Epicurus Quotes
Epicurus was a Greek Hellenistic philosopher who founded the school known as the Garden in Athens around 307 BC. His ethics taught that pleasure, properly understood as the absence of pain in the body and disturbance in the soul, is the highest good and the natural goal of human life. The quotes below are attributed to Epicurus, organized by topic.
Browse Epicurus by topic
Epicurus on Death
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Attributed to Epicurus:
“Death is nothing to us; for that which is dissolved is without sensation, and that which lacks sensation is nothing to us.”
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“Don't fear god , Don't worry about death ; What is good is easy to get, and What is terrible is easy to endure. (tr. D. S. Hutchinson, 1994 ) The Tetrapharmakos , or "four-part cure", a summary of the first four Principal Doctrines . Composed by an unidentified Epicurean philosopher ( Usener 1887:69 ); reported by Philodemus , P.Herc. 1005, IV.10–14.”
ἄφοβον ὁ θεός, ἀνύποπτον ὁ θάνατος, καὶ τἀγαθὸν μὲν εὔκτητον, τὸ δὲ δεινὸν εὐεκκαρτέρητον. -
“Death , therefore, the most awful of evils , is nothing to us, seeing that, when we are, death is not come, and, when death is come, we are not.”
τὸ φρικωδέστατον οὖν τῶν κακῶν ὁ θάνατος οὐθὲν πρὸς ἡμᾶς͵ ἐπειδήπερ ὅταν μὲν ἡμεῖς ὦμεν͵ ὁ θάνατος οὐ πάρεστιν͵ ὅταν δὲ ὁ θάνατος παρῇ͵ τόθ΄ ἡμεῖς οὐκ ἐσμέν.
Epicurus on Happiness
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Attributed to Epicurus:
“Of all the things which wisdom acquires to produce the blessedness of the complete life, by far the greatest is the possession of friendship.”
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“It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living pleasantly.”
Οὐκ ἔστιν ἡδέως ζῆν ἄνευ τοῦ φρονίμως καὶ καλῶς καὶ δικαίως, οὐδὲ φρονίμως καὶ καλῶς καὶ δικαίως ἄνευ τοῦ ἡδέως. ὅτῳ δὲ τοῦτο μὴ ὑπάρχει ἐξ οὗ ζῆν φρονίμως, καὶ καλῶς καὶ δικαίως ὑπάρχει, οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτον ἡδέως ζῆν. -
Attributed to Epicurus:
“Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.”
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Attributed to Epicurus:
“If you wish to make Pythocles wealthy, do not give him more money; rather, reduce his desires.”
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Attributed to Epicurus:
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things only hoped for.”
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“A happy and eternal being has no trouble himself and brings no trouble upon any other being; hence he is exempt from movements of anger and partiality, for every such movement implies weakness . (1)”
Sovereign Maxims | Variant translations: What is blessed and indestructible has no troubles itself, nor does it give trouble to anyone else, so that it is not affected by feelings of anger or gratitude. For all such thi
Epicurus on Justice
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“Natural justice is a symbol or expression of usefulness, to prevent one person from harming or being harmed by another. (31)”
Sovereign Maxims | Variant: Natural justice is a pledge of reciprocal benefit, to prevent one man from harming or being harmed by another. -
“The just man is most free from disturbance , while the unjust is full of the utmost disturbance. (17)”
Sovereign Maxims -
“Sovereign Maxims”
Variant: Natural justice is a pledge of reciprocal benefit, to prevent one man from harming or being harmed by another.
Epicurus on Knowledge
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Attributed to Epicurus:
“We must not pretend to study philosophy, but really study it; for it is not the appearance of health we need, but real health.”
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Attributed to Epicurus:
“Empty is that philosopher's argument by which no human suffering is therapeutically treated.”
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“ἄφοβον ὁ θεός, ἀνύποπτον ὁ θάνατος, καὶ τἀγαθὸν μὲν εὔκτητον, τὸ δὲ δεινὸν εὐεκκαρτέρητον.”
Don't fear god , Don't worry about death ; What is good is easy to get, and What is terrible is easy to endure. (tr. D. S. Hutchinson, 1994 ) The Tetrapharmakos , or "four-part cure", a summary of the first four Principal Doctrines . Composed by an unidentified Epicurean philosopher ( Usener 1887:69 ); reported by Philodemus , P.Herc. 1005, IV.10–14. -
“Δικαιοσύνης καρπὸς μέγιστος ἀταραξία .”
The greatest reward of righteousness is peace of mind . Attributed to Epicurus by Clement of Alexandria in Stromata -
“From the esplanade wall at Oenoanda , now in Turkey , as recorded by Diogenes of Oenoanda”
Luxurious food and drinks , in no way protect you from harm. Wealth beyond what is natural, is no more use than an overflowing container. Real value is not generated by theaters, and baths, perfumes or ointments, but by philosophy . -
“Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in the search of it when he has grown old. For no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul . And to say that the season for studying philosophy has not yet come, or that it is past and gone, is like saying that the season for happiness is not yet or that it is now no more. Therefore, both old and young alike ought to seek ”
Letter to Menoeceus" , as translated in Stoic and Epicurean (1910) by Robert Drew Hicks, p. 167 -
“τὸ φρικωδέστατον οὖν τῶν κακῶν ὁ θάνατος οὐθὲν πρὸς ἡμᾶς͵ ἐπειδήπερ ὅταν μὲν ἡμεῖς ὦμεν͵ ὁ θάνατος οὐ πάρεστιν͵ ὅταν δὲ ὁ θάνατος παρῇ͵ τόθ΄ ἡμεῖς οὐκ ἐσμέν.”
Death , therefore, the most awful of evils , is nothing to us, seeing that, when we are, death is not come, and, when death is come, we are not. | Letter to Menoeceus" , as translated in Stoic and Epicurean (1910) by Robert Drew Hicks, p. 169 -
“It is impossible for someone to dispel his fears about the most important matters if he doesn't know the nature of the universe but still gives some credence to myths . So without the study of nature there is no enjoyment of pure pleasure. (12)”
Sovereign Maxims | Variant translation: One cannot rid himself of his primal fears if he does not understand the nature of the universe, but instead suspects the truth of some mythical story. So without the study of nat
Epicurus on Life
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Attributed to Epicurus:
“Live in obscurity.”
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“Chance seldom interferes with the wise man; his greatest and highest interests have been, are, and will be, directed by reason throughout his whole life . (16).”
Sovereign Maxims -
“Of all the means which wisdom acquires to ensure happiness throughout the whole of life , by far the most important is friendship . (28)”
Sovereign Maxims -
“Justice respects man as living in society, and is the common bond without which no society can subsist.”
Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers(Half-Hours with the Freethinkers) -
“Since it is every man's interest to be happy through the whole of life, it is the wisdom of every one to employ philosophy in the search of felicity without delay; and there cannot be a greater folly, than to be always beginning to live.”
Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers(Half-Hours with the Freethinkers) -
“Gentleness, as opposed to an irascible temper, greatly contributes to the tranquility and happiness of life, by preserving the mind from perturbation, and arming it against the assaults of calumny and malice.”
Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers(Half-Hours with the Freethinkers)
Epicurus on Love
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Attributed to Epicurus:
“It is not so much our friends' help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they will help us.”
Epicurus on Mind
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“The greatest reward of righteousness is peace of mind . Attributed to Epicurus by Clement of Alexandria in Stromata”
Δικαιοσύνης καρπὸς μέγιστος ἀταραξία .
Epicurus on Nature
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“Luxurious food and drinks , in no way protect you from harm. Wealth beyond what is natural, is no more use than an overflowing container. Real value is not generated by theaters, and baths, perfumes or ointments, but by philosophy .”
From the esplanade wall at Oenoanda , now in Turkey , as recorded by Diogenes of Oenoanda -
“The wealth required by nature is limited and is easy to procure; but the wealth required by vain ideals extends to infinity . (15)”
Sovereign Maxims -
“Of our desires some are natural and necessary , others are natural but not necessary; and others are neither natural nor necessary, but are due to groundless opinion . (29)”
Sovereign Maxims -
“Sobriety, as opposed to inebriety and gluttony, is of admirable use in teaching men that nature is satisfied with a little, and enabling them to content themselves with simple and frugal fare.”
Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers(Half-Hours with the Freethinkers)
Epicurus on Politics
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“This happy state can only be obtained by a prudent care of the body, and a steady government of the mind. The diseases of the body are to be prevented by temperance, or cured by medicine, or rendered tolerable by patience.”
Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers(Half-Hours with the Freethinkers)
Epicurus on Virtue
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“Nearly allied to justice are the virtues of beneficence, compassion, gratitude, piety, and friendship.”
Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers(Half-Hours with the Freethinkers)
Things actually not said by Epicurus
A number of widely-shared lines are circulated as Epicurus but are in fact from someone else. Did Epicurus say these? No. Each entry below pairs the line with the person who actually wrote it.
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Did Epicurus say this? No.
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
This attribution occurs in chapter 13 (Ioan. Graphei, 1532, p. 494) of the Christian church father's Lactantius's De Ira Dei (c. 318): (Disputed.)