Outlines of Pyrrhonism

...seem to him to be good. But he who is undecided about those things which are by nature good or bad, neither flees anything nor pursues anything with intense zeal; and for this reason, he is free from disturbance. What is recorded in memory regarding the painter Apelles Apelles of Kos was a renowned painter in ancient Greece, known for his incredible realism and technical skill. also happens to the Sceptic. For they say that when he was painting a horse and wished to represent its foam in his picture, he failed so badly that he despaired of the task entirely. Therefore, he threw the sponge—on which he used to wipe the colors from his brushes—against the painting. But when the sponge touched the horse, it produced an exact likeness of the foam. In the same way, the Sceptics hoped to attain an undisturbed state of mind by distinguishing the inconsistencies between things perceived by the senses and those perceived by the intellect. However, when they were unable to achieve this, they suspended their assent epoche: the suspension of judgment; a state in which the philosopher neither denies nor affirms the truth of a claim.. By chance, this suspension of assent was followed by an undisturbed state of mind, just as a shadow follows a body. We do not, however, think the Sceptic is entirely at peace and free from all trouble; rather, we say he is disturbed by the impact of certain external forces. For we admit that he sometimes feels cold, grows thirsty, and suffers other such things. But even in these cases, the common person suffers two misfortunes: both from the suffering itself, and because he judges those things happening to him to be "bad" by nature. But the Sceptic, not adding the opinion that each of these things is "bad" by nature, bears them more moderately than others. For this reason, we say that in matters of opinion, the goal of the Sceptic is tranquility original: ataraxia, but in matters of necessity, it is moderation of feeling metriopathia: the state of experiencing physical sensations or emotions with moderation rather than excessive mental distress.. Some of the more famous Sceptics have also added the suspension of judgment original: epoche concerning investigations to these goals.

Concerning the Universal Sceptical Modes. CHAPTER XIII.

Since we were saying that the freedom from disturbance is achieved by the suspension of assent regarding all things, we must next explain how we arrive at this suspension of assent. This occurs...