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This introduction to Epicurus was written In 1947 by Norman DeWitt, prior to his release of "Epicurus And His Philosophy."

There are many topics on which we have only scratched the surface at EpicureanFriends. This is a list of topics that would be particularly desirable to write long-form articles about. We'll curate this list so that it is most effective, so please make suggestions for additions at the separate discussion thread - click here.

For our most comprehensive outline of this topic, see the discussion thread and outline for Episode 257 of the Lucretius Today podcast at the link below:

Lucretius Today Episode 257 - Fate, Necessity, Determinism

In addition to the material below, see our discussion outline here:

The Universe Is Infinite And Eternal And Has No Gods Over It

This listing will be expanded with additional detail over time.

Notes: This page will be updated over time. For the latest revision of the EpicureanFriends statement of Classical Epicurean Philosophy, click here.

This is a curated collection of important fragments collected by Usener. The full User material can be accessed either here at Epicurism.info or here at Attalus.org. The Attalus.org version appears to be largely a copy of the Epicurism.info version, which was originally prepared by Erik Anderson, proprietor of the original Epicurus.info, who is now deceased.

Selections from Diogenes Laertius, Lucretius, and from sources which are too fragmentary or short to be of significant usefulness have been removed. The purpose of this collection is to provide better access to significant quotes by or about Epicurus which are not already familiar through review of Diogenes Laertius and Lucretius.

When the first round of editing is complete, we can attack the project of going back and supplementing the topic headings with material from more recently-discovered sources and translations. Eventually we can also fold back in quotes from Diogenes Laertius Book Ten and Lucretius so that the topical aspect is more complete, but the first task is to make more accessible substantial fragments which are rarely discussed.

Anyone interested in assisting with the editing of this document please message Cassius.

Based on information originally put together by Don and Nate, this is an effort to "pretty it up" into a Table form which we can reference more easily and update collaboratively. If you have suggestions please place them in the comments below. If you'd like to do more extensive editing and don't have write access, please contact Cassius.

Green is for Epicurean. Red is for non-Epicurean. Blue is for "events."

Online self-paced Philosophy of Epicurus study program, with Zoom meeting concluding the final week.

This project is currently under development, and in the brainstorming stages. Future updates will be forthcoming.

This program likely won't run until early Spring of 2024.

This will be a collection of objections gathered from our Lucretius Today Podcast review of Cicero's "On Ends," annotated with comments as to proper responses.

Initially this will be in sequential order as the argument appears in the book. As the argument gets repetitive we can re-order.

Backup of Attalus.org

Transcribed by Cassius Amicus and Ilkka Vouristo. This transcription was very difficult for a variety of reasons, and the reader is advised to check the PDF for the greatest accuracy.

Test Mind Map

This text comes from http://thelatinlibrary.com/lucretius.html)

Other Editions:

The 1743 Translation Published By Daniel Brown

The translator of this edition is unknown, but it was published in England by Daniel Brown in 1743. This translation has the advantage that despite being older, it can sometimes be easier to read than later versions.

The 1893 Translation of HAJ Munro

This is one of the most memorable and literal translations available.

The 1920's Loeb translation by William Rouse

The 1936 Translation Of Cyril Bailey

This is the most recent edition in the public domain.

The Latin Edition

This text comes from LatinLibrary.com.

Editions at EpicureanFriends.com

The 1743 Translation Published By Daniel Brown

The translator of this edition is unknown, but it was published in England by Daniel Brown in 1743. This translation has the advantage that despite being older, it can sometimes be easier to read than later versions.

The 1893 Translation of HAJ Munro

This is one of the most memorable and literal translations available.

The 1920's Loeb translation by William Rouse

The 1936 Translation Of Cyril Bailey

This is the most recent edition in the public domain.

The Latin Edition

This text comes from LatinLibrary.com.

For the likelihood that the translator of this edition is Samuel Dunster, see:

Article

Giving Credit Where It Is Due: Samuel Dunster, Likely Author of the 1743 Prose Translation of Lucretius

For over two hundred years, obscurity has surrounded the identity of the anonymous translator of one of the first readable prose editions of Lucretius in the English language. In this article, Joshua tracks down the evidence and concludes that it points in one direction.

Joshua

July 18, 2024 at 3:07 PM

Editions at EpicureanFriends.com

The 1743 Translation Published By Daniel Brown

The translator of this edition is unknown, but it was published in England by Daniel Brown in 1743. This translation has the advantage that despite being older, it can sometimes be easier to read than later versions.

The 1893 Translation of HAJ Munro

This is one of the most memorable and literal translations available.

The 1920's Loeb translation by William Rouse

The 1936 Translation Of Cyril Bailey

This is the most recent edition in the public domain.

The Latin Edition

This text comes from LatinLibrary.com.

Plutarch’s Morals. Translated from the Greek by Several Hands. Corrected and Revised by William W. Goodwin, with an Introduction by Ralph Waldo Emerson. 5 Volumes. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1878).

This version comes from here: http://demonax.info/doku.php?id=te…ine_of_epicurus

First posted at EpicureanFriends 07/09/23 - this version needs cleaning up.

This document has been superseded and will soon be deleted.

The following document summarizes sources in support of each of the four primary points of emphasis at EpicureanFriends.com. This list will continue to be displayed, as it has in the past, as a right-side graphic, but as of 7/7/23 is being added to the main section of the home page for ease of reference on mobile devices.

The sources listed below could be greatly expanded, so please feel free to make suggestions for additions in the comments below. Four items are included so as to keep the list manageable and consistent with the goals of the forum.

Items one, two, and four are self-explanatory. Item three, a direct excerpt from Epicurus' letter to Menoeceus and included as well within Principal Doctrine 3, is included here to emphasize the basis of the Epicurean teaching that "good," "evil," and "virtue" are relative to the feelings of pleasure and pain rather than absolute.

Diogenes Laertius' Book Ten - his biography of Epicurus - is the primary source of information about Epicurus remaining to us from the ancient world. The version on this page is that of Cyril Bailey as prepared forhis 1926 work "Epicurus - The Extant Remains." The text here was prepared from a PDF of the original which can be found at Archive.org here. The original PDF contains the full Greek, footnotes, and commentary. Approximate line numbers matching the Bailey edition are placed in brackets such as [20]. Placement of these numbers should not be considered to be exact, and should be used primarily as an aid in looking up the same section in other translations. Headings are not a part of the original text. The Perseus Greek edition, from which individual words can be looked up for English definitions, is here.

NOTE:

A PDF prepared by Tau Phi with three parallel public domain translations of this and the other letters of Epicurus is here. As of this writing 4/7/25, a work-in-progress of a side-by-side page is here, but the text and especially the line numbers are not yet reliable.

Except where noted, this translation is by Cyril Bailey, as contained in his text “Epicurus - The Extant Remains.” The doctrine number is hyperlinked to our Lexicon for additional translations and notes.

For detailed discussion of each doctrine, please post here: The Principal Doctrines.

For those who may wish to print this page, several notes are included at the bottom of this page as to the source of the translation of each doctrine listed here. The "Scholia Commentary" to PD01 and PD29 are included at the end as well.

For an excellent resource useful in comparing each of these in different translations, see Nate's compilation of alternate translations here.

For purposes of inclusion in our regular 20th meetings, the following is a list of prominent Epicureans with notations of their accomplishments. Each month - in addition to Epicurus and Metrodorus - we can remember two others so that each year we rotate through the complete list. The goal for each month would be:

1. To memorialize Epicurus and Metrodorus every month as per the directions in Epicurus' will.
2. To memorialize two other prominent Epicureans from a list of 24 names that everyone ought to know.
3. To memorialize one from a list of "lesser-known" Epicureans about whom we may not know much but which we know enough to make for an interesting mention.

To prepare this we can use Nate's list of "Epicurean Philosophers."

Full discussion thread for this project.

This page is currently a work-in-progress for an "Epicurean Week" college level guided program to be used in an introductory philosophy course. The program will last for seven days and students will choose exercises to enhance their understanding of Epicurean philosphy. These are "modern" exercises based upon the core teachings of the Epicurean philosophy and the extant texts..

This is a collection of proposals created by several individuals. Several members of the EpicureanFriends forum have been granted editing privilages so that we can collaboratively create this material.

**Note to those who have been granted editing permission: please either create your own section in which you present your own individual proposal -- or -- if you add to anyone else's existing proposal please note any changes by placing those changes inside brackets and adding your name and the date of the change -- [ idea..., name, date ]. Also if you think something should be removed please do not delete anything but instead use brackets and write that as an editing note, with your name, and date. [ editing note..., name, date ].