The Letter to Menoikeus - A New Translation with Commentary

    Okay, as teased way back in October 2020 and excerpted a few times since then, I am officially releasing my new in-depth translation and commentary of Epicurus's Letter to Menoikeus into the wild.


    96-page PDF available for download here:

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    Epicurus's Letter to Menoikeus - A New Translation and Commentary

    I plan to make this a work-in-progress and will revise it in the future. For now, I hope it provides a starting point for discussion, but, more importantly, I hope it serves as an inspiration for others to go back to the original ancient texts.

    Enjoy!

    I was going to waffle, but the reality is that I've released the work into the wild and posted it to your forum. So, if you think it's worthwhile, go for it.

    I think Matt probably observed that I waited about ten seconds between posting that "It's ok to post on Facebook right Don?" question before I posted it to Facebook -- without waiting for Don's answer ;) I am glad I guessed right!

    Principle Doctrine #41, sort of deriving from a mashup of Lucretius and Lucian, which sometimes gets me in trouble, but applies whenever we have something important and useful to post about Epicurus, but we're not sure whether to post it:


    "It's easier to get forgiveness than permission - and most of the time, if it helps strike a blow for Epicurus, better not to wait to ask for either."

    I have only read the introduction so far, Don, and (feeling slightly the sharp nip of Philodemus' words), can feel myself confident in pronouncing my own:


    We're lucky to have this.


    Thank you for your hard work. :)

    Don your new layout works quite well and the verse links in the text are great! I was able to find verse 131 and the maza recipe very quickly.


    This quote from the maza article seems to have some relevance to Epicurus' dietary habits:

    "The Ancient Greeks prided themselves on a simple, hearty diet, believing it the source of their strength and, to some degree, their superiority. The varied cuisines of other peoples like the Persians were looked down upon as decadent, diet seen as evidence of moral character (“you are what you eat”). Maza has few ingredients, does not require much preparation, and is quite filling: thus, it checks off all the criteria of an ideal Greek staple."


    At least according to this, the references that Epicurus makes to diet seem to be much less to do with radical asceticism and more to do with mainstream Greek culture. Another strike against interpreting him as a minimalist :/

    Don I just noticed that you had posted this here without using the file base feature that Nate uses for his collection of the PDS. It's not emissary to use it, and we definitely want this thread in addition, but you might find the file base feature of keeping track of revisions at a single link useful.


    It also keeps track of the number of downloads which is nice.


    But you can achieve most of the same effect by just editing the first post here in this thread as you post updated revisions.

    Thanks, Cassius. I've taken your advice and uploaded to the Filebase Library and linked to it from here. I appreciate the suggestion!

    Thanks, Godfrey. I'm glad you find the layout helpful.

    Quote from Godfrey

    At least according to this, the references that Epicurus makes to diet seem to be much less to do with radical asceticism and more to do with mainstream Greek culture. Another strike against interpreting him as a minimalist

    I happened to find this quote about μάζα in The Deipnosophists:

    Athenaeus, The Deipnosophists, Book XIV., chapter 83

    It too talks about the basic nature of the meal as a staple.


    PS. I also found this:

    Quote

    The most common food among the Greeks was the μάζα, a kind of soft cake, which was prepared in different ways, as appears by the various names which were given to it (Pollux, vi. 76). The φυστὴ μάζα, of which Philocleon partakes on returning home from the courts ( Suet. Vesp.610), is said by the Scholiast to have been made of barley and wine. The μάζα continued to the latest times to be the common food of the lower classes. Wheaten or barley bread was the second most usual species of food; it was sometimes made at home, but more usually bought at the market.

    From http://www.hellenicaworld.com/Greece/Ancient/en/Deipnon.html