Abstract

In 2005 A. Petrobelli made a discovery in the Vlatadon 14 manuscript that was to revolutionize the field of Classics, bringing to light Avoiding Distress, a long-lost writing with valuable information about Galen of Pergamon and his time. The pamphlet takes the form of a letter that Galen himself addressed to a friend who had asked him about the “methodµ he had followed so as to be able to go on with his life – without any apparent suffering – despite having lost almost all his property and works in the course of the great fire that broke out in Rome in 192 CE. Ever since the discovery of the text, there has been a marked increase in studies on Marcus Aurelius’ personal physician from an ethical and psychological angle, although very little has been said about De indolentia from a PWL perspective. By seeking to relieve humankind of bodily suffering, Galen provided a possible solution for avoiding pains of the soul. Therefore, the response given by Galen to his friend will prompt us to analyze the origins, nature, and implications of the “prefiguration of future evilsµ (praemeditatio malorum) as a spiritual exercise; as well as to reassess J. M. Cooper’s contention that «no one before late antiquity approached philosophy as a way of life». Moreover, De indolentia is worth examining because most of the issues that Galen tackles in the letter are still relevant and shed light on some of the secular values of contemporary society.