banishes sorrow."

_I answer that,_ As stated above (Q. 37, A. 4), sorrow, by reason of
its specific nature, is repugnant to the vital movement of the body;
and consequently whatever restores the bodily nature to its due state
of vital movement, is opposed to sorrow and assuages it. Moreover
such remedies, from the very fact that they bring nature back to its
normal state, are causes of pleasure; for this is precisely in what
pleasure consists, as stated above (Q. 31, A. 1). Therefore, since
every pleasure assuages sorrow, sorrow is assuaged by such like
bodily remedies.

Reply Obj. 1: The normal disposition of the body, so far as it is
felt, is itself a cause of pleasure, and consequently assuages sorrow.

Reply Obj. 2: As stated above (Q. 31, A. 8), one pleasure hinders
another; and yet every pleasure assuages sorrow. Consequently it is
not unreasonable that sorrow should be assuaged by causes which
hinder one another.

Reply Obj. 3: Every good disposition of the body reacts somewhat on
the heart, which is the beginning and end of bodily movements, as
stated in _De Causa Mot. Animal._ xi.
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QUESTION 39

OF THE GOODNESS AND MALICE OF SORROW OR PAIN
(In Four Articles)

We must now consider the goodness and malice of pain or sorrow:
under which head there are four points of inquiry:

(1) Whether all sorrow is evil?

(2) Whether sorrow can be a virtuous good?

(3) Whether it can be a useful good?

(4) Whether bodily pain is the greatest evil?
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FIRST ARTICLE [I-II, Q. 39, Art. 1]

Whether All Sorrow Is Evil?

Objection 1: It would seem that all sorrow is evil. For Gregory of
Nyssa [*Nemesius, De Nat. Hom. xix.] says: "All sorrow is evil, from
its very nature." Now what is naturally evil, is evil always and
everywhere. Therefore, all sorrow is evil.

Obj. 2: Further, that which all, even the virtuous, avoid, is evil.
But all avoid sorrow, even the virtuous, since as stated in _Ethic._
vii, 11, "though the prudent man does not aim at pleasure, yet he
aims at avoiding sorrow." Therefore sorrow is evil.

Obj. 3: Further, just as bodily evil is the object