I recently learned a bit about Lucretius’ De rerum natura, a nearly 2,100 year-old document that provides summaries of science, philosophy, and other human behaviors. A snip from one web page caught my eye:
Hutchinson points out that Lucretius often juxtaposes the depiction of pleasure with an immediate cold shower of a depiction of regret, frustration, and absurdity.
That is a broadly useful statement. Cheers.