Plato, Laws 792b

θρηνώδης τε εἶναι καὶ ὀδυρμῶν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ πλήρης μᾶλλον ἢ χρεών ἐστιν τὸν ἀγαθόν; ἐμοὶ γοῦν δοκεῖ. τί οὖν; εἴ τις τὰ τρίʼ ἔτη πειρῷτο πᾶσαν μηχανὴν προσφέρων ὅπως τὸ τρεφόμενον ἡμῖν ὡς ὀλιγίστῃ προσχρήσεται ἀλγηδόνι καὶ φόβοις καὶ λύπῃ πάσῃ κατὰ δύναμιν, ἆρʼ οὐκ οἰόμεθα εὔθυμον μᾶλλόν τε καὶ ἵλεων ἀπεργάζεσθαι τηνικαῦτα τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ τρεφομένου; δῆλον δή, καὶ μάλιστά γʼ ἄν, ὦ ξένε, εἴ τις πολλὰς

as a doleful person and more full, as a rule, of complaints than a good man ought to be? I certainly regard him as such. Well then, suppose one should try to secure by every available means that our nursling should experience the least possible amount of grief or fear or pain of any kind, may we not believe that by this means the soul of the nursling would be rendered more bright and cheerful? Plainly it would, Stranger; and most of all if one should provide him