Epicurus Quotes

“Why should we place Christ at the top and summit of the human race? Was he kinder, more forgiving, more self-sacrificing than Buddha? Was he wiser, did he meet death with more perfect calmness, than Socrates? Was he more patient, more charitable, than Epictetus? Was he a greater philosopher, a deeper thinker, than Epicurus? In what respect was he the superior of Zoroaster? Was he gentler than Lao-tsze, more universal than Confucius? Were his ideas of human rights and duties superior to those of Zeno? Did he express grander truths than Cicero? Was his mind subtler than Spinoza’s? Was his brain equal to Kepler’s or Newton’s? Was he grander in death – a sublimer martyr than Bruno? Was he in intelligence, in the force and beauty of expression, in breadth and scope of thought, in wealth of illustration, in aptness of comparison, in knowledge of the human brain and heart, of all passions, hopes and fears, the equal of Shakespeare, the greatest of the human race?”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, About The Holy Bible

“As you say of yourself, I too am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greece and Rome have left us.

[Letter to William Short, 31 October 1819]”
― Thomas Jefferson, Letters of Thomas Jefferson

“do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not”
― Epicurus

“The noble man is chiefly concerned with wisdom and friendship; of these, the former is a mortal good, the latter and immortal one.”
― Epicurus

“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.”
― Epicurus

“I now wish that I had spent somewhat more of my life with verse. This is not because I fear having missed out on truths that are incapable of statement in prose. There are no such truths; there is nothing about death that Swinburne and Landor knew but Epicurus and Heidegger failed to grasp. Rather, it is because I would have lived more fully if I had been able to rattle off more old chestnuts — just as I would have if I had made more close friends.”
― Richard M. Rorty

“Let no one delay the study of philosophy while young nor weary of it when old.”
― Epicurus

“If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.”
― Epicurus

“If you live according to nature, you will never be poor; if you live according to opinion, you will never be rich.”
― Seneca

“Men inflict injuries from hatred, jealousy or contempt, but the wise man masters all these passions by means of reason.”
― Epicurus, The Art of Happiness

“I would like Epicurus and Buddha to become one.”
― Osho, The secret of secrets

“If you wish to make Pythocles wealthy, don't give him more money; rather, reduce his desires.”
― Epicurus, Άπαντα

“Death means nothing to us”
― Epicurus, The Art of Happiness

“The esteem of others is outside our control; we must attend instead to healing ourselves.”
― Epicurus, Being Happy

“I'm an Epicurean hedonist. The meaning of life is to enjoy my life.”
― Oliver Markus Malloy, Inside The Mind of an Introvert

“The impassive soul disturbs neither itself nor others.”
― Epicurus, The Art of Happiness

“ბოროტებათაგან უსაშინლესი – სიკვდილი – ჩვენ სრულიად არ გვეხება, რადგან როცა ჩვენ ვართ, სიკვდილი არ არის, ხოლო როდესაც სიკვდილი არის, ჩვენ აღარ ვართ. ასე რომ, იგი სრულებით არ ეხება არც ცოცხლებს, არც მკვდრებს, რადგან პირველთათვის იგი არ არსებობს, მეორენი კი უკვე აღარ არსებობენ”
― Epicurus

“The Buddha promised redemption after thousands of deaths and rebirths, after millennia of suffering. Epicurus promised the end of all striving with a momentary, single death. Apostle Paul could not promise anything beyond a Russian roulette between eternal bliss and eternal damnation...”
― Giannis Delimitsos

“We must not pretend to be philosophers, but be philosophers in truth. For we do not stand in need of the appearance of health but of true health.”
― Epicurus, The Essential Epicurus

“Great abundance is heaped up as the result of brutalizing labor, but a miserable life is the result.”
― Epicurus, The Essential Epicurus

“The justice of nature is a pledge of reciprocal usefulness ... neither to harm one another nor to be harmed … Justice was not a thing in its own right, but [exists] in mutual dealings in whatever places there [is] a pact about neither harming one another nor being harmed. ~ Epicurus”
― Catherine Wilson, How to Be an Epicurean: The Ancient Art of Living Well

“Some men have sought to become famous and renowned, Epicurus wrote, thinking that thus they'd make themselves secure against their fellow men. If security actually came with fame and renown, than the person who sought them attained a natural good. But if fame actually brought heightened insecurity, as it did in most cases, then such an achievement was not worth pursuing. From this perspective, Epicurus' critics observed, that it would be difficult to justify most of the restless striving and risk taking that leads a city's greatness.”
― Stephen Greenblatt, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

“Abandon the anxious and doomed attempt to build higher and higher walls, and to turn instead to the cultivation of pleasure - Epicurus”
― Stephen Greenblatt, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

“[..] la capacità di passare con tranquillità dalla pizzeria all'angolo a un ristorante stellato, scegliendo di volta in volta il meglio che possiamo permetterci per la salute o per il portafogli e sentendoci a nostro agio in qualsiasi situazione. Consapevoli del fatto che non sono i posti che frequentiamo, né tantomeno il tenore di vita basso o alto che stiamo vivendo a stabilire la persona che siamo: lui lo definisce coraggio, noi possiamo chiamarla semplicemente libertà.”
― Angela Lombardo, La vita dolce: La via mediterranea alla felicità. 15 esercizi epicurei per la vita di oggi

“Un'accettazione delle "cose come sono" che non ha nulla di passivo, ma al contrario ci permette di rimetterci al timone del nostro tempo e di assaporare come un dono meraviglioso la birra fresca che berremo in spiaggia al tramonto l'ultima sera di vacanza, godendoci più che mai il tepore della sabbia sotto il sedere e le ultime gocce di rosso che si spengono nel mare; senza sprecare un solo istante a pensare alla metropolitana che ci aspetta in città. Ci penseremo domani! Anzi, magari domani in metropolitana ci sorprenderemo a sorridere da soli come ebeti, quando coccoleremo quel ricordo rievocandone ogni minuscola sensazione fisica ed emotiva, compresa la nostalgia, che a questo punto avrà reso ancora più dolce e indimenticabile quel momento, senza nessun bisogno di “allungare all’infinito il tempo a nostra disposizione”.”
― Angela Lombardo, La vita dolce: La via mediterranea alla felicità. 15 esercizi epicurei per la vita di oggi

“Necessity is an evil thing, but there is no necessity to live beneath the yoke of necessity.”
― Epicurus, The Essential Epicurus

“We do not need the help of our friends so much as the confidence that our friends will help us.”
― Epicurus, The Essential Epicurus

“Nothing is sufficient for the man to whom the sufficient is too little.”
― Epicurus, The Essential Epicurus

“Your anxiety is in direct proportion to your forgetfulness of nature, for you bring on yourself unlimited fears and desires.”
― Epicurus, The Essential Epicurus

“What's the meaning of life?

I'm an Epicurean hedonist. The meaning of life is to enjoy life.”
― Oliver Markus Malloy, Atheist Guide: Atheism in a Nutshell