I would be fascinated to know how many readers of the NewEpicurean blog, or any of the various Epicurus facebook pages, have been successful in finding mates who share some or most of their Epicurean viewpoints. It is certainly possible to live a happy and fulfilling life without an Epicurean romantic partner, and I can imagine few things worse than feeling trapped in a marriage where ones mate fails to understand, or even actively deprecates, the insights of Epicurus. But in the world we live in today, it unfortunately seems that the best most students of Epicurus can realistically hope for is to find a mate who shares what some might call a basic sense of life compatible with Epicureanism but even that goal will not be reachable for some, and others will not find it satisfactory. If a person fights the clear evidence of his senses, he will never be able to share in genuine tranquillity. Epicurus, 27. His teachings centered on the idea that people could live a happy life if they were self-sufficient and surrounded by friends and loved ones. A good example here is hunger. 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. Epicurus. The ancient function of marriage is for material concerns, e.g., wealth, social status, familial ties, power, and of course, children. Everyday Power Inspirational Quotes 50 Philosophical Epicurus Quotes for a Happy Life, Your email address will not be published. That's because, if we restrict our desires to ones that are only natural and necessary, it will not be difficult to fulfill them with simple items. The noble man is chiefly concerned with wisdom and friendship; of these, the former is a mortal good, the latter an immortal one. Epicurus, 9. compatibility from an Epicurean perspective, Ciceros Defense of Epicurus And An Invitation To Speak for Epicurus Today, Gibbon, The Immortality of the Soul, and Epicureanism Among Women Part I, Lucretius Today Podcast 130 Letter to Pythocles 04 More on the Sun and Moon, Lucretius Today Podcast 129 Letter to Pythocles 03 The Implications Of the Epicurean Position On The Size of the Sun, Lucretius Today Podcast 128 Special Episode Short Review of the Twelve Fundamentals of Physics, Lucretius Today Podcast 127 Letter to Pythocles 02 On the Formation of Worlds, Lucretius Today Podcast 126 Letter to Pythocles 01 Introduction On The Basic Approach of Epicurean Philosophy, Lucretius Today Podcast 125 Letter to Herodotus 14 Conclusion of the Letter to Herodotus, Lucretius Today Podcast 124 Letter to Herodotus 13 Life on Other Worlds, The Development of Language, and the Regular Motion of the Stars, Lucretius Today Podcast 123 Letter to Herodotus 12 Events and Time, Lucretius Today Podcast 122 Letter to Herodotus 11 What it Means to Exist Properties and Qualities, Lucretius Today Podcast 121 Letter to Herodotus 10 Atoms and the Soul, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JWG1Xt1bGg. Epicurus, however, advises us to let go of these unnatural desires and think about what really makes us happy, such as hanging out with our true friends and doing work that actually fulfills us. They are the ones who are really there for us, the ones who really care about us, who actually get us. Not what we have, but what we enjoy constitutes our abundance. Epicurus, 50. He who is not satisfied with a little is satisfied with nothing. Epicurus, 14. Do you have a favorite Epicurus quote that didnt make the list? In a recent article ("Epicureans on Marriage as Sexual Therapy"), Kelly Arensen argues that if an Epicurean has a lot of anxiety about obtaining sex and such anxiety would prevent ataraxia, then marriage would be permissible insofar as "marriage would function as a form of sex therapy for Epicureans" (293). If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires. Epicurus, 41. For example, Tim O'Keefe in his book Epicureanism writes the following (184n3): Generally speaking, the Epicureans are hard on sexual desire. Then why call him God? Epicurus, 33. My interpretation is that Epicurus implies marriage is a social construct and not something that is innate or natural. As I have discussed in earlier posts, there is a maddening discrepancy in the various translations of Diogenes Laertius in the crucial Wise Man sequence. To eat and drink without a friend is to devour like the lion and the wolf. Epicurus, 10. You tell me that the stimulus of the flesh makes you too prone to the pleasures of love. It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly. Of friendship, he said, it goes dancing round the world, announcing to all of us to wake up to happiness (Vatican Saying (VS) 52). In short: Epicurus thinks that we achieve happiness through ataraxia (tranquility; freedom from disturbances), and we achieve ataraxia in part by restricting our desires to natural necessary desires, which are relatively easy to fulfill (simple foods, etc.). Check our list of Frequently Asked Questions At EpicureanFriends.com. The fools life is empty of gratitude and full of fears; its course lies wholly toward the future. Epicurus, 23. If God listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one another. Epicurus, 30. These Epicurus quotes highlight his thoughts about friendship, death, philosophy, and more. Epicurus, however, was more interested in what makes people happy. Epicurus reminds us to ask ourselves why we want money in the first place. Justice is a kind of compact not to harm or be harmed. Epicurus, 44. 22. Im glad I found itits a nice summary/introduction to Epicurus. Some men spend their whole life furnishing for themselves the things proper to life without realizing that at our birth each of us was poured a mortal brew to drink. Epicurus, 6. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. Hard to see the water we swim in. He also treated mental patients with kindness and natural therapies, instead of confinement. The opinions held by most people about the gods are not true conceptions of them but fallacious notions, according to which awful penalties are meted out to the evil and the greatest of blessings to the good. Epicurus, 37. We do, however, also have to consider the very strong cautions that abound in Epicurean literature against taking an unrealistic attitude toward romantic love. In addition to the admonitions stated in the Wise Man section cited above, there is the famous Vatican Saying 51, which contains what is widely regarded to be Epicurus advice to a young man: You tell me that the stimulus of the flesh makes you too prone to the pleasures of love. Provided that you do not break the laws or good customs and do not distress any of your neighbors or do harm to your body or squander your pittance, you may indulge your inclination as you please. Yet it is impossible not to come up against one or other of these barriers, for the pleasures of love never profited a man and he is lucky if they do him no harm., And again from Ciceros On Ends, we see the Epicurean advocate listing those who are enslaved to the follies of love as among those men whose failings render their lives one unbroken round of misery., And perhaps most famously of all, we have the long dissertation of Lucretius at the end of Book IV, which reminds us that the intense emotions involved in romantic love are ultimately derived from Natures call to procreation, and that the intensity of the emotion must be kept under control if we are to live happy lives and escape misery. Lucretius abounds with practical advice in this department, reminding us to keep our emotions under control, and that we can escape the mischief of unhappy romance if we do not stand in our own way: And yet even when you are entangled and held fast, you may still escape the mischief, unless you stand in your own way and overlook all the defects of the mind and body of the person you woo. But men often do this, blinded by passion, and they attribute to the beloved advantages which are not really theirs.. Repeated or serious violations of the subreddit rules will result in a ban. Empty is the argument of the philosopher which does not relieve any human suffering. EpicurusIf youre enjoying these quotes, read our collection of Greek Philosopher quotes on ancient knowledge to motivate you. It is not the pretended but the real pursuit of philosophy that is needed, for we do not need the appearance of good health but to enjoy it in truth. Epicurus, 29. He suggests we pursue true, strong friendships instead. People seem to be so decent and un-possessive with their friends. You are right,having a group of understanding faithful loyal friends to fellowship with makes living your life on earth most meaningful and worthwhile. Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher who lived from 341 BCE to 270 BCE. But he will marry according to the circumstances of his life., The more modern Epicurus Reader translation by Inwood and Gerson agrees with Bailey: And indeed the wise man will marry and father children. The 1963 text by George Strodach endorses the same view: In addition, the wise man will marry and beget children. Required fields are marked *. Social Constructs were not a thing to the ancients. Then whence cometh evil? By contrast, when we have a natural but non-necessary desire for food, our desire for that food goes beyond what is necessary to survive or to avoid pain, such as desire for very luxurious gourmet food, like the Golden Opulence Sundae. 21. He who least needs tomorrow will most gladly greet tomorrow. Epicurus, 28. Press J to jump to the feed. Yet it is impossible not to come up against one or the other of these barriers, for the pleasures of love never profited a man and he is lucky if they do him no harm (Life of Epicurus, Oxford). Forget all of that. ), (Side note: Contrary to the standard interpretation (where "empty" desires are a species of non-natural desires), Woolf suggests that "empty" desires may not only be non-natural desires but may at times be non-necessary natural desires. Misfortune seldom intrudes upon the wise man; his greatest and highest interests are directed by reason throughout the course of life. Epicurus. Love Epicurus. All Rights Reserved. Death, therefore, the most awful of evils, is nothing to us, seeing that, when we are, death is not coming, and, when death is coming, we are not. Epicurus, 2. It seems clear to me, therefore, that Epicurus held that marriage and child-bearing are natural, proper, and beneficial activities in which to engage, so long as partners are properly educated in and devoted to Epicurean principles of living. Dont fear the gods, dont worry about death. If our goal is to have a high-paying but stressful job in order to have nice things and go on exotic vacations, we are forgetting that the vast majority of our time will be spent in this terribly uncomfortable situation. have we seen about the top 10 college majors that make the most money or some other related nonsense? Norman DeWitts Epicurus And His Philosophy. Epicurus teachings made their way into the medical field thanks to Epicurean doctor Asclepiades of Bithynia. I am grateful to blessed Nature because she made what is necessary easy to acquire and what is hard to acquire unnecessary. Epicurus, 49. Source: California Health For the Epicureans, we need to distinguish among different kinds of desires: first, we distinguish natural desires from non-natural (usually considered "empty") desires. By Cassius Amicus Published October 21, 2011 Introductory Material, Popular Culture. He placed more value on platonic friendships than he did on sex and marriage. We can understand Epicurus's skepticism of marriage in this context. The wealth required by nature is limited and is easy to procure, but the wealth required by vain ideals extends to infinity. Epicurus, 45. Canonics How Can I Be Confident In What I Think I Know To Be True? There is no historical evidence for this, but the romantic in me might want to believe its true. He also believed that death was the end of existence and torment in the afterlife was myth. This is not to say that you must avoid ever eating a Golden Opulence Sundae if one were offered to you, but you should not go out of your way to cultivate a desire for a Golden Opulence Sundae. If we are currently in a relationship, statistics show its not likely to last, and when it ends it will probably end us in emotional ruin. Even so, in general, it is common to interpret the Epicureans as being generally not in favor of marriage. Epicurus was more progressive than many of his peers, and allowed women to take part in his school, The Garden.. Natural desires are desires for those kinds of things that we must have in order live and relieve naturally-occurring pains, such as the desire for food when hungry or water when thirsty. And so that is where Maruli Marulakis efforts come in. For example, Epicurus allows that a someone may marry due to "special circumstances" in life. You might also like these Medusa quotes about the unique guardian from Greek mythology.