Of course one wants relaxation.
But I don't want to look on while animals feed.

Recovery after hard intellectual work means, in your sense, the return for some hours to animal life.

Now I prefer the painful ascent of mankind to the comfortable, backward slide into animal nature.

If I wished to pose as a statue for you it would have to be 'Penseroso' while eating or drinking, or with a foolish, smiling mask indicating animal contentment." "Very well.

Let us also abolish the public announcement of eating, drinking, dancing and other performances, as the remnants of barbarism or of original animal nature, and let us introduce the universal duty of philosophy.