PD16

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!

  • Bailey: 16. In but few things chance hinders a wise man, but the greatest and most important matters, reason has ordained, and throughout the whole period of life does and will ordain.

    “The wise man is but little favoured by fortune; but his reason procures him the greatest and most valuable goods, and these he does enjoy, and will enjoy the whole of his life.” Yonge (1853)

    “Fortune but slightly crosses the wise man's path; his greatest and highest interests are directed by reason throughout the course of life.” Hicks (1910)

    “Fortune but seldom interferes with the wise man; his greatest and highest interests have been, are, and will be, directed by reason throughout the course of his life.” Hicks (1925)

    “In but few things chance hinders a wise man, but the greatest and most important matters reason has ordained and throughout the whole period of life does and will ordain.” Bailey (1926)

    “Fortune plays but little part in the life of a wise man and the things that are of most value and consequence are subject to arrangement by rational planning, and throughout the whole extent of life are subject and will be subject to it.” DeWitt, Epicurus and His Philosophy 177-178 (1954)

    “Fortune seldom troubles the wise man. Reason has controlled his greatest and most important affairs, controls them throughout his life, and will continue to control them.” Geer (1964)


    “In a few instances does chance intrude upon the wise man, but reason has administered his greatest and most important affairs, and will continue to do so throughout his whole life.” O'Connor (1993)

    “Chance has a small impact on the wise man, while reasoning has arranged for, is arranging for, and will arrange for the greatest and most important matters throughout the whole of his life.” Inwood & Gerson (1994)

    “Chance has little effect upon the wise man, for his greatest and highest interests are directed by reason throughout the course of life.” Anderson (2004)

    “The wise are rarely infringed by chance; the matters that are most signifcant and decisive have been, are, and always will be governed by reason throughout the entire span of a wise person's life.” Makridis (2005)

    “Chance steals only a bit into the life of a wise person: for throughout the complete span of his life the greatest and most important matters have been, are, and will be directed by the power of reason.” Saint-Andre (2008)

    “Bad luck strikes the sophisticated man in a few cases, but reason has directed the big, essential things, and for the duration of life it is and will be the guide.” Strodach (2012)

    “Fortune impinges but little on a wise man; reason has directed his greatest and most important pursuits; these it directs and will continue to direct over the course of his life.” Mensch (2018)

    “Fortune has little impact on the wise; their reasoning has already arranged the greatest and most important matters, and it does so and will continue to do so throughout their lifetime.” White (2021)

Share

Comments 6

August 28, 2021 at 3:31 AM

Maybe one of many other ways to say it would be something like. "Even a wise many can be injured or killed by freak accidents, but the wise man will use reasoned judgement to avoid unnecessary dangers and live successfully in every aspect of his life, especially the most important ones."
August 28, 2021 at 3:28 AM

I think this one is useful for letting us see that proper reasoning is a very important part of life, bit it is also geared toward the issue of Fate and agency and saying that despite the fact that some things are beyond our control, for most people most of the time we do have a great deal of influence over what we do and how we do it, and we should act reasonably to see that we stay in control of our circumstances if we want to live as happily as possible.
August 28, 2021 at 12:36 AM

@Cassius my friend, would you please put this in a simpler way? I think this is one of those instances were language is not helping me. Thanks.
August 29, 2021 at 7:49 PM

Question: Cassius, I wish to continue asking you about PD16 here, if you don't mind, since the comments in that section of the website don't appear in my notification inbox. I feel disoriented about this PD bearing in mind the context of the thread about reason/logic. I understand "reason has ordained" as "reason has decreed", and this is confusing. "Reason has decreed" the most important matters? And what does this have to do with a man reducing the things that are out of his control (being wise to diminish chance)?

Answer: They don't ? that is not good. Maybe if you "subscribe" to the topic? Gosh I agree that "ordained" is a weird word. I'd like Don to comment on this too since he is good at the translations, so I will past this Q / A into that thread and see if he sees it. I think it means "through use of reason we can control" most things and limit the impact of chance.
August 29, 2021 at 7:50 PM

Q: Cassius, I wish to continue asking you about PD16 here, if you don't mind, since the comments in that section of the website don't appear in my notification inbox. I feel disoriented about this PD bearing in mind the context of the thread about reason/logic.

I understand "reason has ordained" as "reason has decreed", and this is confusing. "Reason has decreed" the most important matters?

And what does this have to do with a man reducing the things that are out of his control (being wise to diminish chance)?

Thanks


A: They don't ? that is not good. Maybe if you "subscribe" to the topic? Gosh I agree that "ordained" is a weird word. I'd like Don to comment on this too since he is good at the translations, so I will past this Q / A into that thread and see if he sees it. I think it means "through use of reason we can control" most things and limit the impact of chance.
August 29, 2021 at 9:05 PM

The tagging seems to work differently here too: @Cassius  @Don but it doesn't give you the option to "pick" the tagged person as in the regular forums, nor does it highlight it in red.

Unread Threads

    1. Title
    2. Replies
    3. Last Reply

    2. Immutability of Epicurean school in ancient times 15

      • TauPhi
      • September 10, 2025 at 7:08 AM
    3. Replies
      15
      Views
      6.1k
      15

    4. Cassius

      September 10, 2025 at 7:08 AM

    2. Boris Nikolsky - Article On His Interest in Classical Philosophy (Original In Russian) 1

      • Cassius
      • September 8, 2025 at 10:37 AM
    3. Replies
      1
      Views
      3k
      1

    4. Cassius

      September 8, 2025 at 10:37 AM

    2. Boris Nikolsky's 2023 Summary Of His Thesis About Epicurus On Pleasure (From "Knife" Magazine)

      • Cassius
      • September 6, 2025 at 5:32 PM
    3. Replies
      0
      Views
      2.1k

    2. Edward Abbey - My Favorite Quotes 4

      • Joshua
      • August 31, 2025 at 1:02 PM
    3. Replies
      4
      Views
      6.5k
      4

    4. SillyApe

      August 31, 2025 at 1:02 PM

    2. A Question About Hobbes From Facebook

      • Cassius
      • August 24, 2025 at 9:11 AM
    3. Replies
      0
      Views
      2.7k

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.