The Complete Works of Epicurus

Photo by Batatolis Panagiotis

It is impossible to live pleasantly without living prudently, honourably, and justly and impossible to live prudently, honourably, and justly without living pleasantly.

Epicurus was a very prolific philosopher, authoring over 300 works. This month, we will read all of them.

All of the ones that have survived.

Had you going there, didn't I? As it happens, there's not that much left, so with very little effort, by the end of the month you will have read as much Epicurus as anyone alive.

Three letters probably written by Epicurus have survived, as have two collections of maxims. Here is the list, with links to an online publication of each:

There are also fragments preserved in the works of other ancient authors either as direct quotations or as Greek or Latin paraphrases (some of which we have already encountered in Cicero and Seneca); these were authoritatively compiled by Usener in 1887, but as far as I know there is no complete English translation of his Epicurea. Bailey's Epicurus: The Extant Remains comes close. Translated selections are also available here and here.

Many printed collections are available too if you'd prefer to read on paper. I will be using The Epicurus Reader (paid link), translated by Inwood and published by Hackett, which includes the letters, the collections of maxims, and some selected testimonia and fragments.

This will be a short read and I don't want to meet on Memorial day, so we will compress the schedule and meet instead on May 18th, three weeks from today, in the usual place, at the usual time.

P.S.— Excavation of the ruins of Herculaneum, destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D., uncovered an entire library containing thousands of scrolls, the papyrus carbonized by high heat in a low-oxygen environment. Since the 18th century attempts have been made to unroll these and decipher the contents, but many remain untouched owing to their extreme fragility. It is known, however, that the remains contain several books by Epicurus and his followers.

Work continues. With the application of new technology we may yet live to hear, as they must have in old Athens, the words “New Epicurus just dropped.” Something to look forward to!

Add a Comment

Archives: