This is going to be a longer post, so here's a brief summary of what this is about:
The attached PDF contains 100 fragments related to Metrodorus' life and works. The document includes both ancient testimonia and extant fragments. It's divided into two sections: Life and Works. The first one focuses on Metrodorus' biography; the second on his philosophy.
Now, here's a detailed description of the project for anyone interested.
Margherita Isnardi Parente published a book in Italian called "Epicuro: Opere". This book has never been translated into English. To my knowledge, it contains the most comprehensive collection of fragments related to Metrodorus. I made a list of these fragments and undertook a task of finding as many professional English translations as possible. Out of 100 fragments, I managed to track down 86 translations in 25 different publications. archive.org; twentiers.com; gutenberg.org and en.wikisource.org websites were the most helpful resources. The 16 fragments without professional translation are also included but they are grayed out to indicate machine translation, which can introduce errors and can be of lesser quality. Machine translation was performed on Parente's Italian source material.
I made sure that every fragment in the collection has a number in square brackets in its heading. The heading itself gives information about the source of the fragment, the number leads to sources section with detailed information about the translation and the publication from which the translation originates. The translator's name (if available) is also provided. Each of the heading is clickable and is linked with the corresponding publication.
Although Parente's arrangement of fragments makes logical sense, I've rearranged them slightly to group the fragments into even more coherent whole. I've also added few missing fragments I was aware of.
'Life' section contains 33 fragments related to Metrodorus' life. They are arranged more or less chronologically and cover his entire life from birth to death. This section shows Metrodorus' character, his family relations, position in the Garden and relation to fellow philosophers.
'Works' section contains 67 fragments related to Metrodorus' philosophy. 52 of these contain highlighted sections with Metrodorus' direct quotes and paraphrases of his words.
Cassius : If you find this PDF worthwhile, please add it to the 'Files' section.
Everyone else: If you find missing translations, missing fragments or any errors, please let me know and I'll make sure this document is updated.
I apologise for the length of this post and thank you if you kept reading. Now, please enjoy 'The Life and Works of Metrodorus of Lampsacus'. It will give you a glimpse of a life of Epicurus' most beloved friend and a co-founder of Epicurean Garden.
