Epicurus
Epicurus
Epicuruswas an ancient Greek philosopher as well as the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Only a few fragments and letters of Epicurus's 300 written works remain. Much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later followers and commentators...
NationalityGreek
ProfessionPhilosopher
men vain capability
It is vain to ask of the gods what man is capable of supplying for himself.
happiness pain mean
No pleasure is evil in itself; but the means by which certain pleasures are gained bring pains many times greater than the pleasures.
garden doe natural
My garden does not whet the appetite; it satisfies it. It does not provoke thirst through heedless indulgence, but slakes it by proffering its natural remedy. Amid such pleasures as these have I grown old.
numbers space world
There are infinite worlds both like and unlike this world of ours. For the atoms being infinite in number... are borne on far out into space.
cutting sky world
A world is a circumscribed portion of sky... it is a piece cut off from the infinite.
men mad fear-of-death
Men are so thoughtless, nay, so mad, that some, through fear of death, force themselves to die.
riches needs enjoy
He who needs riches least, enjoys riches most.
pain desire causes
Those desires that do not bring pain if they are not satisfied are not necessary; and they are easily thrust aside whenever to satisfy them appears difficult or likely to cause injury.
men mad action
Most men are in a coma when they are at rest and mad when they act.
pain teaching mean
When we say that pleasure is the end, we do not mean the pleasure of the profligate or that which depends on physical enjoyment--as some think who do not understand our teachings, disagree with them, or give them an evil interpretation--but by pleasure we mean the state wherein the body is free from pain and the mind from anxiety.
friendship beautiful wise
Of all the gifts that wise Providence grants us to make life full and happy, friendship is the most beautiful.
philosophy men medicine
Vain is the word of a philosopher which does not heal any suffering of man. For just as there is no profit in medicine if it does not expel the diseases of the body, so there is no profit in philosophy either, if it does not expel the suffering of the mind.
wise thinking men
The wise man thinks of fame just enough to avoid being despised.
pain long mind
The magnitude of pleasure reaches its limit in the removal of all pain. When such pleasure is present, so long as it is uninterrupted, there is no pain either of body or of mind or of both together.