Strictly speaking, there is but one real evil: I mean acute pain. All other complaints are so considerably diminished by time that it is plain the grief is owing to our passion, since the sensation of it vanishes when that is over.

Summary

This quote suggests that the only true form of suffering is acute physical pain. It implies that any other form of suffering, such as emotional or mental anguish, loses its intensity over time, indicating that the distress is actually caused by our emotional attachment to the event rather than the event itself. Essentially, the quote asserts that the sensation of pain disappears once we let go of our passion for the source of that pain.

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