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  • Don July 10, 2026 at 6:05 PM

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    […]

    I've heard the estimates are that we only have about 1-5% of ALL texts from the ancient world. (One source example)

  • Don July 10, 2026 at 5:54 PM

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    I thought it might be instructive to see how "blessed" aka makarios is used in other contexts in ancient Greek contexts unrelated to the Epicurean description of the gods.

    […]

    […]

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  • DaveT July 10, 2026 at 5:25 PM

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    Kalosyni Thank you for the history of papyrus and writing tools etc. Very interesting. Although the topic of the literate and illiterate probably can't be resolved, I'm curious on your source materials on Epicurus' financial holdings and his income…

  • Patrikios July 10, 2026 at 4:49 PM

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    Here’s the news on the scrolls from the Smithsonian Institution.

    https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sci…tion-180989036/

  • Pacatus July 10, 2026 at 4:04 PM

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    Kalosyni

    I agree with you about exegesis itself. Nor do I disagree with your exegesis. Nor am I attempting any eisegesis on the texts.

    I am simply saying that I personally cannot relate to the concept of blessedness (nor any kind of god-likeness) in my…

  • TauPhi July 10, 2026 at 3:20 PM

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    Pacatus . Your post #12 is something quite peculiar. It almost never happens that someone writes so many sentences and every single one of them makes me say: 'Yes, exactly.'. I read the whole thing and started to laugh out loud at the end because I…

  • Kalosyni July 10, 2026 at 2:36 PM

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    From post 1 above:

    […]

    I think that it is very important when approaching the study of Epicurus, the Letter to Menoeceus, and the word "blessedness" as it relates to Epicurean philosophy, to do so with the intention of "exegesis" (a critical interpretation…

  • Don July 10, 2026 at 2:11 PM

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    Good point. While there may be superficial similarities to these notions, those fall apart upon any closer examination. There are completely different underpinnings and frameworks.

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    Exactly! Well put.

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    I've never heard it put quite that way before.…

  • Cassius July 10, 2026 at 2:06 PM

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    Matt - In case you have not seen it, I have just updated my long-standing summary on the issue behind what Robertson is saying, which I believe needs to be taken in context of Plato's Philebus . This contains my most complete list of citations on the…

  • Cassius July 10, 2026 at 1:38 PM

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    Unfortunately, it's equally if not more probable than he's got a sheet-full of citations from modern writers supporting him on that. Wrong, but they are legion.

  • Pacatus July 10, 2026 at 12:45 PM

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    Wow! I've always had respect for Robertson as one of the better translators of Stoicism for the modern world. But that is so egregiously wrong. He clearly did not do his due diligence on that. X(

  • Pacatus July 10, 2026 at 12:40 PM

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    […]

    Yes, absolutely.

  • Cassius July 10, 2026 at 12:31 PM

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    […]

    Exactly - what meaning can "blessed -" possibly carry to a normal ear today other than "blessed by the gods" which Epicurus explicitly rejected. It's a word that appears and has to be incorporated in reviewing texts, but I see no reason to focus on it…

  • Cassius July 10, 2026 at 12:23 PM

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    I may have more to say later but this is why you don't listen to stoics - or anyone who advoccates relief from pain rather than pleasure - as what Epicurus taught as the Supreme Good.

    The whole premise of the article is built on a false conception that…

  • Pacatus July 10, 2026 at 12:17 PM

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    Kalosyni Thanks for that considered response.

    I don’t fear death – or gods. Epicurean philosophy certainly has been a support for that. But I don’t believe in gods (supernatural or natural) – so, for me, whatever “godlike” might mean is a…

  • Matteng July 10, 2026 at 12:02 PM

    Thread
    Hi together,

    in a substack article Donald Robertson argues for the Stoic views of Emotion.

    Thereby there are some attacks and I think strawmens from Seneca about Epicurus view.

    What do you think ? There is the teaching against the Fear of Pain, and to…

  • Cassius July 10, 2026 at 11:54 AM

    Replied to the thread Welcome Max Duboff.
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    This has been a very long thread but I think we got to this point without including the argument that meets Max's concern about why Epicurus was concerned about "perfect" or the limit of pleasure: He needed a response to the argument that Plato had made…

  • Kalosyni July 10, 2026 at 11:46 AM

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    Pacatus

    Here is why I think is important to contemplate a difference between "well-being" (of living a life well) and "blessedness" (of the gods) -- as according to the Letter to Menoeceus and Epicurean philosophy. And also when doing so, it is…

  • Cassius July 10, 2026 at 9:33 AM

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    Episode 341 of the Lucretius Today Podcast is now available. This week our episode is entitled: "Is It True That No One Dies For A Lie?

    [media]https://www.spreaker.com/episode/72914175/media

  • Cassius July 10, 2026 at 4:04 AM

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    I agree that this is an important consideration. It would have been obvious to Plutarch and Epicurus that the law sometimes forbids in ways that are unjust, and Epicurus' views of justice clearly show that circumstances can change and agreements can…

  • Don July 9, 2026 at 10:08 PM

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    See also

    [ U340 ]

    Hippolytus, "Philosophical Questions," (Refutation of all Heresies, I) 22.5 [p. 572.14 Diels.]: He {Epicurus} concluded that the souls of men are dissolved along with their bodies, just as also they were produced along with them; these,…

  • wbernys July 9, 2026 at 9:24 PM

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    Wanted to establish this thread for more detailed discussion of this fragment.

    […]

    First of all, it is likely Plutarch is being typically unfair here, as i imagine right after this Epicurus may have mentioned examples like helping a friend, or acquiring…

  • Cassius July 9, 2026 at 5:13 PM

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    I've sent an email to Christos but it's late in Greece so I presume it will be some time before i hear a response.

  • Cassius July 9, 2026 at 4:42 PM

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    […]

    Sure let me see what I can do.....

  • Patrikios July 9, 2026 at 4:41 PM

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    […]

    Thanks, Cassius for alerting us. I’ve registered for the July 25th session.

    Would you feel comfortable reaching out to either of the speakers to get a copy/url for the video of their June 27 session?

    […]

  • Cassius July 9, 2026 at 3:20 PM

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    […]

    And that's why I see this as relevant to the other thread on how widespread literacy was in the ancient world, and why it grew so well in the Roman world in particular. When you are practical-minded and have limited time to pore over abstract texts,…

  • Pacatus July 9, 2026 at 2:49 PM

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    I have become more and more a “one day at a time” kind of guy. And although I might draw from other sources where it seems helpful, it is mostly Epicurean philosophy that helps me with that. I think of myself as “mostly Epicurean” – it’s…

  • Cassius July 9, 2026 at 2:25 PM

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    […]

    I 100% agree Pacatus, and while also not denigrating any sincere Epicurean's argument about this, I think it's very very dangerous to look at it that way. Human life can and should target conceptual ideals as a way to visualize the best life, as a way…

  • Pacatus July 9, 2026 at 2:10 PM

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    […]

    This is exactly the kind of ideal (in the sense of ultimate goal or telos) I no longer entertain, let alone strive for – like Nirvana or Bodhi or “big Satori.” I just let that kind of thing go – relaxing from it, as it were.

    Note: Speaking only for…

  • Kalosyni July 9, 2026 at 2:01 PM

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    Further thoughts:

    We might wonder how the writings of one of the most influential philosophers in ancient Greece almost completely disappear? Epicurus wrote hundreds of books and letters that were once widely read throughout Greece and Rome. Yet today,…

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