1. Home
    1. Start Here: Study Guide
    2. Community Standards And Posting Policies
    3. Terms of Use
    4. Moderator Team
    5. Website Overview
    6. Site Map
    7. Quizzes
    8. Articles
      1. Featured Articles
    9. All Blog Posts
      1. Elli's Blog / Articles
  2. Wiki
    1. Wiki Home
    2. FAQ
    3. Classical Epicureanism
    4. Files
    5. Search Assistance
    6. Not NeoEpicurean
    7. Foundations
    8. Navigation Outlines
    9. Reading List
    10. Key Pages
  3. Forum
    1. Full Forum List
    2. Welcome Threads
    3. Physics
    4. Canonics
    5. Ethics
    6. Forum Shortcuts
    7. Forum Navigation Map
    8. Featured
    9. 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. Diogenes Laertius
    3. Principal Doctrines
    4. Vatican Collection
    5. Lucretius
    6. Herodotus
    7. Pythocles
    8. Menoeceus
    9. Fragments - Usener Collection
    10. Torquatus On Ethics
    11. Velleius On Gods
    12. Greek/Latin Help
  7. Gallery
    1. Featured images
    2. Albums
    3. Latest Images
    4. Latest Comments
  8. More
    1. Featured Content
    2. Calendar
      1. Upcoming Events List
      2. Zooms - General Info
      3. Fourth Sunday Meet-&-Greet
      4. Sunday Weekly Zoom
      5. Wednesday Zoom Meeting
    3. Logbook
    4. EF ToDo List
    5. Link-Database
  • Login
  • Register
  • Search
Wiki
  • Everywhere
  • Forum
  • Articles
  • Blog Articles
  • Files
  • Gallery
  • Events
  • Pages
  • Wiki
  • Help
  • FAQ
  • More Options

Welcome To EpicureanFriends.com!

"Remember that you are mortal, and you have a limited time to live, and in devoting yourself to discussion of the nature of time and eternity you have seen things that have been, are now, and are to come."

Sign In Now
or
Register a new account
  1. Home
    1. Start Here: Study Guide
    2. Community Standards And Posting Policies
    3. Terms of Use
    4. Moderator Team
    5. Website Overview
    6. Site Map
    7. Quizzes
    8. Articles
      1. Featured Articles
    9. All Blog Posts
      1. Elli's Blog / Articles
  2. Wiki
    1. Wiki Home
    2. FAQ
    3. Classical Epicureanism
    4. Files
    5. Search Assistance
    6. Not NeoEpicurean
    7. Foundations
    8. Navigation Outlines
    9. Reading List
    10. Key Pages
  3. Forum
    1. Full Forum List
    2. Welcome Threads
    3. Physics
    4. Canonics
    5. Ethics
    6. Forum Shortcuts
    7. Forum Navigation Map
    8. Featured
    9. 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. Diogenes Laertius
    3. Principal Doctrines
    4. Vatican Collection
    5. Lucretius
    6. Herodotus
    7. Pythocles
    8. Menoeceus
    9. Fragments - Usener Collection
    10. Torquatus On Ethics
    11. Velleius On Gods
    12. Greek/Latin Help
  7. Gallery
    1. Featured images
    2. Albums
    3. Latest Images
    4. Latest Comments
  8. More
    1. Featured Content
    2. Calendar
      1. Upcoming Events List
      2. Zooms - General Info
      3. Fourth Sunday Meet-&-Greet
      4. Sunday Weekly Zoom
      5. Wednesday Zoom Meeting
    3. Logbook
    4. EF ToDo List
    5. Link-Database
  1. Home
    1. Start Here: Study Guide
    2. Community Standards And Posting Policies
    3. Terms of Use
    4. Moderator Team
    5. Website Overview
    6. Site Map
    7. Quizzes
    8. Articles
      1. Featured Articles
    9. All Blog Posts
      1. Elli's Blog / Articles
  2. Wiki
    1. Wiki Home
    2. FAQ
    3. Classical Epicureanism
    4. Files
    5. Search Assistance
    6. Not NeoEpicurean
    7. Foundations
    8. Navigation Outlines
    9. Reading List
    10. Key Pages
  3. Forum
    1. Full Forum List
    2. Welcome Threads
    3. Physics
    4. Canonics
    5. Ethics
    6. Forum Shortcuts
    7. Forum Navigation Map
    8. Featured
    9. 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. Diogenes Laertius
    3. Principal Doctrines
    4. Vatican Collection
    5. Lucretius
    6. Herodotus
    7. Pythocles
    8. Menoeceus
    9. Fragments - Usener Collection
    10. Torquatus On Ethics
    11. Velleius On Gods
    12. Greek/Latin Help
  7. Gallery
    1. Featured images
    2. Albums
    3. Latest Images
    4. Latest Comments
  8. More
    1. Featured Content
    2. Calendar
      1. Upcoming Events List
      2. Zooms - General Info
      3. Fourth Sunday Meet-&-Greet
      4. Sunday Weekly Zoom
      5. Wednesday Zoom Meeting
    3. Logbook
    4. EF ToDo List
    5. Link-Database
  1. EpicureanFriends - Classical Epicurean Philosophy
  2. Philosophy of Epicurus: Overview of Sources
  • Sidebar
  • Sidebar

Philosophy of Epicurus: Overview of Sources

  • Kalosyni
  • December 21, 2021 at 8:12 PM
  • December 22, 2021 at 11:51 AM
  • 14 times viewed

You are currently viewing an older version of the Entry. Click here, to view the current version.

  • 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.

    Principal Doctrines, by Epicurus

    Letter to Menoikos, by Epicurus

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

    Diogenes Laertius: Principal Doctrines of Epicurus

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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:
    https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/

    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 Memorial Calendar of Leading Epicureans
  • Next entry Regional Maps of the Greco-Roman World
  • Changelog
  • PDF

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.

Wiki Categories

  1. Wiki Index 2
  2. EpicureanFriends Organizational Documents 9
  3. Canonics / Epistemology 8
  4. Physics / Nature of the Universe (Includes "Gods") 11
  5. Ethics / How To Live 15
  6. Texts 72
    1. Lucretius 4
    2. Epicurus 4
  7. Other Resources 35
    1. Joshua's Quotations From the Lucretius Today Podcast 9
    2. Self Study Courses 3
    3. Techniques for Better Living 3
    4. General / Use of The Lexicon 2
    5. Glossary of Greek and Latin Terms 3
    6. Epicurean History 3

Resources

  1. Getting Started At EpicureanFriends
  2. Community Standards And Posting Policies
  3. The Major Doctrines of Classical Epicurean Philosophy
  4. Introductory Videos
  5. Wiki
  6. Lucretius Today Podcast
    1. Podcast Episode Guide
  7. Key Epicurean Texts
    1. Side-By-Side Diogenes Laertius X (Bio And All Key Writings of Epicurus)
    2. Side-By-Side Lucretius - On The Nature Of Things
    3. Side-By-Side Torquatus On Ethics
    4. Side-By-Side Velleius on Divinity
    5. Lucretius Topical Outline
    6. 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. Activities Calendar
  15. Special Resource Pages
  16. File Database
  17. Site Map
    1. Home

Wiki 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 Texts
  • Decline of The Ancient Epicurean Age
  • Unsolved Questions of Epicurean History
  • Welcome New Participants
  • Events - Activism - Outreach
  • Full Forum List

Latest Posts

  • Thomas Nail - Returning to Lucretius

    Cassius January 14, 2026 at 4:56 AM
  • Roman Felicitas And Its Relevance to "Happiness"

    kochiekoch January 13, 2026 at 9:16 PM
  • Why Epicurus Railed Against Atheists And Questioned Their Sanity

    kochiekoch January 12, 2026 at 8:41 PM
  • Exercise for the happiness of the modern soul

    Kalosyni January 12, 2026 at 8:16 AM
  • Updating Of EpicurusToday.com

    TauPhi January 11, 2026 at 7:02 PM
  • Welcome JLPENDALL!

    Don January 11, 2026 at 6:30 AM
  • Episode 316 - "Happiness Is The Goal Of Life - Nothing Good But Pleasure" To Be Recorded (Sixth Year Podcast Anniversary)

    Cassius January 10, 2026 at 8:20 AM
  • What Is Happiness? How Does Our Conception of It Derive From Eudaemonia and Felicitas? Should Happiness Be The Goal of Life?

    Patrikios January 9, 2026 at 6:33 PM
  • Kalosyni's 2025 EpicureanFriends Year in Review

    Patrikios January 8, 2026 at 4:37 PM
  • Episode 315 - TD 42 - Preventing Pain From Destroying Happiness

    Cassius January 8, 2026 at 3:45 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
  2. Wiki
    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 7.1.17, developed by www.viecode.com
Powered by WoltLab Suite™ 6.0.22
Style: Inspire by cls-design
Stylename
Inspire
Manufacturer
cls-design
Licence
Commercial styles
Help
Supportforum
Visit cls-design