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wbernys
PostJune 2, 2026 at 10:11 PM […]
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Bryan
PostJune 2, 2026 at 4:59 PM Great episode -- it’s nice to have Cicero fighting with us, to some degree, against the Stoics.
Thank you both for your encouraging words! -
Cassius
PostJune 2, 2026 at 3:00 PM -
Godfrey
June 1, 2026 at 7:10 PM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.PostI'll go further out on a limb and posit that EP is the study of nature (Epicurus advised the study of nature though I don't know that he went so far as to say his philosophy is the study of nature), then you arrive at pleasure as the goal through intense… -
Joshua
PostJune 1, 2026 at 12:56 PM We didn't get very far into this yesterday, but a passage from Tertullian quoted by Stephen Greenblatt raises a similar problem of inactivity:
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Don
June 1, 2026 at 8:12 AM Posted the thread What Atoms Look Like (Even Though We'll Never Seen Them).Thread -
Godfrey
June 1, 2026 at 1:05 AM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.PostWhat I've attempted to say is that it's a matter of location. You can experience pain in your stomach and throat as well as painful thoughts, all at the same time. Or you could experience any one of them separately. You can add pleasure/ remove pain from… -
Bryan
May 31, 2026 at 4:54 PM Replied to the thread Bryan Harris Interlinear Translation Of Lucretius.PostThank you for this helpful input!
Black pages are my intention, and I am happy that this now seems to be the default.
I do my work with black pages, and I really think that is best way to view it. -
Don
May 31, 2026 at 4:12 PM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.PostI see where you're going, but to my mind there are strictly "mental" pains and pleasures, like:- Dreading a public speaking engagement
- Anticipating a vacation
- Obsessing over an interaction you think went poorly
- Remembering a conversation with a friend
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Don
May 31, 2026 at 3:49 PM Replied to the thread Bryan Harris Interlinear Translation Of Lucretius.PostYeah. I can switch to white... -
Godfrey
May 31, 2026 at 3:27 PM Replied to the thread Bryan Harris Interlinear Translation Of Lucretius.PostBlack. I have a daytime theme running. If I switch to nighttime the document goes to shades of gray. I have it open in the ReadEra app. -
Godfrey
May 31, 2026 at 3:25 PM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.Post[…]
At some point separating the mind from the body makes no sense to me. The mind and body are intricately interwoven and continuously interact. If you have a lousy night's sleep (physical? mental?) both your mind and body can feel out of sorts. "Hangry"… -
Don
May 31, 2026 at 3:21 PM Replied to the thread Bryan Harris Interlinear Translation Of Lucretius.Post[…]
Black, but I have a nighttime theme running -
Bryan
May 31, 2026 at 2:57 PM Replied to the thread Bryan Harris Interlinear Translation Of Lucretius.Post -
Godfrey
May 31, 2026 at 2:50 PM Replied to the thread Bryan Harris Interlinear Translation Of Lucretius.PostQuite impressive Bryan ! Speaking as one who is completely illiterate in Latin, I can say that this is a great resource
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Cassius
May 31, 2026 at 1:47 PM Replied to the thread Ongoing Discussion of Jack Gedney's "Untroubled" Substack Blog.Post[…]
I gather that when we start talking about the "latest" old-school Epicureans who would have access to authentic texts and teachers we are probably talking about Lucian or Diogene of Oinoanda or Diogenes Laertius. I gather that their dates are… -
Don
May 31, 2026 at 12:30 PM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.Post[…]
I see where you're going. I would say more like:- Feelings
- Pleasure
- Mental
- Bodily
- Pain
- Mental
- Bodily
- Pleasure
- Feelings
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Pacatus
May 31, 2026 at 12:29 PM Replied to the thread Ongoing Discussion of Jack Gedney's "Untroubled" Substack Blog.Post[…]
Just for my own edification, when (or with whom) does the classical period end? (No argument with your point.) -
Pacatus
May 31, 2026 at 12:19 PM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.Post[…]
I associate happiness exactly with pleasurableness/pleasantness (kinetic or katastematic experience). And I suspect most people really do, though they might not use those words. In philosophical discussion, I think it’s not difficult to point that… -
Kalosyni
May 31, 2026 at 12:11 PM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.Post[…]
Don Your post got me thinking...perhaps we need to consider that there are "four feelings"...
1. Feelings of mental pleasure
2. Feelings of mental pain
3. Feelings of bodily pleasure
4. Feelings of bodily pain
So, if you remove mental pains, it doesn't… -
Pacatus
May 31, 2026 at 11:49 AM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.PostThe question (or at least a question), I think, is the purpose of engaging, philosophically, with “the rest of the world” – or anyone for that matter. Perhaps some hints (and recognition of limits) –
As Epicurus has been said to have put it: "Vain is the… -
Cassius
PostMay 31, 2026 at 9:55 AM Notes for today: On Natue of the Gods Book 1
15 ” ‘Yes, but Epicurus actually wrote books about holiness43 and piety.’ But what is the language of these books? Such that you think you are listening to a Coruncanius or a Scaevola, high priests, not… -
Don
May 31, 2026 at 8:43 AM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.PostI will be among the first to advocate for the word "pleasure" to be foremost in a description of Epicurus' philosophy, but I have come around to seeing this "war of words," among those sincerely trying to incorporate Epicurean philosophy into their… -
Kalosyni
May 31, 2026 at 7:57 AM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.Post[…]
There are past ancient "wars of words", and there are current modern "wars of words".
I really think that in modern times pleasure is much more tied to "happiness" and "well-being", where as in ancient times "well-being" was thought to be tied solely… -
Cassius
May 31, 2026 at 6:58 AM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.Post[…]
I don't think I understand the question. The only reason why happiness or blessedness or anything else is desirable in the first place is BECAUSE is is a state or condition of pleasure.
That's what the "war of words" with rest of the world is all about. -
Don
May 31, 2026 at 6:56 AM Replied to the thread Bryan Harris Interlinear Translation Of Lucretius.PostBy Zeus! This is an accomplishment! Well done, Bryan ! -
Kalosyni
May 31, 2026 at 6:41 AM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.Post -
Cassius
May 31, 2026 at 3:03 AM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.PostI just noticed something about this article that should have jumped out at me from the beginning. My failure to notice it reinforces to me that there's a test that above all others ought to be applied in evaluating any discussion of Epicurean ethics.
The… -
Bryan
May 31, 2026 at 12:06 AM Replied to the thread Bryan Harris Interlinear Translation Of Lucretius.PostHello all, this should be the final update until we get to Book Two.
(There are some spacing issues that will not be resolved until all the books are complete.) -
Don
May 30, 2026 at 7:01 PM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.PostFWIW (from my Menoikeus commentary)
μακάριον
This word is often translated as "blessed, fortunate, wealthy, 'well-off.'" There appears to be no certain etymology of the root [makar] or the longer form [makarios/on]. It appears to possibly have something to… -
Don
May 30, 2026 at 6:53 PM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.Post[…]
Agreed. Once the false beliefs of the gods, death, and similar ones, we can have a firm foundation free from unnecessary mental pain, fear, and anxiety. -
Kalosyni
May 30, 2026 at 6:30 PM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.Post[…]
Thanks for asking...
No, but free from unnecessary mental suffering. -
Cassius
May 30, 2026 at 5:51 PM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.PostSame question - must one be totally free of mental suffering in order to be happy? -
Kalosyni
May 30, 2026 at 5:40 PM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.Post[…]
I just now added in the word "mental"...so now it reads: free from mental suffering. -
Cassius
May 30, 2026 at 5:28 PM Replied to the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.Post[…]
In regard to "free from suffering" that does not mean totally free, right, because we have the example of Epicurus bring happy on his last days while still under great pain? -
Kalosyni
May 30, 2026 at 5:24 PM Posted the thread Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.ThreadThis thread is for cross-referencing and further discussion on the blog article:
epicureanfriends.com/wcf/blog/entry/77/ -
Kalosyni
May 30, 2026 at 5:18 PM Posted the thread On Epicurean Text Study and Contemplation - Blog Article by Kalosyni.ThreadThis thread is to cross-reference and provide a place for discussion of the following blog article:
epicureanfriends.com/wcf/blog/entry/76/ -
Cassius
May 30, 2026 at 4:22 PM Replied to the thread Ongoing Discussion of Jack Gedney's "Untroubled" Substack Blog.PostWhile I was writing on this topic and also thinking about what we are discussing in the podcast, I came across a Substack post by Doug Bates entitled "The Symbol Of What's Wrong With Stoicism" which is critical of Zeno's hand gesture explanation of… -
Kalosyni
May 30, 2026 at 4:11 PM Wrote the blog article Eudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus.Blog ArticleEudaimonia and Makariotēs in the Letter to Menoeceus
Blog article by Kalosyni - The following is based on material developed for the Epicurean Ethics study group
1.1 Eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία): Happiness and Well-being
Among the surviving writings of Epicurus,… -
Cassius
ThreadMay 30, 2026 at 3:38 PM Last week we spent most of our discussion on general topics - this week we'll resume at 483
https://epicurustoday.com/sbslucretius/#1-483 -
Cassius
ThreadMay 30, 2026 at 3:37 PM Sunday May 24, 2026 - Zoom Discussion 12:30 PM EST - Lucretius Book Review - Lucretius Book 1 - 483 - Bodies
https://epicurustoday.com/sbslucretius/#1-483 -
Bryan
May 30, 2026 at 2:12 PM Replied to the thread Is Education a "pastime" or a "way of life"?.PostEpicurus encouraged the avoidance of paideia, but this clearly did not mean the avoidance of “learning in general.” He expected people to read, understand grammar, grasp the basics of physics, and think carefully about epistemology. He accepts all… -
Cassius
May 30, 2026 at 1:50 PM Replied to the thread Ongoing Discussion of Jack Gedney's "Untroubled" Substack Blog.Post[…]
And in fact, there is no way to "empty" the vessel, short of death - because removing any amount of pain can only be done by replacing it with pleasure, as those are the only two alternatives. -
Pacatus
May 30, 2026 at 1:19 PM Replied to the thread Ongoing Discussion of Jack Gedney's "Untroubled" Substack Blog.Post[…]
Here is the passage from Ferguson-Smith:
“Then he realized that the cause of the flaw was the vessel itself, which by its own flaw corrupted within it all things, even good things, that entered it from without. He became convinced of this, partly… -
Godfrey
May 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM Replied to the thread Ongoing Discussion of Jack Gedney's "Untroubled" Substack Blog.PostWhat this point immediately brings up is that the fluid added to the vessel will just mix with the fluid already there, which does make sense. This would allow for a mixture of pleasure and pain in the analogy. One answer to this is to use two different… -
Cassius
May 30, 2026 at 12:51 PM Replied to the thread Ongoing Discussion of Jack Gedney's "Untroubled" Substack Blog.PostQuery: Does it make sense for a normal person to "empty the contents first" if there are only two feelings, pleasure and pain? Is emptying even possible or desirable? -
Pacatus
May 30, 2026 at 12:32 PM Replied to the thread Is Education a "pastime" or a "way of life"?.PostDoes ἡ παιδεία (for Epicurus) refer to education in general (beyond certain technical matters, like grammar or, per Philodemus, household economics) – or to the particular programmatic content of what passed for a “proper education” for Greeks of… -
Pacatus
May 30, 2026 at 12:11 PM Replied to the thread Using Google AI to generate translation of ancient Greek words.PostI asked Google the difference, if any, between Google AI and Gemini. Here, for anyone interested (who didn;t already know, as I didn’t), is the reply from Google AI (I didn’t inquire further):
“Gemini is the ‘brain’ (the AI model), while Google AI… -
Cassius
May 30, 2026 at 11:15 AM Replied to the thread Ongoing Discussion of Jack Gedney's "Untroubled" Substack Blog.PostI'm working on a long-form article which will be ready in a couple of days. In the meantime I'm watching and thinking and thought I would drop these two comments from elsewhere into the mix:
This last one reminds me of Cicero saying something to the… -
Don
May 30, 2026 at 8:10 AM Replied to the thread Using Google AI to generate translation of ancient Greek words.PostI hope I didn't come across too harshly! I'll admit discussions of AI can raise my hackles. The AI summaries sometimes uncover interesting references (like that paper). But those don't necessarily need AI to find, just good searching skills.
[…]
Fair…
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