Epicurus' Principal Doctrines and his Letter to Menoeceus are presented in this excellent edition which includes multiple translations, the original Greek, plus supplementary essays on Epicureanism by respected scholars. In the 3rd century B.C. Epicurus became renowned for developing a system of moral and social philosophy which was popular during ancient times. Epicureanism underwent a resurgence among intellectuals, scholars and Christian believers during the Enlightenment era. A prodigious author during his lifetime, tragically most of the works Epicurus wrote are lost, with only a handful of texts remaining extant for study in the present day. Epicurus advocated a peaceful existence defined by modest living; cultivation of inner peace and fearlessness; surrounding oneself in personal tranquility with worthy friends and family members as good company; and the observation of justice. The Principal Doctrines list forty core beliefs of Epicureanism; each tenet ranges between a single sentence and a single paragraph in length, and explains or instructs a given subject from the Epicurean point of view. Personal conduct and concepts such as just laws are among the subjects present. Letter to Menoeceus is a surviving personal correspondence famous for succinctly expressing many of the ethical traits of Epicureanism. Epicurus proscribes advice to his friend, and by extension other individuals wishing to follow his philosophy; the pursuit of knowledge; pleasure defined as an absence of bodily pain or mental anguish; and a modest lifestyle. This edition of Epicurus' writings is perfect for scholarly study and contemplation. The original Greek of both texts is present, while three contrasting interpretations of the Principle Doctrines are offered. To further stimulate the reader's interests, three lengthy essays by scholars of the 17th and 19th centuries shed insight both on the philosophy itself, and how it came to renewed regard in the eyes of Enlightenment-era scholars.
Author
Epicurus (Greek: Ἐπίκουρος, Epikouros, "upon youth"; Samos, 341 BCE – Athens, 270 BCE; 72 years) was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Only a few fragments and letters remain of Epicurus' 300 written works. Much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later followers and commentators. For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by aponia, the absence of pain and fear, and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and bad, that death is the end of the body and the soul and should therefore not be feared, that the gods do not reward or punish humans, that the universe is infinite and eternal, and that events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms moving in empty space. His parents, Neocles and Chaerestrate, both Athenian citizens, had immigrated to the Athenian settlement on the Aegean island of Samos about ten years before Epicurus' birth in February 341 BCE. As a boy he studied philosophy for four years under the Platonist teacher Pamphilus. At the age of 18 he went to Athens for his two-year term of military service. The playwright Menander served in the same age-class of the ephebes as Epicurus. After the death of Alexander the Great, Perdiccas expelled the Athenian settlers on Samos to Colophon. After the completion of his military service, Epicurus joined his family there. He studied under Nausiphanes, who followed the teachings of Democritus. In 311/310 BC Epicurus taught in Mytilene but caused strife and was forced to leave. He then founded a school in Lampsacus before returning to Athens in 306 BC. There he founded The Garden, a school named for the garden he owned about halfway between the Stoa and the Academy that served as the school's meeting place. Even though many of his teachings were heavily influenced by earlier thinkers, especially by Democritus, he differed in a significant way with Democritus on determinism. Epicurus would often deny this influence, denounce other philosophers as confused, and claim to be "self-taught". Epicurus never married and had no known children. He suffered from kidney stones, to which he finally succumbed in 270 BCE at the age of 72, and despite the prolonged pain involved, he wrote to Idomeneus: "I have written this letter to you on a happy day to me, which is also the last day of my life. For I have been attacked by a painful inability to urinate, and also dysentery, so violent that nothing can be added to the violence of my sufferings. But the cheerfulness of my mind, which comes from the recollection of all my philosophical contemplation, counterbalances all these afflictions. And I beg you to take care of the children of Metrodorus, in a manner worthy of the devotion shown by the young man to me, and to philosophy." -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurus
