Most societies view hope as a virtue. But those who do so ignore the writings of Hesiod and Seneca. In the Greek poet’s accounts of the quarrel between Zeus and Prometheus, hope and other evils swirl in the same cesspool. While in his epistles, the Roman stoic thinker shares with his friend Lucilius the insight of Hecato of Rhodes, “Cease to hope, and you will cease to fear.” In this article the author presents arguments supporting the thesis that hope is an evil and that wishing is better than hoping.
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QuillTEArnoldRM, Platt F. “I wish things were different”: expressing wishes in response to loss, futility, and unrealistic hopes. Ann Intern Med. 2001;135:551–555.
