By Epicurus is one of the most important Greek philosophers. We honor his ideas through the best reflections that summarize his thought.
Epicurus of Samos (341 BC — 270 BC) is the author of famous quotes about happiness, death, friendship and pleasure. He founded the philosophical school of Epicureanism, also known as The Garden, around 307 BC, in an Athens that was showing a loss of sense of moral values.
In this context, Epicurean teachings aimed to make human beings happy through a true knowledge of those fears that torment the soul. In this sense, his reflections stand as a way of living in accordance with the attainment of pleasure and tranquility. Let us learn some of the thoughts that this philosopher left behind.
On happiness
The concept of happiness is central to Epicureanism. As already mentioned, when this school was founded, Athens was suffering from political and moral decline. Consequently, plenitude could no longer be found within a virtuous community.
Thus, the Epicurean philosophical proposal was centered on providing the individual with an art of individual living whose center is happiness . It consists of the absence of disturbance in the soul, so that our beliefs and thoughts had as their goal tranquility and balance in life, as demonstrated by the following phrases of Epicurus:
- “Being happy is knowing how to be content with little.”
- « Pleasure is the beginning and the end of living happily.»
- “Happiness and virtue are two sisters that never separate.”
- “Philosophy is an activity that seeks a happy life through discourse and reasoning.”
- “If you want to make someone happy, don’t increase their wealth, but take away their desires.”
- “The key to a happy life is to accumulate the greatest amount of pleasure and reduce the pain as much as possible.”
- “It is not possible to live happily if one does not lead a beautiful, just and virtuous life; nor can one lead a beautiful, just and virtuous life without being happy.”
- “Happiness is man’s greatest goal in life. Tranquility and rationality are the cornerstones of happiness.”
- “Any man who does not believe that what he has is more than enough is an unhappy man, even if he owns the whole world.”
- “You don’t develop courage by being happy in your daily personal relationships. You develop it by surviving difficult times and defying adversity.”
- «The cry of the flesh calls for escape from hunger, thirst and cold; for whoever is free of them and hopes to remain so, will be able to live happily even with Zeus .»
- “He who says that the time for philosophizing has not yet come, or that it has already passed, is like someone who says that the time for happiness has not yet come, or that it has already passed.”
- «We are born once and there can be no second birth. For all eternity we will be no more. But you, although you are not the master of tomorrow, are postponing your happiness.»
- “We must therefore meditate on the things that bring us happiness, because if we enjoy it, we possess everything, and if we lack it, we do everything possible to obtain it.”
- “It is necessary to laugh and, at the same time, philosophize, take care of domestic affairs and maintain other habitual relationships, without ever ceasing to proclaim the maxims of correct philosophy.”
- “Whoever has a clear and certain understanding of these things will direct all his preferences and aversions to securing the health of the body and the tranquility of the mind , since this is the sum and end of a happy life.”
- “It is not the young man who should be considered fortunate but the old man who has lived well, for the young man in his prime wanders about at random, wavering in his beliefs, while the old man has landed in port, having safeguarded his true happiness.”
About death
We have all been afraid of death at some point , especially because of the uncertainty it creates. What happens after we die? Will we be able to continue seeing our loved ones? What will it feel like to die? Epicurus took these questions into account when reflecting on the end of life.
According to the Hellenistic philosopher, this is irrational, because it makes no sense to fear something that is not present at the moment in which we live. This attitude represents an obstacle to a pleasant life. Moreover, constantly thinking about the future and the future also distances us from the now, which, after all, is the only thing that matters. Let us look at some Epicurean reasoning on this subject:
- “It is a great thing to learn how to die.”
- ” The art of living well and the art of dying well are one.”
- “Everyone leaves life as if they had just been born.”
- “When you die, your mind will go even faster than your body.”
- “The fear of death arises from the belief that there is consciousness in death.”
- “There is nothing terrible in life for the man who realizes that there is nothing terrible in death.”
- “Death is a chimera: because while I exist, death does not exist; and when death exists, I no longer exist.”
- “There is nothing to fear in living for one who has rightly understood that there is nothing to fear in not living.”
- “It is possible to provide security against other evils, but when it comes to death, men live in a city without walls.”
- “Therefore, it is vain for him to say that he fears death, not because it will afflict him when it comes, but because it afflicts him when it is yet to come.”
- «Most people, however, sometimes flee death as the greatest of evils and sometimes choose it as a rest from the evils of life.»
- «Thus, death is not real for either the living or the dead, since it is far from the former and, when it approaches the latter, the latter have already disappeared.»
- “The right knowledge that death is nothing to us makes the mortal part of our life joyful, not because it adds unlimited time to it, but because it suppresses the longing for immortality.”
- «Accustom yourself to think that death is nothing to us, because all good and all evil reside in sensations, and precisely death consists in being deprived of sensation.»
- «We need not fear death, for, in fact, we never encounter it. When we are still here, it is not yet. And when it is, we are no longer.»
- “He is stupid who confesses to fearing death not because of the pain it may cause him at the moment it occurs, but because, thinking about it, he feels pain: because that whose presence does not disturb us, it is not sensible to distress us while waiting for it.”
About friendship
Within Epicureanism, friendship has a very important value. According to this philosophy, friends can form community ties within society. It is a noble feeling, where a deep commitment is produced between those involved.
Thus, friendship represents a part of natural and necessary desires. And it is possible to understand that a life without friends is not worth living. These phrases from Epicurus clearly illustrate his thoughts on the subject:
- “Every friendship is desirable for its own sake.”
- “Many friends are the key to happiness.”
- “The impassive soul does not disturb itself or others.”
- “It is not so much the help of our friends as the confidence in their help.”
- “The honor paid to a wise man is in itself a great good to those who honor him.”
- “The wise man feels no more pain when he is tortured than when his friend is tortured, and he will die for him.”
- “Of all the means of ensuring happiness throughout life, by far the most important is the acquisition of friends .”
- “The noble man is chiefly concerned with wisdom and friendship; of these, the first is a mortal good, the second is immortal.”
- “We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink, for to eat alone is to lead the life of a lion or a wolf.”
- “Those who are too eager to make friends should not be approved; nor should you approve of those who avoid friendship, because risks must be taken for it.”
What I thought about God
The founder of Epicureanism has a very particular and even novel view of the gods. According to him, the deities do not participate in human affairs. This means that the things that happen to us are not because of the gods, since they do not take our actions into account.
Furthermore, Epicurus says that the fear of being punished by the deities is unfounded; there is nothing to fear about them. In this way, religiosity no longer dominates human life, instead, it is reflection and philosophy that seek to govern human affairs. This can be seen in the following quotes from Epicurus about the gods:
- “The gods neither reward nor punish humans.”
- “It is absurd to ask the gods for something that one cannot provide for oneself.”
- «Do not fear the gods, do not worry about death. The good is easy to get and the terrible is easy to bear.»
- “God is all-powerful. God is perfectly good. Evil exists. If God existed, there would be no evil. Therefore, God does not exist.”
- “It is true that there are gods, but what the crowd believes about them is not true, because what the crowd believes changes over time.”
- “Truly impious is not the man who denies the gods that the multitude venerates, but he who affirms of the gods what the multitude believes of them.”
- “To firmly believe in fate is the worst kind of slavery; on the other hand, there is comfort in the thought that God will be moved by our prayers.”
- “If the gods were to listen to the prayers of men, all mankind would quickly perish, for they constantly pray that many evils fall upon others.”
- «Gods? Perhaps there are. I neither affirm nor deny it, because I do not know and I have no means of knowing. But I know, because life teaches me this every day, that if they exist, they do not care about us or worry about us.»
- « The gods can remove evil from the world and do not do so , or, being willing to do so, they cannot; or they are neither able nor willing; or, finally, they are able and willing. If they are willing to remove evil and cannot, then they are not omnipotent. If they can, but do not want to, then they are not benevolent. If they are neither able nor willing, then they are neither omnipotent nor benevolent. Finally, if they are able and willing to annihilate evil, why does it exist?»
The most famous
Epicurean teachings transcended time, due to the relevance of his thought. They emphasize a peaceful life, far from the superfluous such as wealth and uncontrolled aspiration. Therefore, such philosophy is interpreted as an art of living, as demonstrated by these phrases from Epicurus:
- “Goods are for those who know how to enjoy them.”
- “It is better to be wise and unlucky than foolish and very lucky.”
- “The man who is not content with little, is not content with anything.”
- « Withdraw into yourself , especially when you need company.»
- “He who needs tomorrow the least is the one who advances most gladly toward it.”
- “It is not the young who should be happy, but the old man who has lived a beautiful life.”
- “There will come a time when you think it’s all over. That will be the beginning.”
- “Necessity is an evil, there is no need to live under the rule of necessity.”
- “Wealth does not consist in having many possessions, but in having few needs.”
- “What is once present does not disturb us, what is foolishly expected drives us mad.”
- “Do you want to be rich? Do not strive to increase your wealth, but to decrease your greed .”
- “He who does not consider what he has as the greatest wealth is unhappy, even if he is the owner of the world.”
- “Don’t spoil what you have by desiring what you don’t have; remember that once it was something you only wanted.”
- “For many, having gained riches was not the end of their misery, but rather the exchange of one misery for another.”
About pleasure
The Epicurean concept of pleasure is one centered on temperance and moderation. Based on this, philosophical argumentation is considered a remedy for the pains of the soul, produced by false beliefs and the pursuit of erroneous pleasures. Below are some quotes from Epicurus of Samos on pleasure:
- “Seek the pleasure that is not followed by any pain .”
- “Stranger, you will do well to stay here; here our greatest good is pleasure.”
- “Not what we have, but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance .”
- “When we feel pain and pleasure, then, and only then, do we feel the need for pleasure.”
- “We judge many pains to be better than pleasures, because they bring us greater pleasure.”
- «Pleasure is the first good. It is the beginning of all preference and all aversion. It is the absence of pain in the body and restlessness in the soul .»
- “The limit of the greatness of pleasures is the elimination of all pain. Wherever there is pleasure, for as long as it lasts, there is neither pain nor sorrow nor any mixture of the two.”
- “It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely, well, and justly. And it is impossible to live wisely, well, and justly without living a pleasant life.”
- “I am filled with pleasure when I have bread and water. And I spit on the pleasures of abundance, not for themselves, but because of the troubles that follow them.”
- “We consider many pains better than pleasures, since for us, after having endured such pains for a long time, a greater pleasure follows.”
- “While all pleasure, because it is naturally similar to us, is good, not all pleasure is worthy of choice, just as all pain is evil, and yet not all pain should be avoided.”
- «Luxurious food and drink do not protect you from harm. Wealth beyond the natural is no more useful than an overflowing vessel. Real value is not generated by theatres, baths, perfumes or ointments, but by philosophy.»
- «The benefits of other pursuits come to those who have reached the end of a difficult path, but in the study of philosophy pleasure goes hand in hand with increasing knowledge; for pleasure does not follow learning; rather, learning and pleasure advance side by side.»
- “Once a man has eliminated terror from the soul by recognizing that death is nothing to us and hell is simply a psychological projection of present torments and frustrations, he is ready for the happy life: pleasure, a minimum of pain, freedom from neurotic fears, and spiritual composure.”
Some phrases to better understand his thoughts
The following quotes from Epicurus show us more aspects of his thought. Through them, we can understand the practical sense that he gives to philosophy as a relief from human suffering. The value of personal improvement that arises from adversity is highlighted. Finally, the autonomy, independence and need for continuous reflection to achieve a better existence are highlighted.
- «Live your life without attracting attention.»
- “Freedom is the greatest fruit of self-sufficiency.”
- “The greater the difficulty , the greater the glory of overcoming it.”
- “Virtue consists of three parts: temperance, fortitude and justice .”
- “Be moderate to savor the joys of life in abundance.”
- “If you want to enjoy true freedom, you must be a slave to philosophy.”
- “In a philosophical dispute, the one who is defeated wins more, because he is the one who learns more.”
- “The righteous enjoy the greatest tranquility, while the unjust are filled with the greatest anxiety.”
- “The fool, with all his other faults, also has this: he is always preparing to live.”
- “I have never desired to attend to the crowd; for what I know they do not approve, and what they approve, I do not know.”
- “The life of a fool is empty of gratitude and full of fears; its course is entirely toward the future.”
- “All other love is extinguished by self-love ; charity, humanity, justice, philosophy, sink beneath it.”
- “The time when most of you should lock yourself away is when you are forced to be in a crowd.”
- “It is better for a judiciously planned action to fail than for something thoughtlessly prepared to be rewarded by fate.”
- “Misfortune seldom intrudes upon the wise man; his highest and greatest interests are directed by reason throughout the course of life.”
- “The things you really need are few and easy to get; but the things you imagine you need are infinite and you will never be satisfied.”
- “Remember that the future is not ours nor entirely ours, so we cannot count on it to come nor abandon the hope that it will not be.”
- “No one should hesitate to devote himself to philosophy when young, nor tire of doing so when old, because no one is ever too young or too old to attain health of soul.”
- “Vain is the word of a philosopher who does not cure any of the sufferings of man. Because just as medicine is of no use if it does not eliminate the diseases of the body, so philosophy is of no use if it does not eliminate the sufferings of the spirit.”
Epicurus’ philosophy as a guide to living a full life
The journey through these phrases of Epicurus leaves us with valuable lessons that can be applied in our daily lives. They remind us that the search for happiness, through the cultivation of rational pleasures, leads us to a calm and peaceful life.
Such reflections are a reminder that the richness of our existence lies within us and in the personal relationships we forge with others. Thus, the philosopher of Samos bequeaths to us with his words that luxuries and material goods have little to do with human happiness.