Χαρά

[Meaning] pleasure, cheerfulness, delight. Some say that the same thing is signified by these words, as far as the underlying concept is concerned. But Prodicus¹ tried to assign a particular signification to each of these nouns,² just as those from the Stoa [do], saying³ that 'joy' is a reasonable elation, while 'pleasure' is elation without reason; 'delight' is pleasure that comes from things we see, 'cheerfulness' from words. But this is [the approach] of prescriptivists. For it is not a mistake to call pleasure 'joy'; just as it is not a mistake to call the monad indivisible; nor to call joy 'joy' or the monad 'monad'. But agreeing to call one thing by a thing that is different is absurd and false.