Featured Quotes
From Epicurus Wiki
Let no one hesitate to study philosophy while young, and let no one tire of it when old, for it is never too soon nor too late to devote oneself to the well-being of the soul. ~ Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus
Only those who take leisurely what the people of the world are busy about can be busy about what the people of the world take leisurely. ~ Zhang Chao
To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. ~ Bertrand Russell
Epicurus has lived in every age and is still living, unknown to those who called and call themselves Epicureans, and without reputation amongst the philosophers. Also he has forgotten his own name: it was the heaviest baggage he has ever thrown off. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
A man cannot dispel his fear about the most important matters if he does not know what is the nature of the universe but suspects the truth of some mythical story. So without the study of nature there is no enjoyment of pure pleasure. ~ Epicurus
Vain is the word of a philosopher which does not heal any suffering of humankind. For just as there is no profit in medicine if it does not expel the diseases of the body, so there is no profit in philosophy either, if it does not expel the suffering of the mind. ~ Epicurus
Just as children are afraid of the dark, their elders, as often as not, are afraid in the light of things which really there is just as little cause to fear as those with which children contrive to frighten themselves. ~ Lucretius
Natural wealth is both limited and easily obtained; but the riches demanded by vain ideals are insatiable. ~ Epicurus
Freedom is the greatest fruit of self-sufficiency ~ Epicurus
The soul experiences feelings far greater than the cause which generated them, just as a fire vast enough to burn down ports and cities is kindled by an exceedingly small spark. ~ Diogenes of Oinoanda
Fortunate is he who is happy with moderate wealth, unfortunate is he who is unhappy with great wealth. ~ Democritus
It is not the pretended but the real pursuit of philosophy that is needed; for we do not need the appearance of good health but to enjoy it in truth. ~ Epicurus
Nothing is more delightful than to possess lofty sanctuaries serene, well fortified by the teachings of the wise. ~ Lucretius
We have been born once and there can be no second birth. For all eternity we shall no longer be. But you, although you are not master of tomorrow, are postponing your happiness. We waste away our lives in delaying, and each of us dies without having enjoyed leisure. ~ Attributed to Epicurus
There are plenty of witnesses of [Epicurus'] unsurpassable kindness to everybody; both his own country which honored him with brazen statues, and his friends who are so numerous that they could not be counted in whole cities... ~ Diogenes Laertius
Continuous association with the wicked promotes a bad state of character. ~ Democritus
The just man is the freest of all men from disquietude; but the unjust man is a perpetual prey to it. ~ Epicurus
In a philosophical dispute, he who is defeated gains most, since he learns most. ~ Attributed to Epicurus
Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it. ~ Thomas Jefferson
Your anxiety is directly proportional to your forgetfulness of nature, for you bring on yourself unlimited fears and desires. ~ Attributed to Epicurus
The unwise desire a long life without delighting in a long life. ~ Democritus
The beginning and the root of all good is the pleasure of the stomach; even wisdom and culture must be referred to this. ~ Epicurus
Laws are made for the sake of the wise, not to prevent them from inflicting wrong but to secure them from suffering it. ~ Epicurus
That man is prudent who neither hopes nor fears anything from the uncertain events of the future. ~ Anatole France
We do not so much need the help of our friends as the confidence of their help in need. ~ Epicurus
It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness. ~ Thomas Jefferson
Who ever is out of patience is out of possession of their soul. ~ Francis Bacon
On Epicurus' view, tranquility is not – as some critics objected – equivalent to sleep, or fitting only for a corpse. Rather, it is the undisturbed functioning of a healthy organism. ~ David B. Suits
The clearest sign of wisdom is continued cheerfulness. ~ Montaigne
Virtue extends our days: he lives two lives who relives his past with pleasure. ~ Martial
I am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greek and Roman leave to us. ~ Thomas Jefferson
For nearly all men, the presence of our friends, if we are quite open and honest with them, is more than a means of expression; it is our chief means of learning. ~ Max Radin
The verses of sublime Lucretius are destined to perish only when a single day will consign the world to destruction. ~ Ovid
Epicurus was interested only in scientific knowledge that helps us to achieve the moral goal of tranquility of mind; it did not bother him if he could not identify the precise cause of a particular phenomenon, so long as he could show that the phenomenon was natural and not supernatural. ~ Martin Ferguson Smith
One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. ~ Dale Carnegie
We must practice what produces happiness because when we have it, we have everything, and if we lack it, we do everything necessary to regain it. ~ Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus
When confronted by evil the soul is weak, but not when faced with good; for pleasures make the soul secure but pains ruin it. ~ Epicurus
I never desired to please the rabble. What pleased them, I did not learn; and what I knew was far removed from their understanding. ~ Epicurus
It is better for you to be free of fear lying upon a bed of straw, than to have a golden couch and a lavish table and be full of trouble. ~ Epicurus
False opinions are like false money, struck first of all by guilty men and thereafter circulated by honest people who perpetuate the crime without knowing what they are doing. ~ Joseph de Maistre
Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief. ~ Cicero
Of all things which wisdom provides to make life entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship. ~ Epicurus
Love never dies of starvation, but often of indigestion. ~ Ninon de L'Enclos
Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. ~ Epicurus
There is nothing in philosophy which could not be said in everyday language. ~ Henri Bergson
I've made an odd discovery. Every time I talk to a savant I feel quite sure that happiness is no longer a possibility. Yet when I talk with my gardener, I'm convinced of the opposite. ~ Bertrand Russell
Satiety is a neighbor to continued pleasures. ~ Marcus Fabius Quintilian
Philosophy is not a theory but an activity. ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein
To know you have enough is to be rich. ~ Tao Te Ching
I have never known any distress that an hour's reading did not relieve. ~ Charles de Montesquieu
It is a vain hope to make people happy by politics. ~ Thomas Carlyle
Not being able to govern events, I govern myself ~ Michel de Montaigne
Fear of the future is worse than one's present fortune. ~ Marcus Fabius Quintilian
It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards ~ Baltasar Gracian
The wrongdoer is more unfortunate than the man wronged. ~ Democritus
What we need for our happiness is often close at hand, if we knew but how to seek for it. ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
Think it more satisfactory to live richly than die rich. ~ Sir Thomas Browne
When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that is my religion. ~ Abraham Lincoln
No pain of the body can exceed the excruciating pain of an agonized mind ~ Dale Carnegie
We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons. ~ Jim Rohn
