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
atheist evil world
The gods can either take away evil from the world and will not, or, being willing to do so, cannot; or they neither can nor will, or lastly, they are both able and willing. If they have the will to remove evil and cannot, then they are not omnipotent. If they can, but will not, than they are not benevolent. If they are neither able nor willing, then they are neither omnipotent nor benevolent. Lastly, if they are both able and willing to annihilate evil, how does it exist?
evil continuing subjects
Necessity is an evil; but there is no necessity for continuing to live subject to necessity.
evil feels
There is nothing to fear from gods, There is nothing to feel in death, Good can be attained, Evil can be endured.
evil injustice offense
Injustice is not evil in itself, but only in the fear and apprehension that one will not escape those who have been set up to punish the offense.
powerful evil able
If the gods have the will to remove evil and cannot, then they are not all-powerful. If they are neither able nor willing, they are neither all-powerful or benevolent. If they are both able and willing to annihilate evil, why does it exist?
death evil dying
Death, the most dreaded of evils, is therefore of no concern to us; for while we exist death is not present, and when death is present we no longer exist.
believe evil enjoy-life
Accustom yourself to believe that death is nothing to us, for good and evil imply awareness, and death is the privation of all awareness; therefore a right understanding that death is nothing to us makes the mortality of life enjoyable, not by adding to life an unlimited time, but by taking away the yearning after immortality. For life has no terror; for those who thoroughly apprehend that there are no terrors for them in ceasing to live.
evil religion atheism
Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can and does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, but does not want to, he is wicked. If, as they say, God can abolish evil, and God really wants to do it, why is there evil in the world?
pain expectations evil
Whatsoever causes no annoyance when it is present, causes only a groundless pain in the expectation. Death, therefore, the most awful of evils, is nothing to us, seeing that, when we are, death is not come, and, when death is come, we are not. It is nothing, then, either to the living or to the dead, for with the living it is not and the dead exist no longer.
powerful perfectly-good evil
God is all-powerful. God is perfectly good. Evil exists. If God exists, there would be no evil. Therefore God does not exist.
both call cometh god neither nor prevent willing
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?Then he is not omnipotent.Is he able, but not willing?Then he is malevolent.Is he both able and willing?Then whence cometh evil?Is he neither able nor willing?Then why call him God?
entirely greatest greek-philosopher life possession provides wisdom
Of all things which wisdom provides to make life entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.
entirely friendship greatest life possession provides wisdom
Of all the things which wisdom provides to make life entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship
acquires complete far greatest greek-philosopher life possession produce wisdom
Of all the things which wisdom acquires to produce the blessedness of the complete life far the greatest is the possession of Friendship.