Epicurus: Letters, Principal Doctrines, and Vatican Sayings

by Epicurus, Russell Geer (Translator)

Library of Liberal Arts title.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 272

About the author

Epicurus (Greek: Ἐπίκουρος, Epikouros, "upon youth"; Samos, 341 BCE – Athens, 270 BCE; 72 years) was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Only a few fragments and letters remain of Epicurus's 300 written works. Much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later followers and commentators.

For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by aponia, the absence of pain and fear, and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and bad, that death is the end of the body and the soul and should therefore not be feared, that the gods do not reward or punish humans, that the universe is infinite and eternal, and that events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms moving in empty space.

His parents, Neocles and Chaerestrate, both Athenian citizens, had immigrated to the Athenian settlement on the Aegean island of Samos about ten years before Epicurus' birth in February 341 BCE. As a boy he studied philosophy for four years under the Platonist teacher Pamphilus. At the age of 18 he went to Athens for his two-year term of military service. The playwright Menander served in the same age-class of the ephebes as Epicurus.

After the death of Alexander the Great, Perdiccas expelled the Athenian settlers on Samos to Colophon. After the completion of his military service, Epicurus joined his family there. He studied under Nausiphanes, who followed the teachings of Democritus. In 311/310 BC Epicurus taught in Mytilene but caused strife and was forced to leave. He then founded a school in Lampsacus before returning to Athens in 306 BC. There he founded The Garden, a school named for the garden he owned about halfway between the Stoa and the Academy that served as the school's meeting place.

Even though many of his teachings were heavily influenced by earlier thinkers, especially by Democritus, he differed in a significant way with Democritus on determinism. Epicurus would often deny this influence, denounce other philosophers as confused, and claim to be "self-taught".

Epicurus never married and had no known children. He suffered from kidney stones, to which he finally succumbed in 270 BCE at the age of 72, and despite the prolonged pain involved, he wrote to Idomeneus:

"I have written this letter to you on a happy day to me, which is also the last day of my life. For I have been attacked by a painful inability to urinate, and also dysentery, so violent that nothing can be added to the violence of my sufferings. But the cheerfulness of my mind, which comes from the recollection of all my philosophical contemplation, counterbalances all these afflictions. And I beg you to take care of the children of Metrodorus, in a manner worthy of the devotion shown by the young man to me, and to philosophy."

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurus

Reviews

[J.D. Steens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of Epicurus' writings. His philosophy rests on an atomistic (material, not metaphysical) foundation. One is born, one dies. That's it. So the focus is on how we live and how we ought to live. We live he says by pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain. Despite its reputation, Epicurean philosophy does not support debauchery. Seeking pleasure means living modestly and this is where he moves into how we ought to live, which is living smartly. There is a fundamental role for mind to regulate (through the power of choice) one's interaction with the world. This includes setting aside immediate pleasure and even incurring short-term pain to attain well-being over the long run. In this approach, Epicurus does not separate the mind from the body but weaves them together into a harmonious whole. Reason, in seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, extends instinct. That animal role for reason and instinct gets lost when Epicurus states that individual sensation cannot set itself in motion "but must be stirred by something external." That seems to miss a fundamental point that life is prompted by need (need to seek pleasure, need to avoid pain) and therefore life is not passive but active, and is best characterized not by one-way action but by interaction. The reason something external stirs is because it matches up with some need inside. This book contains helpful cross references to Lucretius, "Of the Nature of things," which is regarded as the most extensive elaboration of Epicurus' philosophy.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my greatest work reading, but it is hardcore philosophy. The interesting thing is that Epicurus has relatively little extant work. Most of what we know about him and his philosophy comes to us secondhand through other philosophers and writers, such as Lucretius. It's like Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, where the searchers follow the trail of the man who went before them by the initials he left carved about the place. That is about as clear as we get of Epicurus.

Another curiosity is that he considers the soul to be material. The soul is something binding atoms together. But he clearly believes that both the soul and body die when we die. He claims not to fear death because of the deduction that with death ends sensation, and since both body and soul die, there is no sensation to be afraid of.

A further curiosity is this: how did he know so much about atoms? His understanding was not the same as a physicist's today, but it is not as far off as you might expect. Everything the early Greeks knew about life was through observation (as now) and logic (also as now), but it is amazing that they could come up with these insights, 2500 years ago and before microscopes and modern chemistry.

If I were to be a philosopher, this work would have to be high on my list. I found it through Tom Butler-Bowden's 50 Top Philosophy Reads. Epicurus appears to have been a rebel. Though he followed Plato chronologically, he does not seem to take much from his lead. Epicurean philosophy, or the philosophy of enjoyment of life, comes from his idea of the pleasure principle, which I don't totally understand, other than it has to do with what does not cause pain causes pleasure, and pleasure is a good.

[Simão Cortês · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally decided to read Epicurus to see what all the fuss is about. I was very nicely surprised by his doctrine of pleasure, that seems to be mistaken for hedonism quite a lot of times. He is a sober writer, with a touch of irony, that teaches some very valuable secrets for a happy and calm life. Although I would not consider myself an Epicurianist, there is great wisdom in his approach to life (and even the gods). Unfortunately all we have left complete is two collection of quotes, for letters and his last will. Two of the letters deal with Epicurean science (that tried to free itself from myth and the gods) and are slightly more boring than his maxims and letter on how to live in tranquility. But it was worth the read.

[Cristian · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a definite discrepancy in style between the overly long, actually tedious explanations on physics aspect of the doctrine (and this was supposed to be a summary!) and those amazing aphorisms of his.
Anyway, Epicurus' doctrine is the equivalent of a moderate ascetic life if you want; enjoy yourself only in necessity and refuse the superfluous. Be self-sufficient and love your friends if have any, shun your fears through the study of nature, pursue justice, honor and wisdom, and happiness will follow.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential and heartbreakingly slim.

[Bernardita Pinilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

not for me, but love.

[Adam]

he's about more than just food! Go figure