Epicureanism. The Eleatic school gave birth to the Epicurean school. No philosophy has ever been less understood and more slandered than that of Epicurus. People accused this philosopher of atheism although he admitted the existence of the gods, frequented the temples, and was not reluctant to bow down at the foot of an altar. They considered him the apologist of debauchery, he whose life was a continual practice of all the virtues, especially of temperance. This prejudice was so current that we must admit, to the shame of the Stoics who used every possible means to spread it, that the Epicureans were exceptionally honorable people who had the worst kind of reputation. But in order for the reader to have an enlightened judgment of the doctrines of Epicurus, we shall introduce this philosopher himself, surrounded by his disciples, dictating his lessons to them in the shade of some trees that he had planted. It is therefore he who is going to speak in the rest of our article, and we hope that the reader will be fair enough to keep this point in mind. The only thing we shall allow ourselves is to cast between his principles some of the most direct consequences that can be deduced from them.

About philosophy in general. Man is born to think and to act, and the purpose of philosophy is to direct the understanding and to regulate the conduct of man; anything that deviates from this aim is frivolous. Happiness can be acquired by the exercise of reason, the practice of virtue, and the moderate use of pleasure; which presupposes the health of body and soul. If the most important piece of knowledge is what we must avoid and do, then a young man cannot devote himself too early to the study of philosophy, and an old man cannot abandon it too late. I distinguish three character types among my disciples: some men like myself are not disheartened by obstacles and move forward alone toward truth, virtue, and felicity with a motion that is appropriate for them; other men, like Metrodorus, need an example to encourage them; and others, like Hermachus, to whom a certain kind of violence must be done. I love and esteem all of them. Oh my friends! Is there anything more ancient than truth? Did not truth exist before all the philosophers? The lospher will therefore scorn all authorities and will proceed straight to the truth, brushing aside all the vain phantoms which appear on his way: the irony of and the sensual pleasures of Epicurus. Why do people remain immersed in error? Because they take the terms of a statement for its proof. Create for yourself a set of principles, small in number, but rich in consequences. Do not neglect the study of nature, but apply yourself particularly to the science of morals. What would be the use of a profound knowledge of beings external to us, if we could, without this knowledge, dispel fear, prevent suffering, and satisfy our needs? The use of the dialectic pushed to excess degenerates into the art of sowing thorns in all the sciences: I detest this art. True logic can be reduced to a few rules. In nature there are only things and ideas; and consequently, there are only two kinds of truths: some of existence, others of induction. The truths of existence belong to the senses; those of induction, to reason. Precipitance is the principal source of our errors. I shall therefore not tire of saying to you: wait . Without the appropriate use of the senses, there would not be any ideas or any preconceptions, that is, the anticipation of knowledge; and without preconceptions, neither opinion nor doubt would exist. Far from being able to search for truth, we could not even create signs or symbols. Therefore multiply preconceptions by the diligent use of your senses; study the precise value of the signs that others have introduced, and carefully determine the value of those which you introduce. If you make up your mind to speak, choose the most simple and ordinary expressions or live with the fear that you will not be understood and have to lose time interpreting yourself. When you listen to someone, try to be conscious of all the meanings conveyed by words. By the habitual use of these principles you will succeed in distinguishing that which is true, false, obscure, and ambiguous. But it is not enough that you know how to put some truth into your arguments, for you must still know how to put some wisdom into your actions. In general when sensual pleasure does not entail any pain as a consequence, then do not hesitate to embrace it; if the pain is less than the pleasure, then you should still embrace it; embrace even the pain which promises a great pleasure. You will only calculate badly when you surrender yourself to a sensual pleasure that will cause you too much pain or will deprive you of greater pleasure.

About physiology in general. What goal shall we propose for ourselves in the study of physiology if not that of knowing the general causes of phenomena, so that after we are rid of all vain terrors, we might surrender ourselves without remorse to our reasonable desires; and after having enjoyed life, we might leave it without any regrets? Nothing is created out of nothing. The universe has always been and will always be. Only matter and the void exist. . . . [There is a full exposition here of Epicurus' atomic theory regarding the physical nature of the universe and of man.]

About theology. After having established the principle that there is nothing in nature but matter and the void, what shall we think of the gods? Shall we abandon our philosophy and submit to popular opinions, or shall we say that the gods are corporeal beings? Since they are gods, they are happy; they enjoy themselves in a peaceful manner; nothing that happens on earth affects or troubles them; and it is sufficiently demonstrated by the phenomena of the physical and the moral world that they have had no part in the production of beings and that they do not take any in their conservation. It is nature itself that has placed the notion of their existence in our souls. What people are so barbaric that they do not have some kind of advance notion of the gods? Shall we be opposed to the general consent of mankind? Shall we raise our voices against the voice of nature? Nature does not lie; the existence of the gods would be proven even by our prejudices. So many phenomena have been attributed to them only because the nature of these beings and the causes of phenomena were unknown; are not so many other errors an indication of the reliability of popular belief? If a man has been struck in his sleep by some sort of large simulacrum, and he were to retain the memory of it on waking, he might conclude that this image necessarily had its model wandering about nature; the voices that he could have heard did not permit him to doubt that this model had an intelligent nature; and the persistence of the apparition at different times and under the same form was conclusive evidence that it was immortal. But the being that is immortal is unalterable, and the being that is unalterable is perfectly happy, since it has no effect on anything and nothing affects it. The existence of the gods has therefore been and will therefore always be a sterile existence, and for the very reason that it cannot be altered; because it is necessary that the principle of activity, which is the source of all destruction and all reproduction, be eliminated in these beings. We have therefore nothing to hope nor to fear from them. Therefore what are prophecies? What are miracles? What are religions? If we owe some kind of worship to the gods, it would resemble the admiration that we naturally give to everything that presents an alluring image of perfection and happiness. We are inclined to believe that the gods have human shapes; this is what all peoples have assumed; and the human shape is the only one in which reason is used and virtue practiced. If the gods were incorporeal beings, they would not have any senses, perceptions, pleasures, or pains. Their bodies in any case are not like ours; for they are composed of a similar but superior combination of atoms; the same organization, but the organs are infinitely more perfect; a special nature that is so fine and rare that nothing can affect, alter, augment, or diminish it, and action is not one of its attributes. We do not know the places where the gods frequent: this world is without doubt not worthy of them: they might well have taken refuge in the empty spaces between adjoining worlds.

About morality. Happiness is the goal of life: it is the secret confession of the human heart and the clear purpose of actions, even those that seem to contradict it. The person who kills himself considers death a blessing. We cannot reform nature but we can guide its general tendencies. A man can miscalculate and cause himself harm either by seeing happiness where it is not or by seeing happiness where it is but mistaking the means of obtaining it. What will be, therefore, the first step of our moral philosophy, if it is not an inquiry into what constitutes true happiness? Let this important subject be our present concern. Since we want to be happy from now on, let us not put off till tomorrow the study of what is happiness. The madman always intends to live well but never does so. To be supremely happy is only granted to immortal beings. A piece of folly that we must first of all not commit is to forget that we are only men. Since we despair of never being as perfect as the gods whom we had proposed for models, let us be resolved not to be as happy. Since my eyes do not pierce through the immensity of space, shall I be disdainful about opening them to the objects that surround me? These objects will become an inexhaustible source of pleasure if I know how to enjoy or disregard them. Pain is always evil, pleasure always good; but there is no such things as pure pleasure. Flowers grow at our feet and we must at least bend over to pick them. Nevertheless, O pleasure! it is for you alone that we do everything that we do; it is not you whom we avoid, but the pain that accompanies you only too often. You warm our cold reason; it is with your energy that strength of mind and will power are born; it is you who move and transport us when we make a bed of roses for the young beauty who has charmed us and when defying the fury of tyrants we charge blindly and headlong into the fiery bulls that have been prepared for us. Pleasure takes all sorts of forms. It is therefore important to know the full price of all things presented to us by pleasure, so that we shall not be uncertain when the time is suitable for us to welcome or to reject them, to live or to die. After the health of the soul, there is nothing more precious than the health of the body. If the health of the body is particularly manifest in several limbs or organs, it is not general. If the soul is carried to excess in the practice of virtue, it is not entirely virtuous. The musician is not satisfied with tuning a few strings of his lyre; it would be desirable for the harmony of society to imitate him, and not allow our virtues and our passions to be either too slack or too strained and to make sounds that are either too flat or too sharp. If we have a good opinion of our fellow men, we shall take pleasure in performing our duties, because this is a sure method of being appreciated for our own work. We shall not scorn sensual pleasures, but we shall not deceive ourselves by comparing what is honorable with what is sensual. How can a person be happy if he has made a mistake in the choice of his career? How can one choose a career without knowing oneself? And how can people be content with their careers if the requirements of nature, the lusts of passion and the flights of fancy are confused? We must keep a goal in mind if we do not want to leave everything to chance. It is not always impossible to take hold of the future. Everything must lead to the practice of virtue, the preservation of liberty and life, and the scorn of death. As long as we exist, death is nothing and it is still nothing when we exist no more. We only fear the gods because we make them similar to men. Is not the impious individual the one who worships the gods of the common people? If true piety consists in bowing down before any piece of carved stone, then there would be nothing more widespread. But as it consists in judging soundly the nature of the gods, it is a rare virtue. What people call natural law is only the symbol of public usefulness. Public usefulness and common consent must be the two great rules for our actions. There is never any certainty that a crime will remain unknown: the one who commits it is therefore a madman who plays a game in which there is more to lose than to gain. Friendship is one of the greatest assets of life, and decency is one of the greatest social virtues, Be decent because you are not animals, and because you live in cities and not in the depths of the forest, etc.

These are the fundamental points of Epicurus' doctrines, the only one of all the ancient philosophers who knew how to reconcile his moral code with what he understood to be man's true happiness and his precepts with the appetites and requirements or nature. He therefore had and will have at all ties a great number of disciples. One can become a stoic, but one is born an epicurean ...