Episode 279 - TD10 - On "Dying Before One's Time"

We are now requiring that new registrants confirm their request for an account by email.  Once you complete the "Sign Up" process to set up your user name and password, please send an email to the New Accounts Administator to obtain new account approval.

Regularly Checking In On A Small Screen Device? Bookmark THIS page!

    Welcome to Episode 279 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world.

    Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes.

    This week we continue our series covering Cicero's "Tusculan Disputations" from an Epicurean viewpoint. This series addresses five of the greatest questions in philosophy, with Cicero speaking for the majority and Epicurus the main opponent:

    1. Is Death An Evil? (Cicero says no and Epicurus says no, but for very different reasons)
    2. Is Pain An Evil? (Cicero says no, Epicurus says yes)
    3. Does the Wise Man Experience Grief and Fear? (Cicero says no, Epicurus says yes)
    4. Does the Wise Man Experience Joy and Desire? (Cicero says no, Epicurus says yes)
    5. Is Virtue Sufficient For A Happy Life? (Cicero says yes, Epicurus says no)

    As we found in Cicero's "On Ends" and "On The Nature of the Gods," Cicero treated Epicurean Philosophy as a major contender in the battle between the philosophies. In discussing this conflict and explaining Epicurus' answers to these questions, we will deepen our understanding of Epicurus and how he compares to the other major schools.

    Today we continue debating the nature of death in Section XXXIX.

    --------------------------

    Our general discussion guide for Tusculun Disputations is here: https://epicureanfriends.github.io/tusculundisput…lish/section:12

    And a side-by-side version with comments is here:

    EpicureanFriends SideBySide Commentary on TD


  • Cassius May 1, 2025 at 9:08 PM

    Changed the title of the thread from “Episode 279 - Not Yet Recorded” to “Episode 279 - On "Dying Before One's Time" - Not Yet Recorded”.

    If we are able to finish part one this week, then our title will be something like "Is Death The Greatest Gift The Gods Can Offer?" If we don't get to the end, then something like that will be the title as we wrap up Part 1.

  • Cassius May 8, 2025 at 11:08 AM

    Changed the title of the thread from “Episode 279 - On "Dying Before One's Time" - Not Yet Recorded” to “Episode 279 - On "Dying Before One's Time"”.

  • Cassius June 22, 2025 at 4:11 PM

    Changed the title of the thread from “Episode 279 - On "Dying Before One's Time"” to “Episode 279 - TD10 - On "Dying Before One's Time"”.

Unread Threads

    1. Title
    2. Replies
    3. Last Reply

    2. Studies on Epicurus' Influence on Marx 13

      • Titus
      • October 20, 2025 at 4:31 PM
    3. Replies
      13
      Views
      8.9k
      13

    4. Pacatus

      October 20, 2025 at 4:31 PM

    2. The Nature of the Mind, the Spirit, and Death 1

      • Kalosyni
      • October 19, 2025 at 4:55 PM
    3. Replies
      1
      Views
      2.3k
      1

    4. Kalosyni

      October 19, 2025 at 4:55 PM

    2. What Are Some Epicurean Tips to Deal With Anxiety Over Painful Scenarios? 4

      • SillyApe
      • October 19, 2025 at 1:01 PM
    3. Replies
      4
      Views
      293
      4

    4. SillyApe

      October 19, 2025 at 1:01 PM

    2. New Youtube Video - "Epicurus Responding to His Haters" - October 2025 4

      • Cassius
      • October 17, 2025 at 10:39 AM
    3. Replies
      4
      Views
      1.2k
      4

    4. Cassius

      October 17, 2025 at 10:39 AM

    2. Preparing A Public Domain Audio And Text Version Lucretius In Modern American English 4

      • Cassius
      • October 16, 2025 at 3:24 PM
    3. Replies
      4
      Views
      327
      4

    4. Cassius

      October 16, 2025 at 3:24 PM

Finding Things At EpicureanFriends.com

What's the best strategy for finding things on EpicureanFriends.com? Here's a suggested search strategy:

  • First, familiarize yourself with the list of forums. The best way to find threads related to a particular topic is to look in the relevant forum. Over the years most people have tried to start threads according to forum topic, and we regularly move threads from our "general discussion" area over to forums with more descriptive titles.
  • Use the "Search" facility at the top right of every page. Note that the search box asks you what section of the forum you'd like to search. If you don't know, select "Everywhere." Also check the "Search Assistance" page.
  • Use the "Tag" facility, starting with the "Key Tags By Topic" in the right hand navigation pane, or using the "Search By Tag" page, or the "Tag Overview" page which contains a list of all tags alphabetically. We curate the available tags to keep them to a manageable number that is descriptive of frequently-searched topics.