I have to defer to the recommendation of Diogenes of Oinoanda who wrote that "the statues of the gods should be made genial and smiling, so that we may smile back at them, rather than be afraid of them."
Posts by Twentier
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I often wish that the imagery of Epicurus had more "warmth"
We felt the same way.
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NOTE: I had a philosopher friend, who did his dissertation on the Nicomachean Ethics, who insisted the best rendering of eudaimonia was "flourishing" -- but that strikes me as even more problematic than "happy."
Fully agree. "Flourishing" seems ... wrong? Merriam-Webster defines "flourishing" as
"marked by vigorous and healthy growth; very active and successful."
Your "happy well-being" is better, for sure. I lean more in the direction of "satisfied well-being" or "contented well-being." To be even more literal, I might suggest "to be in good spirits," but that might be taking the linguistic pun too far.
It was impressed upon me (by Peripatetics) in college that "flourishing" was the only acceptable definition of εὐδαιμονία. One of the professors of the department described Aristotle as "the smartest person who ever lived." The department head was particularly found of Alasdair MacIntyre and assigned us his writings.
I tend to take the word as meaning "good-spirited-ness", in which case, "happiness" is a reasonable translation.
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Is the script of Tengwar actually printed in the books and legible?
It sure is! The first half of an old book I self-published is a collection lyrical poetry from three albums I wrote:
The Book of SH∆ZD∆RThe Book of Shazdar is a mythopoetic manifesto of lyrical poetry, supplemented with an extended reflection of art, music, and philosophy. It is organized into…www.academia.eduThose lyrics are in the English language that uses a modified version of Tolkien's Tengwar script for English instead of the Roman characters (that, for example, limits our ability to express phonemes like "th", "sh", and "ch"). There's a whole rabbit hole down which to fall ... I'm a big fan, and Tengwar got me into linguistics in the first place. I'm a BIG fan.
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This is great. I see that for classical Attic he is recommending light aspirated stops, which is excellent. This chart shows clearly what I think is one of the more complicated parts of pronunciation.
One thing about ancient Greek are the aspirations. I took Phi or "ph" for granted as /f/ like "philosophy" when it would have been pronounced more like the /pʰ/ in "pot" or "pond". The same is true of Theta or "th" which we sometimes pronounce like "thorn" and "thistle", but would have been pronounced more like the /tʰ/ in "top".
Bryan I'm not sure if you're interested, but I published a little Tolkien project a while ago and this chart was one of the key things that came out of it. It helped me to understand phonology better with a visual map.
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We're dressing up for the occasion.
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If a Christian of any stripe is **convinced** in their bones that they'll be livin' with Jesus after they die (albeit erroneously, may I add), maybe we could describe them as being free from the anxiety of death.
The placebo effect is a measurably powerful phenomena that can be exploited as an emotional tool. I often reflect on a study from Cornell University (2019) that compared a group of mentally healthy participants with a group of people suffering from depressive disorders. They all played a card game that was completely fixed, and then their responses to "How much control they personally reported" were measured. In general, the healthy, optimistic crowd assessed their victories as being the consequence of good decision making, and their failures to be the inevitable result of occasional misfortune. On the other hand, the depressed group, who were genuinely sick, saw right through the ruse: the game was fixed. They knew that they had absolutely no control over the outcome, and were therefore able to see through the conditions of the experiment. [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190717230341.htm]
Since we're not being controlled by extra-dimensional scientists, this isn't a great analogy (just something I think about from time to time). Ultimately, I think optimism is equal parts healthy, effective, and delusional. I think this is why Epicurus recommends a form of prayer, but only on the condition that the practitioner understands that god is not listening, and that wishes cannot be reliably fulfilled with choosing to further one's personal accomplishments.
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In addition to the new graphics that Nate's wife has been producing, I see that Bryan has produced some new work that apparently also uses new technology.
Just to be clear, Gen (my wife) did not use any kind of an image generator or an AI-based tool on her neo-Classical adaptions that she is selling through her Etsy store. Each of those images took her days-to-weeks of editing using professional applications for which she has acquired professional licensing. She has been working as a self-employed photographer and graphic designer for over a decade (long before AI-based web apps were hosted), and a lot of what you see in her art are adaptations from models she has shot and pictures we own using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. All of this art took a lot of time, and, also, investments in materials, tools, and education. One danger of using AI apps to produce art is that the users do not have any initial investment in either materials education, and every other kind of artist has a big expense at the beginning of their work just to get started in the first place.
I am not a fan of AI generated artwork for various reasons. Using "tools" is one thing. Plugging in text and getting AI to spit out an "original" artwork is something else.
Agreed whole-heartedly (and the recent issues brought up due to the Writer's Strike can help inform us about the dangers of infringement). In bums me out as an songwriter and instrumentalist that other performers can gain notoriety as "musicians", when they neither play an instrument (including vocals), nor write lyrical poetry, nor compose melodies, and cannot perform live music without relying on engineers to process their sounds. In that same light, it is a bummer that my wife can spend months designing a Hollywood-authentic costume, but doesn't get as much attention as some amateur model who purchases all of their pieces online and produces nothing of their own but selfies; likewise, it is even more frustrating for her as a visual artist to have her work quietly appropriated without accountability.
I can say from experience that there are a lot of really excellent artists out there that are hungry for work, and will provide the kinds of images that we crave for a fair commission. AI can be helpful for inspiration, but there are other avenues that would actually lead to much higher quality art than what even AI can produce.
I think that the most responsible option would be to commission artists to do this work so that the actual creator can be appropriately credited. Otherwise, we really have no idea who is personally responsible for the images from which the Generators are taking. It risks completely robbing artists of their agency and limited their reach.
Imagine if you could just write, "Give me a 3-minute love song in 4/4 time, like the Beatles and Moody Blues" and in a few seconds, a future music generator could do what takes me months of work, months of recording, editing, balancing, re-recording ... employing the decades of practice and rehearsal and failure and marginal success, and thousands of hours of studying and rehearsal and applying trigonometric functions to balance the gain structure of multiple tracks, and quitting out of frustration with digital tools, and then returning with the constant, obsessive curiosity of an artist, and dozens of shows, and many of them were failures, and struggles with self-esteem, and personal victories in being brave enough to share your skill. All that persistence and struggle is utterly absent from AI-produced material.
AI could completely eliminate a company's obligation to compensate their talent, so I think if anything is going to be represented as being the production of a studio, business (or a website), the actual artist needs to be credited, and AI limits our ability to do that. For example, since my wife's images are public, AI-generators will see her #Epicurus #Hashtags and pull from her art (due to the limited number of Epicurean images out there). We have absolutely no way of knowing which generators are now using her images to inform their reproductions.
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I included my Personal Outline in the Foreword of the First Edition of The Hedonicon, but I wanted to share it here, as well:
ETHIKON (ethics) — HEDONISM (“HΔONHN EINAI TEΛOΣ” X.11) “Pleasure is the Goal...”
PHYSIKON (physics) — ATOMISM (“TO ΠAN EΣTI ΣΩMATA KAI KENON” X.47) “The universe is bodies and void...”
KANONIKON (canonics) — SENSUALISM (“THΣ AΛHΘEIAΣ EINAI TAΣ AIΣΘHΣEIΣ” X.31) “The truth is the sensations...”
Epicurus teaches that an unceasing study of nature (ΦYΣIOΛOΓIAΣ o r physiologías) is integral to achieving the ultimate goal (TEΛOΣ or télos) of sustaining an existence that is both blessed (MAKAPIOΣ or makarios) and incorruptible (AΦΘAΡTΟΣ or aphthartós). His teachings aim to dispel the universal fear (ΦOBOΣ or phóbos) of death (ΘANATOΣ or thanatos) by empowering each of us to secure a pleasant life (BIOΣ orbíos) without the troubles (ΠPAΓMATA or pragmata) of excessive anger (ΟΡΓH or orgḗ), confusion (TAPAXH or tarakhḗ), sickness ( or ), and sadness (ΛYΠOYMENON or lypoúmenon); he hopes for joy (XAPA or khara) and good cheer (EYΦPOΣYNH or eùphrosúnē). The Patron of Pleasure prescribes a practice for maximizing the serenity (AΠONIA or aponía) of the flesh (ΣAPΞ or sarx) and for magnifying the tranquility (ATAPAΞIA or ataraxía) of the mind (ΔIANOIAΣ or dianoias).
Epicurus teaches that “Truth” (AΛHΘEIA or Alḗtheia) is a true belief (ΔOΞA or dóxa) about the nature (ΦYΣIΣ or phúsis) of “The All” (TO ΠAN or to pan) or “the universe”. He rationalizes that we live in an infinite void (KENOΣ or kenós) containing a boundless (AΠEIPOΣ or âpeiros) plethora of imperishable particles (ATOMOI or atomoí) that forever fall through the eternal heavens (OYPANOY or oúranoû) endlessly enlacing to form innumerable worlds (KOΣMOI or kósmoi) and countless creatures (ZῼΩN or zṓiōn). He recognizes a universal standard (KANΩN or kanṓn) of truth that includes [1] Sensations (AIΣΘHΣIΣ or aísthēsis), [2] Impressions (ΠPOΛEΠΣIΣ or prólēpsis), and the criterion of [3] Feeling (ΠAΘH or pathē) that discerns The Good (TAΓAΘΩN or Tagathōn) of pleasure from the evil (KAKΩN or kakôn) of pain (AΛΓOS or algos).
Epicurus teaches a philosophy (ΦIΛOΣOΦIA o r philosophíā) that exercises frank criticism (ΠAPPHΣIA or parrhesía) and prioritizes natural (ΦYΣIKAI or phusikai) and necessary (ANAΓKAIAI o r anankaîai) desires (EΠIΘYMIΩN or epithymiôn) above vain beliefs (ΚEΝΗΝ ΔΟΞAΝ or kenḕn dóxas) based upon comparative analysis (ΣYMMETPHΣIΣ or symmétrēsis). He contends that the virtues (APETAI or aretaí), including self-sufficiency (AYTAPKEIA or aûtarkeia), security (AΣΦAΛEIA or asphaleia), honor (KAΛΩΣ or kalôs), courage (ΘAPPEIN or tharreîn), and prudence (ΦPONHΣIΣ or phrónēsis) are instrumental to a life of happiness (EYΔAIMONIA or eudaimoníā), for without virtue, there can be no pleasure. Tranquility is the greatest product of justice (ΔIKAIOΣ or díkaios) and security is the greatest product of friendship (ΦIΛIA or philía, the greatest pleasure).
Epicurus teaches that the spiritual practices of gratitude (EYXAPIΣTIA or eukharistía), faith (ΠIΣTIΣ or pístis), and piety (OΣIOTHTOΣ or hosiótētos) provide psychological value to the mortal soul (ΨYXH or psykhḗ). He insists upon the remembrance (MNHMH or mnḗmē) that the soul dies with the body; we only live once; no one is given life to own; we all hold but a lease. The future is neither ours, nor is it wholly not ours, thus, we should neither count on it with despotic certainty, nor abandon hope for it out of spite. Epicurus encourages us to embrace the belief that a god (ΘEOΣ or theós) has better things to do than stage the petty human drama. The divine nature (ΘEIA ΦYΣIΣ or theía phúsis), being sublime (YΨHΛON or hypsēlon), marvelous (AΦPAΣTON or aphraston), dignified (ΣEMNOTATON or semnótaton), and blameless (IΛEΩN o r hīĺ eōn) would never be burdened with the responsibilities of reviewing prayers (EYXAI or eukhaí) and distributing pain, nor trouble itself to supervise the wind, nor bother to regulate the rain, nor suffer the sting of an endless string of cries and complaints.
No deity is needed to know the nature of things, only the subtle science that observes the stirrings of the swerving (ΠΑΡΕΓΚΛΙTIKEN or parenklitikên) firstlings, the primal seeds of substance, the basic, begetting bodies, those smallest, oldest, fastest, strongest motes of matter.
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That looks great Nate! I don't see a button where a printed version can be purchased but I presume that you are working on that?
I am, indeed! There was an additional issue with the printing after I received it, so I unpublished the paperback and am working with Amazon to fix the formatting issues. I am hoping to resolve it today, if not by this weekend.
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I’ve thought this for a long time now (and I know I’m not alone, as this was recently, yet again, serendipitously discussed in another thread) that we need “our own ‘Bible’” … well, had to start somewhere. So I've been building this, and, here's a start:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNJ1ST4B
THE HEDONICON (Twentiers’ Version)
It includes my personal translation of the KD, free translations (from the old, British boys of the 19th-century) of the Epistles and Sayings, as well as Munro's version of De Rerum Natura, an old translation of Philodemus' Epigrams., along with a brief foreword, pages of notes formatted as annotations, all of Gen's portraits, and some of the other, supplemental material I've been developing, including the timeline, map, and some other graphics that reinforce the theme of being a Holy Book, something that aims to mimic an Illustrated Version of the Bible.
I made it available through Amazon Kindle, and I am having paperback copies made, mostly for myself, and I want to give one to my Mum, but I also have a few friends that are interested, so it's up there for the moment. I am investigating other ways to share it, as most platforms don't support files as large as the Hedonicon (due to the pictures and graphics), and editing brings up additional questions as well.
Why ‘Hedonicon’?
The early Christians had an Evangelikon (book of Gospels) and Apostolikon (book of Epistles) that comprised the early New Testament. I believe that our equivalent would be a Hedonikon (book of pleasure) … or perhaps even Hedonomikon (book of the law of pleasure … but that’s a little more aimed at pop culture). I would think it to include works of, at least, Epicurus, and, hopefully, Lucretius, Philodemus, and, with luck, the two Diogenes’, among others. I imagine that every Epicurean Garden would have their own Version of the Hedonicon (or some fascimile thereof), and that congregations of Epicurean Gardens may publish universal Hedonicons per groups arranged according to recognition of coherent texts.
Why ‘Twentiers' Version'?
I liked that moon thing I made. It's a nice logo for something on which I wanted to make a mark. (Totally, keep using it, and play with it and do what you like it. It's just an idea; and an icon, like a cross nor a Jesus fish, so, it's not an official registered trademark, just an informal identifier.)
Anyway, I mention in the foreword of my ‘Twentiers’ Version’ that I hope to inspire future Hedoniconae in the same way that the early Christian heretic Marcion created the first ‘New Testament’ that become the standard upon which future versions of the Bible were built, each one, expanding upon the core collection of Marcion’s texts (Christian heresy fascinates me, and Philodemus seems to mention an Epicurean analogue against Rhodians).
There is a long to-do list that includes creating translations for Diogenes of Oinoanda and the bulk of Philodemus, both of which are currently beyond my means, and it would be great to compile a complete, unique, coherent translation (like the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible).
I imagine further polishing the Twentiers’ Version into a Second Edition that would include other contributors who might care to share their translations to the aesthetic presentation of the Twentiers' Version. Don, I welcome future developments if you would be interested in contributing any parts of your translations of the Epistle To Menoikeus, Sayings of the Sage, or Vatican Sayings to a Second Edition of the ‘Twentiers’ Version’, or, for that matter, working with me to produce collaborations. This is all for the sake of making something interesting, and your scholarship has always inspired me. I meant to put together a more local project initially, but with my wife's images and some advancements in formatting as well as some old work that finally came together, some new possibilities emerged, and I started playing around with publishing.
That equally goes for everyone (if my format so inspires you) including those of you who lean toward Latin overe Greek. Again, there is a long to-do list, dominated by Philodemus, that I cannot hope to accomplish without assistance from many others.
EQUALLY so, as I try to mention as often as possible elsewhere, I think it would be quite excellent if this inspired others to create their Version(s) of ‘a Hedonicon’. So, if, Cassius , if any members might be interested in developing an EpicureanFriends.com Version (for example), I am happy to lend whichever parts of my own format and structure and commentary works for someone else, and some of the artistic contributions therein.
I will unfortunately be inordinately busy in the next few weeks, (I’m sure I’m not alone, there), but I wanted to get the snowball rolling, just to share my intentions and see if these anyone would like to contribute to and/or develop these projects. I do not know when I will revisit the polishing and expansion of the Twentiers' Version into a Second Edition, and it is not currently a top-priority for me.
Until, then, Happy Eikas!
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Many are the same or at least similar. It just takes practice. Here's one to decipher:
Ι ΚΑΝ ΡΕΑΔ ΓΡΕΕΚ ΛΕΤΤΕΡΣ. ΛΟΟΚ ΑΤ ΘΑΤ!
A fun side-effect I experienced learning the ancient Greek alphabet is that I suddenly became capable of reading all of the road signs I see on TV when they're covering anything happening in Russia or Ukraine.
... don't have a clue what they mean, but I can at least sound them out!
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Twentier : I'm trying out the older Epicurus as a profile pic, but if you'd rather not have that done, I'm happy to switch back to the 20er moon. Just say the word.
I didn't actually answer your question: PLEASE represent the rendered Epicurus as my wife has shared with me. Personally, I have spent some time staring at these images over a few beers and our notes, and wondered what our guy, here, would have told me in my times of troubles. Maybe "Let it be". He, at least, would have liked 'Abbey Road'.
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Twentier : I'm trying out the older Epicurus as a profile pic, but if you'd rather not have that done, I'm happy to switch back to the 20er moon. Just say the word.
As always Don I am particularly encouraged by the confidence you have shown in me and my flippant contributions, and, very soon, I mean to have a conversation with you about either (a) contributing to the "Twentiers' Version' of the Second Edition of the soon-to-be-released Hedonicon, or (b) helping with what I am sure Cassius will consider as being the the First Version of the Hedonicon (which will require dedicated translators) for EpicureanFriends.com, and/or (c) seeding an entirely unique publication from which we can all benefit. I mean to be a "Marcion" for our cause.
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Do I detect that that Lucretius looks a little like Nate?
Amazon needed a recent image, and I know I'm a tad anti-social, despite my background, explicitly, in performance art, and shameless self-promotion, and I'm a bizarre bit of juxtaposition between being a studio musician and public performer and a reclusive and predictably confrontational manic-depressive, but, for now, I'm proud to submit the First Edition of the HEDONICON .... I'll share very soon, perhaps November Eikas, if Amazon works, with extensive commentary to which I will contribute to the post that justifies what I've been up to ... but anyway, Cheers, friends.
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I also invoke the name of Elli with a request for a frank critique of my wife's insistence (who is predominately Italian, Sicilian, and Lebanese in her background) on giving the men brow, beard, and hair structures (geographic phenotypes) that are meant to compliment of Greek friends and the physical affectations of Mediterranean peoples, as opposed to the heavily stylized, and somewhat, technologically limited expressions of hair as depicted by Romans.
(I made my own rendering of Epicurus, and he looked a bit like Saint Nick, blue eyes and all, per Gen ).
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I appreciate that, tremendously, and will happily forward those accolades to Gen. Thanks, Pacatus.
I feel like she fills the gap of a good image of Lucretius we have all been lacking.
In particular, I stare in the eyes of Epicurus (rendered from *my personal photograph of a Vatican bust of Epicurus* when I was there in 2010, totally prior to my acceptance of Epicurus as my guide and Hegemon) and find a sense of confidence and comfort and peace and inspiration, which I imagine my friends of Christ see in their Savior.
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