Section 11: Do the fortunes of the living affect the dead?

That the fortunes of descendants and of all a person’s friends do not affect the happiness of his life in any way seems to be a view too opposed to friendship and to the typical opinions people hold.

But since the events that happen are numerous and admit of all sorts of difference, and some come more near to us and _[25] others less so, it seems a long task–even an infinite task–to discuss each in detail. A general outline will perhaps suffice.

If, then, since some of a person’s own misfortunes have a certain weight and influence on life, while other misfortunes are, as it were, lighter, so too there are differences among the misfortunes of our friends taken as a whole. _[30] And it makes a difference whether the various suffering befall the living or the dead (much more even than whether lawless and terrible deeds are presupposed in a tragedy or done on the stage).

This difference must also be taken into account. Or rather, perhaps, the fact that a doubt is felt whether the dead share in _[35] any good or evil. For it seems, from these considerations, that even if _[1101b1] anything good or bad affects the dead, it must be something weak and almost negligible, either in itself or for them. Or if not, at least it must be such in degree and kind as not to make happy those who are not happy nor to take away their blessedness from those who are happy.

The good or bad fortunes of friends, then, seem to have some effect _[5] on the dead, but effects of such a kind and degree as neither to make the happy unhappy nor to produce any other change of the kind.