1. Home
    1. Study Guide
    2. Community Standards
    3. Site Map
    4. Quizzes
    5. Articles On Physics
    6. Articles On Canonics
    7. Articles On Ethics
    8. All Articles
    9. Elli's Blog Posts
    10. Kalosyni's Blog
    11. All Blog Posts
  2. Lexicon
    1. Lexicon Home
    2. FAQ
    3. Files
    4. Search Assistance
    5. Foundations
    6. Navigation Outlines
    7. Reading List
    8. Key Pages
    9. Last Changes
  3. Forum
    1. Full Forum List
    2. Welcome Threads
    3. Ancient Texts Forum
    4. Physics
    5. Canonics
    6. Ethics
    7. Forum Shortcuts
    8. Forum Navigation Map
    9. Featured
    10. Most Discussed
  4. Latest
    1. New Activity
    2. Latest Threads
    3. Dashboard
    4. Search By Tag
    5. Complete Tag List
  5. Podcast
    1. Lucretius Today Podcast
    2. Episode Guide
    3. Lucretius Today At Youtube
    4. EpicureanFriends Youtube Page
  6. Texts
    1. Overview
    2. Torquatus On Ethics
    3. Velleius On Divinity
    4. Diogenes Laertius
    5. Principal Doctrines
    6. Vatican Collection
    7. Lucretius
    8. Herodotus
    9. Pythocles
    10. Menoeceus
    11. Fragments - Usener Collection
    12. Greek/Latin Help
  7. Gallery
    1. Latest Images
    2. Featured images
    3. Latest Comments
  8. More
    1. Featured Content
    2. Logbook
    3. EF ToDo List
  • Login
  • Register
  • Search
Wiki
  • Everywhere
  • Forum
  • Articles
  • Blog Articles
  • Files
  • Gallery
  • Pages
  • Wiki
  • FAQ
  • More Options
  1. EpicureanFriends - Classical Epicurean Philosophy
  2. EpicureanFriends Lexicon

Sources: An Overview of Sources For The Philosophy of Epicurus

  • Kalosyni
  • December 21, 2021 at 8:12 PM
  • June 13, 2024 at 5:21 PM
  • 9,940 times viewed
  • Epicurus is said to have originally written over 300 works on various subjects, but the vast majority of these writings have been lost.

    1) Diogenes Laertius - A major source for Epicurean doctrine is Diogenes Laertius, a Greek biographer (3rd century CE). Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers Book 10 contains three of Epicurus’ letters to his disciples: the "Letter to Herodotus" on physical theory, the "Letter to Menoeceus" on Epicurean ethics, and the "Letter to Pythocles" on astronomical and meteorological matters. Also contained in this book are the “Principal Doctrines” (Kuriai Doxai) in which Diogenes quotes a collection of short sayings excerpted from the writings of Epicurus. Diogenes also fills in topics not covered in the Letters, and provides a list of Epicurus’ writings and other biographical information.

    Cyril Bailey translation:

    https://users.manchester.edu/Facstaff/SSNaragon/Online/texts/316/Epicurus,%20LetterMenoeceus.pdf

    Peter Saint-Andre translations:

    Principal Doctrines, by Epicurus

    Letter to Menoikos, by Epicurus

    R.D. Hicks translation (1925) Book 10:

    Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, BOOK X, EPICURUS (341-271 B.C.)

    C.D. Yonge translation (1895) Book 10, Sections 84-154:

    Diogenes Laertius: Principal Doctrines of Epicurus

    File

    KURIAI DOXAI, a Compilation of Translations by Nathan H. Bartman (2021)

    This compilation contains 150 years worth of English translations of the "Key Doctrines" of Epicurus.
    Eikadistes
    May 3, 2024 at 11:14 PM

    2) Lucretius - wrote the philosophical Latin poem "On the Nature of Things" (De rerum natura) in six books of hexameter verse (first century BCE). This poem covers Epicurean physics and natural philosophy.

    William Ellery Leonard translation:

    The Internet Classics Archive | On the Nature of Things by Lucretius

    3) Diogenes of Oenoanda - erected a large inscription on a stone wall in the city of Oenoanda (second century CE, in what is now modern day southwestern Turkey). The Greek inscription contains the basic tenets of Epicureanism, including a treatise on ethics. To this day it is only partially excavated, and the work to reconstruct stone fragments continues.

    M.F. Smith translation:

    The inscripion

    4) Herculaneum scrolls - Several works of Epicurus, including parts of his major treatise, On Nature have been recovered in damaged condition from the library of a villa in the town of Herculaneum. The papyri rolls were buried and preserved in the ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. They were rediscovered in 1752, but early attempts to read the scrolls proved difficult and unrolling destroyed the papyri. Scrolls are now being virtually read by newly created technology.

    5) Philodemus - The Herculaneum library also held the writings of Philodemus, an Epicurean philosopher in the first century BCE. Philodemus' writings both preseved Epicurean philosophy and also dealt with ongoing developments within Epicurean communities. New editions and translations continue to come forward.

    6) The "Vatican Sayings" - a collection of short sayings which partially overlap with those from Diogenes Laertius. Some of these maxims might not be attributable to Epicurus. This 14th century manuscript was rediscovered in 1888.

    Peter Saint-Andre translation:

    Vatican Sayings, by Epicurus

    Epicurus The Extant Remains Bailey Oxford 1926 Optimized For Greek On Left : Cyril Bailey : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
    Epicurus - The Extant Remains - Cyril Bailey - Optimized for Greek on Left Side for On-Line Viewing
    archive.org

    7) Cicero - presented and also criticized Epicurus’ ideas, especially concerning ethics, in several of his philosophical works, including "On Moral Ends" (De finibus) and the "Tusculan Disputations".


    8 ) Plutarch, Sextus Empiricus, and the Greek commentators on Aristotle - these writings contain short citations of Epicurus’ works, however they are often taken out of context or presented in a polemical and distorted fashion.

    References:
    Epicurus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

    Epicurus - Wikipedia
    en.m.wikipedia.org
    Lucretius - Wikipedia
    en.m.wikipedia.org
    De rerum natura - Wikipedia
    en.m.wikipedia.org

    Diogenes of Oenoanda - Wikipedia

    Herculaneum papyri - Wikipedia
    en.m.wikipedia.org

    Philodemus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Share

  • Previous entry Rebellion Against Platonism
  • Changelog

Lexicon Categories

  1. Physics - The Universe Is Entirely Natural 6
  2. Canonics - Knowledge Of What Is True And False Is Possible 9
  3. Ethics - The Goal of Life Is Happiness 10
  4. Other Resources 52
    1. Epicureans of the Past 43
    2. Techniques for Better Living 1
    3. Epicurean History 0
  5. Glossary of Greek and Latin Terms 39
  6. Texts & Translations 48

Resources

  1. Getting Started At EpicureanFriends
  2. Community Standards And Posting Policies
  3. The Major Doctrines of Classical Epicurean Philosophy
  4. Introductory Videos
  5. Lexicon
  6. Lucretius Today Podcast
    1. Podcast Episode Guide
  7. Key Epicurean Texts
    1. Chart Of Key Quotes
    2. Outline Of Key Quotes
    3. Side-By-Side Diogenes Laertius X (Bio And All Key Writings of Epicurus)
    4. Side-By-Side Lucretius - On The Nature Of Things
    5. Side-By-Side Torquatus On Ethics
    6. Side-By-Side Velleius on Divinity
    7. Lucretius Topical Outline
    8. Usener Fragment Collection
  8. Frequently Asked Questions
    1. FAQ Discussions
  9. Full List of Forums
    1. Physics Discussions
    2. Canonics Discussions
    3. Ethics Discussions
    4. All Recent Forum Activities
  10. Image Gallery
  11. Featured Articles
  12. Featured Blog Posts
  13. Quiz Section
  14. Special Resource Pages
  15. File Database
  16. Site Map
    1. Home

Lexicon Home

Frequently Used Forums

  • Frequently Asked / Introductory Questions
  • News And Announcements
  • Lucretius Today Podcast
  • Physics (The Nature of the Universe)
  • Canonics (The Tests Of Truth)
  • Ethics (How To Live)
  • Against Determinism
  • Against Skepticism
  • The "Meaning of Life" Question
  • Uncategorized Discussion
  • Comparisons With Other Philosophies
  • Historical Figures
  • Ancient Writers and Texts
  • Decline of The Ancient Epicurean Age
  • Unsolved Questions of Epicurean History
  • Welcome New Participants
  • Events - Activism - Outreach
  • Full Forum List

Latest Posts

  1. Simplifying the Epicurean Concepts of Pleasure

    Kalosyni
    November 3, 2026 at 1:46 PM
  2. Welcome Thomas Karion!

    Kalosyni
    November 3, 2026 at 10:10 AM
  3. Using AI to create flow charts of Lucretius' De Rerum Natura

    Cassius
    November 3, 2026 at 10:04 AM
  4. Should Epicureans Celebrate Something Else Instead of Celebrating Halloween?

    Cassius
    November 3, 2026 at 9:36 AM
  5. Happy Halloween 2026 - Death is Nothing to Us!

    Joshua
    November 1, 2026 at 11:42 AM
  6. Episode 358 - EATAQ40 - Continuing in Part 18 of Book 2 of Academic Questions

    Cassius
    November 1, 2026 at 6:14 AM
  7. Episode 357 - EATAQ39 - A Brief Word On Sextus Empiricus And The Goal of Skepticism

    Cassius
    October 31, 2026 at 3:46 PM
  8. Discussion of Article - "Aristotle - Introduction From An Epicurean Perspective"

    Cassius
    October 28, 2026 at 7:49 PM
  9. Discussion of Article - "Sextus Empiricus - Introduction From An Epicurean Perspective"

    Pacatus
    October 26, 2026 at 6:06 PM
  10. Heads up: New Book Coming in 2027

    Cassius
    October 26, 2026 at 4:29 PM

Frequently Used Tags

In addition to posting in the appropriate forums, participants are encouraged to reference the following tags in their posts:

  • #Physics
    • #Atomism
    • #Gods
    • #Images
    • #Infinity
    • #Eternity
    • #Life
    • #Death
  • #Canonics
    • #Knowledge
    • #Scepticism
  • #Ethics

    • #Pleasure
    • #Pain
    • #Engagement
    • #EpicureanLiving
    • #Happiness
    • #Virtue
      • #Wisdom
      • #Temperance
      • #Courage
      • #Justice
      • #Honesty
      • #Faith (Confidence)
      • #Suavity
      • #Consideration
      • #Hope
      • #Gratitude
      • #Friendship



Click Here To Search All Tags

To Suggest Additions To This List Click Here

Contributors in this entry

  1. Kalosyni 9 changes
  2. Cassius 5 changes

EpicureanFriends - Classical Epicurean Philosophy

  1. Home
    1. About Us
    2. Classical Epicurean Philosophy
    3. Rules, Terms & Policies
  2. Lexicon
    1. Getting Started
  3. Frequently Asked Questions
    1. Site Map
  4. Forum
    1. Latest Threads
    2. Featured Threads
    3. Unread Posts
  5. Texts
    1. Core Texts
    2. Biography of Epicurus
    3. Lucretius
  6. Articles
    1. Latest Articles
  7. Gallery
    1. Featured Images
  8. Calendar
    1. This Month At EpicureanFriends
Lexicon 7.2.6, developed by www.viecode.com
Powered by WoltLab Suite™ 6.2.8
Style: Inspire by cls-design
Stylename
Inspire
Manufacturer
cls-design
Licence
Commercial styles
Help
Supportforum
Visit cls-design