I haven't had time to read this yet but thank you for all this work Don!
Posts by Cassius
REMINDER: SUNDAY WEEKLY ZOOM - July 12, 2026 -12:30 PM EDT - AGENDA: 1) Discussion of Epicurean philosophy, and 2) Ancient text study of De Rerum Natura. Level 03 members and above (and Level 02 by Admin. approval). Read more about it here.
New Graphics: Are You On Team Epicurus? | Comparison Chart: Epicurus vs. Other Philosophies | Chart Of Key Epicurean Quotations | Accelerating Study Of Canonics Through Philodemus' "On Methods Of Inference" | Note to all users: If you have a problem posting in any forum, please message Cassius
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Episode 112 of the Lucretius Today Podcast is now available. Today we begin our discussion of the Letter to Herodotus.
First comment: So he is including Caesar as an Epicurean? We've seen that asserted before, I think, but it's uncommon and needs study.
Second comment: I need to do more gardening (anything more than the current zero) so if you find any good places to start be sure to let us know!
I would add to Kalosyni's comment that in addition to what Simon said, as to "the universe is observable" comment, that part of what Simon is talking about is an understanding of "epistemology" - having a clear idea of what kind of evidence, and what amount of evidence, is sufficient for confidence in a conclusion. So yes I think Simon is correct and part of what we have to communicate is Epicurus' view of what is reasonable to expect in terms of evidence and how to process it.
A second issue that we discussed was exactly how many "epitomes" (outlines? summaries?) Epicurus prepared of his work.
Did Epicurus prepare (1) his 37 books which constitute his full work, and (2) the letter to Herodotus, which summarizes it at highest level?
Did Epicurus prepare (1) his 37 books which constitute his full work, and (2) the letter to Herodotus, an epitome which summarizes it at highest level, and (3) a larger epitome than Herodotus that also constituted a summary, but was significantly shorter than the full 37 book?
Our discussion included reference to the possibility that Lucretius was working from was (3) a larger epitome, which he was able to use as a guide to decide what excerpts from the 37 books to include in his own poem.
I seemed to remember that DeWitt might have suggested that, plus our text excerpt indicates that Epicurus had previously (before Herodotus) had prepared another summary.
Editing is going slowly this week but it's getting there. First note for this episode:
Near the beginning of the episode we make several comments regarding which letter Epicurus wrote first in time - to Herodotus, to Menoeceus, or to Pythocles.
Of course we know Herodotus comes first in Diogenes Laertius, but I am not sure if I have heard much commentary on whether they were written in an order different than how they appear.
I think Joshua mentions he thinks that DeWitt indicates Menoeceus might have been written first, but the main reason I am posting this is that we probably ought to check that in case we need to have a correction to the sequence here in this thread.
Right now I am not remembering what I have read about the order of writing.
Preliminary thoughts -- sorry but I have been very busy the last two days:
Being well aware that Kalosyni has started with some material originally from me, I should say simply "Great Work!"
But I don't think I have ever liked anything I have ever written for very long, so I am always revisiing.
In this case, while I do think that the warnings about interpretations does deserve a place, I don't know that in a "Zine" format that they ought to be near the front.
I think I would start out with a more positive statement of what Epicurean philosophy is about, and then after that take note of the differences in interpretations. I am presuming that the opening selection in the Zine is what is intended to grab peoples' attention(?)
I guess what I am thinking is to at the very least lead with the positive, starting more with something like:
You may have heard that Epicurus taught that everyone should "party hard!" at every opportunity. Or you may have heard that Epicurus taught that people should pursue "absence of pain" and retire from the crowd as the best way to spend their lives. The people who printed this Zine invite you to join them in the study of the true Epicurean perspective on life, and we think you'll find a lot to like. For example:
- Epicurus taught that there is no fate, and that people have the ability - and the need - to take control of their lives in every way that they can.
- Epicurus taught that there is no vengeful supernatural god who throws the wicked into an eternal hell, nor is there a partial god who rewards his friends and punishes his enemies.
- Epicurus taught that "religion" as most people understand is a dangerous and damaging threat to human well-being.
- Epicurus taught that there are no absolute and artificial rules to which everyone must conform, but that we should live our lives by the standards that Nature herself teaches us through the senses and our feelings of pain and pleasure.
- Epicurus taught all this and much more, all with human happiness as the ultimate goal of life!
and then continue from there with the rest of the suggestions.
Just my first reaction!
For a simple folded one page zine, click here.
That second link has the best pictures, or at least they appear earlier in the article!
We will have to move to creating a prototype.
19-20 February 2022
Co-organization: Friends of Epicurean Philosophy "Garden of Athens" and "Garden of Thessaloniki" - Municipality of Pallini
Internet Broadcast on Youtube and Facebook
Information: http://www.epicuros.gr
The philosophical psychotherapy of Epicurus in our time
In today's Greece of the pandemic of the coronavirus and the ongoing psychological pressure, the 12th Panhellenic Symposium of Epicurean Philosophy was held online. The Panhellenic Symposium on Epicurean Philosophy is the largest annual philosophical conference held in Greece and at the same time the only conference on Epicurean Philosophy held annually in the world.
The Panhellenic Symposium of Epicurean Philosophy has been organized for twelve consecutive years. During the decade 2011-2020, it was attended every year by 300-500 delegates at the Cultural Center of Gerakas, in ancient deme of Gargittos (Gargettus), the place of origin of the philosopher Epicurus’ family. Last year and this year, due to the pandemic, the Panhellenic Symposium was watched online by more than 1000 people via broadcast on Facebook and Youtube.
The Mayor of Pallini Athanasios Zoutsos launched the beginning of the Symposium, which was greeted by friends of Epicurean philosophy from Greece, Cyprus, Italy, USA and Australia. On the first day, professors of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens George Chrousos and Christos Yapijakis (School of Medicine) and Vangelis Protopapadakis (Department of Philosophy) discussed topics related to the Epicurean philosophical medicines for mental health and stress management. Furthermore, some of the most interesting presentations regarding the Epicurean approach to modern era issues included the original study of an ancient papyrus of the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus by the philologist Dr. Eleni Avdoulou, the description of the senses by Epicurus which has a great correspondence with that of modern neurobiology by the phycisist Giannis Alexakis, the similarities of the Aristotelian and the Epicurean approach on friendship by the philologist Dr. Elsa Nikolaidou, the Epicurean way of thinking as a means to tackle problems in the modern rapidly changing world by the informaticist Takis Panagiotopoulos, as well as the proposed Epicurean simple sufficiency coupled with a reduction of the economy by the economist Nikos Graikousis.
On the second day, there was an emphasis on wide spreading of Epicurean philosophy in Roman era, which has much in common with modern multicultural Western societies. Some of the some of the most interesting presented topics included the Epicurean poet Lucretius by the Academician and Professor of Latin Philology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Theodore Papanghelis, the philosopher Philodemus by the pharmacist Litsa Pitsikalis, the Epicurean writer Lucian from the Thyrathen publicer Giannis Avramidis, as well as Cicero’s works as source of Epicurean philosophy by the civil engineer Leonidas Alexandridis.
Furthermore, the Epicurean methodology of Canon as a tool for solving everyday problems was presented by the legal-private employee Dimitris Liarmakopoulos and the Epicurean approach in recognizing fake news on the internet was discussed by the economist and founding member of ellinikahoaxes.gr George Giotis and the lawyer Antonis Bilisis.
In addition, this year for the first time in the Panhellenic Symposium of Epicurean Philosophy there was an International Section in English with renown friends of Epicurus from Europe (Greece and Italy), USA and Australia. Christos Yapijakis, professor of Genetics at the School of Medicine of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens and founding member of the “Garden of Athens” (Greece) referred to the “Scientific Humanism of Epicurus” as the best way of thinking and acting for humanity in our difficult current times and then led the discussion with the International and Greek delegates. Hiram Crespo, author-blogger and founder of the Society of Friends of Epicurus (Chicago, USA) with the assistance of his collaborators/friends presented “Society of Friends of Epicurus: a Philosophical Community”. Geoff Petersson, lawyer-blogger and founder of the “Garden of Sydney” (Australia) presented “Comments on the Four-Part Cure from Downunder”. Cassius Amicus, lawyer- author-blogger and founder of Newepicurean.com (Atlanta, USA) discussed “An Epicurean Response to Plato's Attack on Pleasure”. Last but not least, Michele Pinto, journalist-blogger, president of World of Epicurus/Mondo di Epicuro (Senigallia, Italy) in his presentation “Epicurus, philosophy and optimism” suggested that it is advisable to follow Epicurus’ advice and make each day better than the previous one. In the discussion that followed experiences in individual countries were shared as well as the best Epicurean publications in different languages.
The artistic program of the Panhellenic Symposium featured the dramatic reading of the poem "Triumph" by Kostis Palamas by the actor Gerasimos Gennatas. The poem refers to the cultural triumph achieved by the Roman Epicurean Lucretius with his majestic and timeless poem "On the nature of things" and the huge difference it had with the triumphs of his contemporary plundering generals of Rome.
For the twelfth consecutive year, the opportunity was openly given to the public to experience the scientific humanism of Epicurus' philosophy, which offers a timeless mental shield against the universal psychological, social and cultural gridlocks, facilitating the pursue of a happy life in the simplest and most natural way, with wisdom, friendship and solidarity, even in difficult times.
You can watch the videotaped Symposium at: http://www.epicuros.gr
Dr. Christos Yapijakis,DMD,MS,PhD
Associate Professor of Genetics
School of Medicine
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Director
Cephalogenetics CenterWelcome @DrNandita ! Please Note: In order to minimize spam registrations, all new registrants must respond in this thread to this welcome message within 72 hours of its posting, or their accounts will be deleted. All that is required is a "Hello!" but of course we hope you will introduce yourselves further and join one or more of our conversations.
This is the place for students of Epicurus to coordinate their studies and work together to promote the philosophy of Epicurus. Please remember that all posting here is subject to our Community Standards / Rules of the Forum our Not Neo-Epicurean, But Epicurean and our Posting Policy statements and associated posts.
Please understand that the leaders of this forum are well aware that many fans of Epicurus may have sincerely-held views of what Epicurus taught that are incompatible with the purposes and standards of this forum. This forum is dedicated exclusively to the study and support of people who are committed to classical Epicurean views. As a result, this forum is not for people who seek to mix and match some Epicurean views with positions that are inherently inconsistent with the core teachings of Epicurus.
All of us who are here have arrived at our respect for Epicurus after long journeys through other philosophies, and we do not demand of others what we were not able to do ourselves. Epicurean philosophy is very different from other viewpoints, and it takes time to understand how deep those differences really are. That's why we have membership levels here at the forum which allow for new participants to discuss and develop their own learning, but it's also why we have standards that will lead in some cases to arguments being limited, and even participants being removed, when the purposes of the community require it. Epicurean philosophy is not inherently democratic, or committed to unlimited free speech, or devoted to any other form of organization other than the pursuit by our community of happy living through the principles of Epicurean philosophy.
One way you can be most assured of your time here being productive is to tell us a little about yourself and personal your background in reading Epicurean texts. It would also be helpful if you could tell us how you found this forum, and any particular areas of interest that you have which would help us make sure that your questions and thoughts are addressed.
In that regard we have found over the years that there are a number of key texts and references which most all serious students of Epicurus will want to read and evaluate for themselves. Those include the following.
- "Epicurus and His Philosophy" by Norman DeWitt
- The Biography of Epicurus by Diogenes Laertius. This includes the surviving letters of Epicurus, including those to Herodotus, Pythocles, and Menoeceus.
- "On The Nature of Things" - by Lucretius (a poetic abridgement of Epicurus' "On Nature"
- "Epicurus on Pleasure" - By Boris Nikolsky
- The chapters on Epicurus in Gosling and Taylor's "The Greeks On Pleasure."
- Cicero's "On Ends" - Torquatus Section
- Cicero's "On The Nature of the Gods" - Velleius Section
- The Inscription of Diogenes of Oinoanda - Martin Ferguson Smith translation
- A Few Days In Athens" - Frances Wright
- Lucian Core Texts on Epicurus: (1) Alexander the Oracle-Monger, (2) Hermotimus
- Philodemus "On Methods of Inference" (De Lacy version, including his appendix on relationship of Epicurean canon to Aristotle and other Greeks)
- "The Greeks on Pleasure" -Gosling & Taylor Sections on Epicurus, especially the section on katastematic and kinetic pleasure which explains why ultimately this distinction was not of great significance to Epicurus.
It is by no means essential or required that you have read these texts before participating in the forum, but your understanding of Epicurus will be much enhanced the more of these you have read.
And time has also indicated to us that if you can find the time to read one book which will best explain classical Epicurean philosophy, as opposed to most modern "eclectic" interpretations of Epicurus, that book is Norman DeWitt's Epicurus And His Philosophy.
Welcome to the forum!
So, maybe we need to find our own path, our own art of living; but, once we've embarked, we'll find like-minded individuals with whom to walk the path with us - to join our small flotilla to keep the metaphor of this saying.
Yes I agree. Today at least in the USA we have the internet, and relative freedom, and can legitimately hope to reach out and find and be influenced by other "rebels" relatively early on. In more primitive or repressive societies, or where you just have few resources, it's pretty easy to see that only those with strong wills and maybe special circumstances to generate their own rebellion are going to be able to do so, and they are more likely to have to launch off on their own first before finding any like-minded friends at all.
I did not know Bentham had attempted such a list!
Cassius started a new event:
QuoteDisplay More"A Few Days In Athens" Zoom Book Club Meeting. This week -Chapter Twelve!
The rough agenda for our one hour session is:
1 - Twenty Minute or so overview of Frances Wright, the Introduction, and the current chapter led by Cassius, Joshua, and any other volunteer regular forum participants who have read the whole book.
2 - Brief introduction of everyone on the call. (We will go around the zoom list and ask everyone to say their first names (real or otherwise) and tell us about their background and interest in Epicurus. For example: "My name is Joshua, I am from (country), and I have been interested in Epicurus ever since _______________. I have read (describe how many books on Epicurus you have read) and I have / have not read the entire "A Few Days In Athens."
3 - After we do the introductions, we will then open the floor for open discussion of Chapter Two from all participants. Depending on how many people we have we will probably use the "raise your hand" method of going around the table with Cassius or other moderator calling on people to keep the conversation organized. We will monitor the text chat also and people can use that to indicate that they want to speak, and what about.
Note: The use of video is strictly optional. We welcome any of our friends who choose to use audio only.
Important Links:
Link to PDF of the original book at Archive.org.
AFDIA Website with the entire book: http://www.afewdaysinathens.com
RECURRING ZOOM LINK - USE THIS EACH SESSION:
Topic: A Few Days In Athens - Zoom Book Review 2022
Time: This is a recurring meeting
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 852 8518 5334
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Welcome @jgiro !
This is the place for students of Epicurus to coordinate their studies and work together to promote the philosophy of Epicurus. Please remember that all posting here is subject to our Community Standards / Rules of the Forum our Not Neo-Epicurean, But Epicurean and our Posting Policy statements and associated posts.
Please understand that the leaders of this forum are well aware that many fans of Epicurus may have sincerely-held views of what Epicurus taught that are incompatible with the purposes and standards of this forum. This forum is dedicated exclusively to the study and support of people who are committed to classical Epicurean views. As a result, this forum is not for people who seek to mix and match some Epicurean views with positions that are inherently inconsistent with the core teachings of Epicurus.
All of us who are here have arrived at our respect for Epicurus after long journeys through other philosophies, and we do not demand of others what we were not able to do ourselves. Epicurean philosophy is very different from other viewpoints, and it takes time to understand how deep those differences really are. That's why we have membership levels here at the forum which allow for new participants to discuss and develop their own learning, but it's also why we have standards that will lead in some cases to arguments being limited, and even participants being removed, when the purposes of the community require it. Epicurean philosophy is not inherently democratic, or committed to unlimited free speech, or devoted to any other form of organization other than the pursuit by our community of happy living through the principles of Epicurean philosophy.
One way you can be most assured of your time here being productive is to tell us a little about yourself and personal your background in reading Epicurean texts. It would also be helpful if you could tell us how you found this forum, and any particular areas of interest that you have which would help us make sure that your questions and thoughts are addressed.
In that regard we have found over the years that there are a number of key texts and references which most all serious students of Epicurus will want to read and evaluate for themselves. Those include the following.
- "Epicurus and His Philosophy" by Norman DeWitt
- The Biography of Epicurus by Diogenes Laertius. This includes the surviving letters of Epicurus, including those to Herodotus, Pythocles, and Menoeceus.
- "On The Nature of Things" - by Lucretius (a poetic abridgement of Epicurus' "On Nature"
- "Epicurus on Pleasure" - By Boris Nikolsky
- The chapters on Epicurus in Gosling and Taylor's "The Greeks On Pleasure."
- Cicero's "On Ends" - Torquatus Section
- Cicero's "On The Nature of the Gods" - Velleius Section
- The Inscription of Diogenes of Oinoanda - Martin Ferguson Smith translation
- A Few Days In Athens" - Frances Wright
- Lucian Core Texts on Epicurus: (1) Alexander the Oracle-Monger, (2) Hermotimus
- Philodemus "On Methods of Inference" (De Lacy version, including his appendix on relationship of Epicurean canon to Aristotle and other Greeks)
- "The Greeks on Pleasure" -Gosling & Taylor Sections on Epicurus, especially the section on katastematic and kinetic pleasure which explains why ultimately this distinction was not of great significance to Epicurus.
It is by no means essential or required that you have read these texts before participating in the forum, but your understanding of Epicurus will be much enhanced the more of these you have read.
And time has also indicated to us that if you can find the time to read one book which will best explain classical Epicurean philosophy, as opposed to most modern "eclectic" interpretations of Epicurus, that book is Norman DeWitt's Epicurus And His Philosophy.
Welcome to the forum!
I think we can all rest assured that we aren't going to need such a system in the immediate future. Rather I am mainly posting to stir sparks of interest in the geeks among us to plan for the future - which come to think of it is sort of a theme of many of my posts! Division of labor!
Here are a couple of citations for Briar -
https://www.italy24news.com/News/383972.html
Julian Assange Recommends Ukrainians to Use This App for Communications if Internet Goes Down - Cypherpunk NewsOn Friday Wikileaks sent out a Tweet saying ; “We contacted Julian Assange in prison. He says thatwww.cypherpunknews.comContinued Technology Planning:
This post is not meant to be a comment on politics, and for the time being I will continue to censor myself or any threads that publicly take sides in some of the existing world controversies. Of course feel free to discuss those privately - just not in the public threads. But as custodian of the forum I have to remain aware of relevant events, and I have to make several observations:
(1) It is increasingly clear that de-platforming of ideas and groups that are not approved by societal elites is the next frontier in modern warfare and social control.
(2) Throughout history, there have been few viewpoints which have been more disapproved by societal elites than Epicurean philosophy.
(3) I understand that Julian Assange and perhaps others on the cutting edge of technological privacy are now recommending "Briar" ( https://briarproject.org/ ) as the most resilient instant messenger current available. It requires no telephone number or identifying information, and is free.
(4) I intend to start experimenting with Briar, and I have set up a cassiusamicus account there. I expect this to remain strictly experimental and there is no need for anyone here use it. However if we have other "techies" here who like to keep on top of secure communication alternatives, please let me know what you think of Briar and/or other emerging alternatives.
(5) I would also like to continue to explore backup plans and other disaster response scenarios to get the forum or at least its basic information back online if there is a disruption with our hosting provider, so once again any techies who have ideas on this subject, please feel free to comment in the thread or contact me privately.
Nate I started this thread because I came across this article on Pomponius Secundus / Pompedius by PM Swan. I looked through your collection and I am not sure that I see him listed so wanted to suggest this to your attention. Below is a link to the article:
Conclusion:
This is a thread to summarize work on identifying Famous Epicureans Throughout history. The key reference of those identified to date is Nate's work:
Epicurean Philosophers by Nathan H. Bartman
A definitive list of our Epicurean friends throughout history. (For the latest updates: https://twentiers.com/2024/05/26/timeline/)
This thread can be used for discussion of that work and suggestions for additions.
Finding Things At EpicureanFriends.com
Here is a list of suggested search strategies:
- Website Overview page - clickable links arrranged by cards.
- Forum Main Page - list of forums and subforums arranged by topic. Threads are posted according to relevant topics. The "Uncategorized subforum" contains threads which do not fall into any existing topic (also contains older "unfiled" threads which will soon be moved).
- Search Tool - icon is located on 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."
- Search By Key Tags - curated to show frequently-searched topics.
- Full Tag List - an alphabetical list of all tags.
