Posts by Don

Thanks for these references, Eikadistes .

For anyone who's interested...

52. Friendship dances around the world, announcing to each of us that we must awaken to happiness.

ἡ φιλία περιχορεύει τὴν οἰκουμένην κηρύττουσα δὴ πᾶσιν ἡμῖν ἐγείρεσθαι ἐπὶ τὸν μακαρισμόν.

κηρύττω Attic form of κηρῠ́σσω

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, κηρύσσω

G2784 - kēryssō - Strong's Greek Lexicon (kjv)

G2784 - κηρύσσω kērýssō, kay-roos'-so; of uncertain affinity; to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth (the gospel):—preacher(-er), proclaim,…

www.blueletterbible.org

Also note:

ἐγείρεσθαι (middle/passive infinitive) "to wake, keep watch; to rouse oneself, be excited"

μακαρισμόν. Note that those is the exact word used to describe the gods. "Happiness" is a little underwhelming here. In fact, friendship dances round the known world (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?do…try=oi)koume/nh) heralding to each and every one of us to awaken to the blessed life of the gods.

@Root304 , *that* would be an interesting exercise. The Greek gods were just as supernatural as the Christian god and theology is, and as embedded in the modern culture. The omnipresent cultural milieu in the US and other nations is Christianity.

"lighten my own ill-feelings" Good luck with that... And I'm not trying to be sarcastic or tongue in cheek. Honestly, that's not necessarily easy (speaking from personal experience).

But an Epicurean reimagining or mental approach to the cultural gods could be an interesting discussion

Quote from Cassius

OK I recognize that the circles in the diagram above don't intersect, so maybe it's not really a Venn diagram.

Okay, done! That was fun! I didn't do Plato since Joshua did a good job above.

Enjoy!

Nausiphanes:

‘The mollusk,’ πλεύμονά (pleumona "lung-fish, jellyfish"> related etymologically to English "pleurisy")

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, πλεύμων

Hicks note: Cf. Sext. Emp. Adv. math. i. 3 νῦν πλεύμον α καλῶν τὸν Ναυσιφ άνην ὡς ἀναίσθ ητον; Plato, Phil. 21 c ζῆν δὲ οὐκ ἀνθρώπο υ βίον ἀλλά τινος πλεύμον ος; Hesychius, s.v. ; whence it appears that obtuseness and insensibility, not weakness or pliability, were the qualities imputed by this term.

‘The illiterate,’ ἀγράμματον (agrammaton)

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, ἀγράμμ-α^τος

Don note: It's an even better insult than simply "illiterate" because one connotation is "of animals, unable to utter articulate sounds."

‘The cheat,’ ἀπατεῶνα (apateōna "a cheat, rogue, quack.")

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, ἀπα^τ-εών

Don note: Follow that LSJ link for some other uses of the term in Hippocrates, Plato, and Xenophon

‘The harlot.’ πόρνην (pornēn, related to English "pornography.")

Don note: The pornai were at the bottom of the ancient Greek social structure, always slaves living at the whim of pimps. There is a solid article on "Prostitution in ancient Greece" on Wikipedia that is heartbreaking (and graphic, NSFW). The recent fiction book "The Wolf Den" by Elodie Harper does an excellent job in portraying the lives of the women enslaved in the (excavated) brothel in Pompeii.

Aristotle:

‘The debauchee,' ἄσωτον (asōton)

Don note: It's very important to realize that this is the *exact* same word Epicurus used in describing the pleasure of the *profligate/prodigal* in the letter to Menoikeus: "Therefore, whenever we say repeatedly that "pleasure is the τέλος," we do not say the pleasure of those who are prodigal..." I highly recommend people taking a look at verse 131 in my Letter to Menoikeus translation at

File

Epicurus's Letter to Menoikeus - A New Translation with Commentary

An in-depth translation and commentary of Epicurus's Letter to Menoikeus.

Don

July 19, 2023 at 11:25 PM

he devoured his inheritance and then enlisted and sold drugs.

καταφαγόντα τὴν πατρῴαν οὐσίαν (kataphagonta "eat up, devour" the last part is the English suffix "-phage")

στρατεύεσθαι (strateuesthai "serve/enlist/email in the army")

φαρμακοπωλεῖν (pharmakopōlein LSJ "to be druggist"; a dealer in drugs)

Protagoras:

‘Porter’ φορμοφόρον (phormorphoron "porter", also name of a play by Hermippus)

Hermippus - Wikipedia

Related https://kaikki.org/dictionary/Anc…F%8C%CF%82.html

‘Copier of Democritus,’ γραφέα (graphea, "private secretary, copyist, scribe") Δημοκρίτου (Demokritou)

he taught in the village schools. ἐν κώμαις γράμματα διδάσκειν

Heraclitus:

‘The Muddler,’ κυκητὴν (kykētēn, LSJ "stirrer, agitator") from κῠκᾰ́ω "to stir up, mix; to stir up, throw into confusion, confound"

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, κυ^κ-άω

Democritus:

Lerocritus (‘judge of nonsense’)

Ληρόκριτον (Lērokriton, kriton "judge, see English "critic")

λῆρος "silly talk, nonsense, trumpery, Ar.:—of persons, nonsense, a trifler, Plat.; λῆροι λεπτότατοι, of sophists, Ar.; as an exclamation, λῆρος, nonsense! humbug! id=Ar."

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, λῆρος

Don note: I'm curious of the context of this one. Is Democritus "judging nonsense" or is he a "silly-talking judge". I could see Lerocritus being positive under one context and an insult under another. Context is everything here. Hicks translates it "the nonsense-monger". I don't see the sense of monger or dealer or trader in nonsense in the -kriton part

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, κρι^τ-ής

So I wish we knew from where Diogenes got that reference.

Antidorus: Ἀντίδωρον

Sannidorus (‘Maniac’) Σαννίδωρον (Sannidorōn .. Sannidorus)

Don note: My bet is that the name is a play on Antidorus' name itself: Ἀντίδωρον so Σαννίδωρον. His name itself literally means return-gift "anti-gift" so the job would be what does Σαννί- refer to. What kind of "gift" is Epicurus word-playing here? σᾰ́ννᾱς is "zany, fool, buffoon" but also σάννιον "membrum virile, Eup.440" which reminds me in this context of a now-classic Saturday Night Live skit with Justin Timberlake. Enough said on that.

This Antidorus must be:

Antidorus of Cyme - Wikipedia

the Cynics:

‘Enemies of Hellas,’ ἐχθροὺς τῆς Ἑλλάδος (ekhthrous tēs Hellados ("Greece/Hellas")

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, ἐχθρός

Don note: I found this connotation interesting in that definition: "ἐχθρός is one who has been φίλος ("friend"), but is alienated." It's still "enemies" but provides a shade of meaning.

the Logicians: διαλεκτικοὺς (dialektikous, specifically those skilled in dialectic)

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, διαλεκτ-ικός

‘The destroyers,’ πολυφθόρους (polyphthorous, "destroying many (poly-), fraught with death"

Pyrrho:

‘The uneducated fool.’

Don note: It's actually two words: ἀμαθῆ καὶ (&) ἀπαίδευτον. Hicks: "ignorant boor"

ἀμαθῆ (amathē, "ignorant, stupid") but see LSJ for some intriguing alternative connotations

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, ἀμαθ-ής

ἀπαίδευτον apaideuton, literally means uneducated (paidaea)

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, ἀπαίδ-ευτος

Quote from Don

You know I'm going to post the original Greek for all these at some point, right?

As promised too long ago:

Diogenes Laertius, Book X.8:

[8] καὶ αὐτὸν Ἐπίκουρον ἐν ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς περὶ Ναυσιφάνους λέγειν: "Ταῦτα ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν εἰς ἔκστασιν τοιαύτην, ὥστε μοι λοιδορεῖσθαι καὶ ἀποκαλεῖν διδάσκαλον." πλεύμονά τε αὐτὸν ἐκάλει καὶ ἀγράμματον καὶ ἀπατεῶνα καὶ πόρνην: τούς τε περὶ Πλάτωνα Διονυσοκόλακας καὶ αὐτὸν Πλάτωνα χρυσοῦν, καὶ Ἀριστοτέλη ἄσωτον, <ὃν> καταφαγόντα τὴν πατρῴαν οὐσίαν στρατεύεσθαι καὶ φαρμακοπωλεῖν: φορμοφόρον τε Πρωταγόραν καὶ γραφέα Δημοκρίτου καὶ ἐν κώμαις γράμματα διδάσκειν: Ἡράκλειτόν τε κυκητὴν καὶ Δημόκριτον Ληρόκριτον καὶ Ἀντίδωρον Σαννίδωρον: τούς τε Κυνικοὺς ἐχθροὺς τῆς Ἑλλάδος: καὶ τοὺς διαλεκτικοὺς πολυφθόρους, Πύρρωνα δ᾽ ἀμαθῆ καὶ ἀπαίδευτον.

Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Ι, ΕΠΙΚΟΥΡΟΣ

Step one, Check.

The parsing will have to wait

@Root304 , I'll admit I was unfamiliar with the topics you mentioned. At the risk of simplifying things, for myself and others, here are relevant Wikipedia articles:

Internal Family Systems Model - Wikipedia

Somatics - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Please feel free to tell me if these are off the mark!

My sense is that anything that truly and honestly makes us more aware of our bodies, our reactions to stimuli, and our feelings of pleasure and pain will make us more able to apply the faculty of choice and rejection. That's a good thing. I get the impression that we all try to lie to ourselves and try to make ourselves believe and/or behave in ways counter to our well-being (eudaimonia) all too often. That's what I believe one of the benefits of the practice of frank speech and correction in the ancient Epicurean community was. You may fool yourself, but you can't necessarily fool your friends or your teacher. You have to be open to correction and direction. Being able to do this yourself would be a boon.

I look forward to hearing more and hope this was helpful.

PS. This is also where the work of Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett and others comes in, too. Cultivating our sense of interoception allows us to listen closer to our body's signals. I'd suggest checking out her books as well.

@Root304 , I initially joined the forum seriously intending to simply read and learn. I found myself intrigued and curious. Now, I can't shut up. I hope you'll find some encouragement in that to ask questions and be active on the forum. Welcome.

To me, this looks like another endorsement for the Tetrapharmakos as a *very* abridged summary of the philosophy since that is just an abridgement of PD1 through PD4. Just sayin'

Well said! Thanks for this.
I especially like this...

Quote from EricR

I have found that a genuine feeling of gratitude does not depend on knowing its source. Gratefulness is its own reward as it can neutralize poisons like resentment, envy, jealousy, etc. It has to be genuine though and only the individual can ever know whether it is or not.

Quote from EricR

I personally am quite comfortable with a supernatural god being invoked if it draws someone's attention to gratitude. I don't know what may or may not lay beyond, but I do know that being grateful for my days promotes a happier time here. I realize that is anathema to this site, but I gotta be me!

I can understand where you're coming from on that, and Epicurean philosophy certainly makes room for "gods" as everyone knows from the long threads on this site. However, Steindl-Rast - a Christian monk - successfully demonstrates that we can be grateful without bringing in God/god.

From my perspective, one danger of seeing a supernatural god/God as the recipient of gratitude sets up the possibility that thinking God/god can decide to take it away, to punish one for not being grateful to him/her. I think it's better to be grateful to "blessed Nature" or better other people and leave out the divine middleman.

That said, of course, I respect your right for you to be you

Spot on, EricR . Thank you for that. Ευχαριστώ.

I would note, too, that there was no invocation of a supernatural god in that video. Just be grateful for the day and the experience of life and nature and our fellow human beings.

Fragment 469. Praise be to blessed Nature: she has made what is necessary easy to get, and what is not easy to get unnecessary. χάρις τῇ μακαρίᾳ φύσει ὅτι τὰ ἀναγκαῖα ἐποίησεν εὐπόριστα, τὰ δὲ δυσπόριστα οὐκ ἀναγκαῖα.

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, χάρις

Sorry, I can't let this go now.

I do see that all three words could be parsed as being in the accusative case: αὐτὸν Πλάτωνα χρυσοῦν but I'm still not convinced that χρυσουν has to be parsed that way but that could just be due to my ignorance. Regardless, I think Joshua has brought up some interesting connotations of "golden" whether or not we're looking at an accusative case noun or a participle.

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, χρύσεος

Socrates is still a jerk btw.

Forgot to add

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, χρυ_σόω

Kata Biblon Wiki Lexicon - χρυσόω - to gild (v.)

Look at Joshua parsing the Greek! That makes me so happy!! (It's kind of fun, isn't it?)

At first read, I don't see anything wrong with your parsing of χρυσοῦν. Here's the Wiktionary entry for the Attic form of χρῡ́σεος

https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=χρυσοῦς&oldid=55002924

But if it's from χρυσόω, the present active neuter participle would be χρυσοῦν with the same circumflex over the upsilon. So you're spot on there from my meager knowledge.

Joshua 's analogy of "flat" Plato to "gold-leaf, gilded' Plato is intriguing! Gold leaf is really flatter than flat. It's barely there.

Another possible source *could* be, since we're blue-skying it - or even a complement to Joshua's idea - is that Plato just gilded himself with his teacher Socrates' ideas or used Socrates to gild his own ideas.

Since it would be a present active neuter participle, it would probably be translated as "Gilding" I think, so "Gilding Plato"? The one who is gilding? "... And Plato himself gilding." Even so, no matter how that sentence is parsed, the χρυσοῦν < χρυσόω option raises some intriguing possibilities!

Thanks for the food for thought!! Great job!

Quote from Cassius

Quote from Don

Epicurus gets at what her looked like writing to Menoikeus.

Do you think it's safe to presume that letter was written soon after arrival in Athens?

I know people say the style is different and we can presume something from that, but frankly I'm not sure how to interpret that.

Safe as any literary critical analysis. My main point was simply to urge us to remember that Epicurus was a living, breathing human being who lived a full life from youngster with his parents through old age.

Something to keep in mind with the images:

Epicurus was around 35 when he moved to Athens for good.

He died around 71/72 years old.

So, a younger (yes, 30s is younger! ) Epicurus gets at what her looked like writing to Menoikeus.

Grey-haired Epicurus is when he's established and celebrating his birthday with everyone in the Garden.

I believe I posted this paper to another thread, but I'm putting it here for its pertinence to this topic:

Lucretius on the Divine: DRN 3.17-30, 5.1161-93, and 6.68-79

Lucretius on the Divine: DRN 3.17-30, 5.1161-93, and 6.68-79

www.academia.edu

He's Eckerman's info. He may be someone to explore further.

Christopher Eckerman | College of Arts and Sciences

Chris Eckerman | University of Oregon - Academia.edu

There are several Lucretius papers posted at his Academia page!

Kurzgesagt on "up and down" and frames of reference.

Thank you! Ευχαριστώ!

Here's one of the papers in that paper's bibliography:

The Epicurean Philosopher as Hellenistic Poet

The Epicurean Philosopher as Hellenistic Poet

www.academia.edu

I haven't read it yet, but if the current one is any indication, it may be interesting.

PS: Joshua may be particularly interested in this one.

I forgot to remind everyone of Eikadistes 's compilation of all the PDs first:

Thread

Kuriai Doxai - A Compilation of Translations by Nathan Bartman

This thread is being set up for discussion of Nate's tremendously valuable work in compiling various translations of each of the Principal Doctrines , which can be found here:

epicureanfriends.com/wcf/filebase/file/44/ For the purpose of ongoing discussion of this work, including suggestions, corrections, proposed additions, etc -- please post those comments here in this thread.

Thank you to Nate, and thanks to all who assist in this project!

Cassius

December 29, 2021 at 1:57 PM

For anyone who's interested, here are my personal notes on PD3 and PD4...

PD3 Ὅρος τοῦ μεγέθους τῶν ἡδονῶν ἡ παντὸς τοῦ ἀλγοῦντος ὑπεξαίρεσις. ὅπου δ’ ἂν τὸ ἡδόμενον ἐνῇ, καθ’ ὃν ἂν χρόνον ᾖ, οὐκ ἔστι τὸ ἀλγοῦν ἢ τὸ λυπούμενον ἢ τὸ συναμφότερον.

• Ὅρος limit, rule, standard. A boundary or marker stone Masc. 2nd declension.
• μεγέθος of degree, greatness, magnitude.
  • παντός genitive singular masculine and neuter of πᾶς
  • (in the plural) all, every, each
  • (in the singular) whole
• άλγος pain (of either mind or body), sorrow, trouble, grief, distress, woe
  • LSJ: bodily pain
• ὑπεξαιρέω
  • I. to take away from below, αἷμα ὑπ. to drain away blood, Soph.
  • 2. to make away with, to destroy gradually, Eur.; τοὐπίκλημʼ ὑπεξελών having done away with the charge, Soph.:—Pass., Hdt., Thuc.
  • II. Mid. to take out privily for oneself, steal away, Il.
  • 2. to put aside, except, exclude, Plat., Dem.

εως, ἡ, A removal, τοῦ ἀλγοῦντος Epicur.Sent.3 (ἐξαίρεσις a better reading, acc. to Demetr.Lac.Herc.1012.23); τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου Gal.14.681; τῶν ἀποφατικῶν Stoic.2.84; μεθ' ὑπεξαιρέσεως with a reservation, Epict.Ench.2.2, M.Ant.4.1, Stoic.3.149, cf. D.S. 12.21 (pl.), Artem.1.52; καθ' ὑπεξαίρεσίν τινος S.E.M.8.479; εἶχεν ὑ. τοῦ μὴ ὅμοιον εἶναι . . A.D. Adv.205.21: hence in Rhet., a treating as exceptional, Alex.Fig.1.7. 2 refutation, opp. πίστις, Phld.Rh. 1.202 S. (pl.). ὅπου where ἥδομαι

• to be pleased, enjoy oneself

ἡδόμενον neuter participle λυπούμενον neuter middle/passive participle of λυπεω

• I. to give pain to, to pain, distress, grieve, vex, annoy, Hdt., Trag., etc.; ἡ θώραξ λ. distresses by its weight, Xen.:—absol. to cause pain or grief, Soph.
• 2. of marauders, to harass, annoy by constant attacks, Hdt., Thuc., etc.
• II. Pass. with fut. mid. to be pained, grieved, distressed, Theogn., etc.; μὴ λυπέεο be not distressed, Hdt.:—c. acc. cogn., λύπας λυπεῖσθαι Plat.:—also c. acc. rei, to grieve about a thing, Soph.:—absol. to feel pain, Eur., etc.

συναμφότερον accusative singular masculine < συν + ἀμφότερον

• of two or more things taken together + both together

[Don translation - "The limit of the magnitude of pleasure (is) the whole of the removal of that which causes pain. Where that which gives pleasure exists, during the time it is present, there is neither pain nor that which causes pain in body or mind nor either of these together." (Clunky translation, but a start.)]

Hicks translation

3The magnitude of pleasures is limited by the removal of all pain. Wherever there is pleasure, so long as it is present, there is no pain either of body or of mind or both.

Saint-Andre translation

3The limit of enjoyment is the removal of all pains. Wherever and for however long pleasure is present, there is neither bodily pain nor mental distress.

[St-Andre note 3] The word ἡδονή is often translated solely as "pleasure"; however, depending on the context I also translate it as "joy", "delight", "enjoyment", or even "happiness" in the modern sense because the Greek word ἡδονή refers to any physical, emotional, or mental state that is filled with sweetness (ἡδύς), whereas the English word "pleasure" carries stronger connotations of a purely physical state (although compare phrases such as "the pleasures of philosophy"). Furthermore, although there is no hard and fast distinction between ἄλγος as bodily pain and λυπούμενος as mental distress, the former word tends to be used more in relation to the body and the latter more in relation to the mind or emotions; see also Principal Doctrine #10. For other texts that emphasize the concept of a natural limit to enjoyment, see Principal Doctrines #11, #15, #18, #19, #20, as well as Letter to Menoikos, Section 133, Vatican Saying #35, and Fragment #548.

Fragment 68. To those who are able to reason it out, the highest and surest joy is found in the stable health of the body and a firm confidence in keeping it. [note] τὸ γὰρ εὐσταθὲς σαρκὸς κατάστημα καὶ τὸ περὶ ταύτης πιστὸν ἔλπισμα τὴν ἀκροτάτην χαρὰν καὶ βεβαιοτάτην ἔχει τοῖς ἐπιλογίζεσθαι δυναμένοις.

Vatican Saying 33. The body cries out to not be hungry, not be thirsty, not be cold. Anyone who has these things, and who is confident of continuing to have them, can rival the gods for happiness. [note] σαρκὸς φωνὴ τὸ μὴ πεινῆν, τὸ μὴ διψῆν, τὸ μὴ ῥιγοῦν· ταῦτα γὰρ ἔχων τις καὶ ἐλπίζων ἕξειν κἂν <διὶ> ὑπὲρ εὐδαιμονίας μαχέσαιτο.

Fragment 70. Beauty and virtue and such are worthy of honor, if they bring joy; but if not then bid them farewell! [note] τιμητέον τὸ καλὸν καὶ τὰς ἀρετὰς καὶ τοιουτότροπα, ἐὰν ἡδονὴν παρασκευάζῃ· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ παρασκευάζῃ χαίρειν ἐατέον.

PD4 Οὐ χρονίζει τὸ ἀλγοῦν συνεχῶς ἐν τῇ σαρκί, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν ἄκρον τὸν ἐλάχιστον χρόνον πάρεστι, τὸ δὲ μόνον ὑπερτεῖνον τὸ ἡδόμενον κατὰ σάρκα οὐ πολλὰς ἡμέρας συμβαίνει· αἱ δὲ πολυχρόνιοι τῶν ἀρρωστιῶν πλεονάζον ἔχουσι τὸ ἡδόμενον ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ ἤ περ τὸ ἀλγοῦν.

Parsed:

• τὸ ἀλγοῦν συνεχῶς Οὐ χρονίζει ἐν τῇ σαρκί,
  • Continuous pain does not linger in the body,
  • ἄλγος I. pain of body, Il., Soph. 2. pain of mind, grief, distress, Hom. II. anything that causes pain, Bion., Anth.
  • συνεχως continuously
  • χρονίζω I. intr. to spend time, Hdt.: to take time, tarry, linger, delay, be slow, Aesch., Thuc.; c. inf. to delay to do, NTest. 2. of things, χρονίζον μένειν to remain long, Aesch. II. Pass. to be prolonged or protracted, id=Aesch.
• μὲν ἀλλὰ τὸ ἄκρον τὸν ἐλάχιστον χρόνον πάρεστι
  • but, on the one hand, the highest point is present for the shortest time,
  • ἐλάχιστος Sup. of ἐλαχύς, comp. ἐλάσσων, I. the smallest, least, οὐκ ἐλ. Hhymn., Hdt., etc.; ἐλαχίστου λόγου of least account, id=Hdt.; περὶ ἐλαχίστου ποιεῖσθαι Plat. 2. of Time, shortest, διʼ ἐλαχίστου [sc. χρόνου] Thuc.; διʼ ἐλαχίστης βουλῆς with shortest deliberation, id=Thuc.
  • παρεστι to be present in our at παρά + ειμι
• δὲ τὸ μόνον ὑπερτεῖνον τὸ ἡδόμενον κατὰ σάρκα οὐ πολλὰς ἡμέρας συμβαίνει·
  • on the other hand...that which is only extends
  • That which is only pleasurable extends Through the body not many days
  • μονος alone, only, unique
  • ὑπερ + τείνω < 1. to stretch, extend, 2. to spread, 3. to exert, push to the limit, strain
  • ἡδόμενον neuter participle: being pleased, enjoying oneself
  • κατα + acc = through
  • σάρκα f (plural σάρκες) nom & acc
    • (biology) flesh
    • (botany) pulp, flesh
  • κατὰ σάρκα = through the body

συμβαίνει

• II. metaph. to come together, come to an agreement, come to terms, Lat. convenire, τινί with another, Hdt., attic; c. inf., ς. ὑπήκοοι εἶναι Thuc.; Pass., of the terms, to be agreed on, id=Thuc.
• 2. of things, to coincide or correspond with, c. dat., Hdt., attic:—absol., Trag., etc.

δὲ αἱ πολυχρόνιοι τῶν ἀρρωστιῶν πλεονάζον ἔχουσι τὸ ἡδόμενον ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ ἤ περ τὸ ἀλγοῦν. (2 prepositional phrases) πολυχρόνιος

• I. long-existing, of olden time, ancient, Hhymn., Hdt., Xen.
• II. lasting for long, Arist.:—comp. -ώτερος, Plat.; Sup. -ώτατος, Xen.

αἱ πολυχρόνιοι τῶν ἀρρωστιῶν = the long-lasting days of sickness ("illnesses of long duration") περ intensifies following word "very" αρρωστιών f Genitive plural form of αρρώστια

• malady, sickness, illness
• disease

πλεονάζω

• to presume on
• to be superfluous, more than enough
• (of a writer) to be prolix or tedious

Hicks translation

4Continuous pain does not last long in the flesh, and pain, if extreme, is present a very short time, and even that degree of pain which barely outweighs pleasure in the flesh does not occur for many days together. Illnesses of long duration even permit of an excess of pleasure over pain in the flesh.

Saint-Andre translation

4Pain does not last continuously in the flesh; instead, the sharpest pain lasts the shortest time, a pain that exceeds bodily pleasure lasts only a few days, and diseases that last a long time involve delights that exceed their pains.

Translation from attalus:

4 Pain does not abide continuously in the flesh, but in its extremity it is present only a very short time. That pain which only just exceeds the pleasure in the flesh, does not last many days. But long diseases have in them more that is pleasant than painful to the flesh.

Translation from Epicurus.info

4) Continuous physical pain does not last long. Instead, extreme pain lasts only a very short time, and even less-extreme pain does not last for many days at once. Even protracted diseases allow periods of physical comfort that exceed feelings of pain.