Word of the Day for Monday, September 3, 2012

ataraxia \at-uh-RAK-see-uh\,
noun:
A state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety; tranquility.

The former breathes only peace and liberty; he desires only to live and be free from labor; even the ataraxia of the Stoic falls far short of his profound indifference to every other object.
-- Jean-Jacques Rousseau," A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality and a Discourse on Political Economy"

Thus, hedonism ends in ataraxia, which confirms the paradoxical relation between sadism and stoicism.
-- Marquis de Sade, "120 Days of Sodom and Other Writings"

Ataraxia stems from the Greek word of the same spelling that meant "impassiveness."

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