The Philosopher
Epicurus
The face
The background
- Nationality:
- Ancient Greek
- Schools:
- Epicureanism
- Branchs:
- Ethics, Epistemology, Physics, Theology
- Period:
- Hellenistic
The synopsis
Epicurus (341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. He taught that the management of one's desires, the removal of unnecessary fears, friendship, and virtuous living led to a pleasant life and constant happiness, which he defined as the highest good. He believed that people were best able to pursue philosophy by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. Epicurus advocated for simple meals and discussions at "The Garden", his school in Athens. He taught that while gods exist, they are indifferent to human affairs. Aligning with atomist thought, he proposed that reality consists of atoms and void, and introduced the concept of atomic "swerve" to allow for free will. Despite writing over 300 works, most are lost; surviving texts include letters and the *Principal Doctrines*. Epicureanism gained popularity in Rome and later saw revivals, influencing thinkers like Gassendi, Locke, and Marx.
The works
On Nature
Canon
Principal Doctrines
Letter to Herodotus
Letter to Pythocles
Letter to Menoeceus
Letter to Mother
Vatican Sayings
The quotes
Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.
Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.
Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in the search of it when he has grown old. For no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul.
There is no such thing as justice in the abstract; it is merely a compact between men.
Misfortune seldom intrudes upon the wise man; his greatest and highest interests are directed by reason throughout the course of life.
It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself.
I never desired to please the rabble. What pleased them, I did not learn; and what I knew was far removed from their understanding.
We must exercise ourselves in the things which bring happiness, since, if that be present, we have everything, and, if that be absent, all our actions are directed toward attaining it.
The misfortune of the wise is better than the prosperity of the fool.
If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.
The art of living well and the art of dying well are one.
It is not so much our friends' help that helps us, as the confidence of their help.
Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.
Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.
Both old and young alike ought to seek wisdom: the former in order that, as age comes over him, he may be young in good things because of the grace of what has been, and the latter in order that, while he is young, he may at the same time be old, because he has no fear of the things which are to come.
It is possible to provide security against other ills, but as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls.
It is better for you to be free of fear lying upon a pallet, than to have a golden couch and a rich table and be full of trouble.
We do not so much need the help of our friends as the confidence of their help in need.
It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly. And it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.
If God listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one another.
A free life cannot acquire many possessions, because this is not easy to do without servility to mobs or monarchs.
The time when most of you should withdraw into yourself is when you are forced to be in a crowd.
Justice... is a kind of compact not to harm or be harmed.