Menoeceus 131-132

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Ὅταν 


[Therefore] whenever  

οὖν 


  

λέγωμεν 


we say  

ἡδονὴν 


[that] pleasure [is] (the)  

τέλος 


end-goal  

ὑπάρχειν, 


  

οὐ 


[we are] not [speaking]  

τὰς 


  

τῶν 


of the [pleasures]  

ἀσώτων 


of the profligate  

ἡδονὰς 


  

καὶ 


and  

τὰς 


[those that lie]  

ἐν 


in  

ἀπολαύσει 


enjoyment  

κειμένας 


  

λέγομεν, 


  

ὥς 


as  

τινες 


some  

ἀγνοοῦντες 


ignorant  

καὶ 


and  

οὐχ 


not  

ὁμολογοῦντες 


like-minded  

 


or  

κακῶς 


ill  

ἐκδεχόμενοι 


inclined (people)  

νομίζουσιν, 


believe  

ἀλλὰ 


but (by pleasure we mean)  

τὸ 


  

μήτε 


neither  

ἀλγεῖν 


to feel pain  

κατὰ 


in  

σῶμα 


(our) body  

μήτε 


nor  

ταράττεσθαι 


to be disturbed  

κατὰ 


in  

ψυχήν· 


(our) soul  

οὐ 


  

γὰρ 


Because (neither)  

πότοι 


drinking binges  

καὶ 


and  

κῶμοι 


[ongoing] feasts  

συνείροντες 


  

οὐδ’ 


nor  

ἀπολαύσεις 


enjoyments  

παίδων 


of boys  

καὶ 


and  

γυναικῶν 


women  

οὐδ’ 


nor  

ἰχθύων 


of fish  

καὶ 


and  

τῶν 


of those [other] things  

ἄλλων, 


  

ὅσα 


that  

φέρει 


  

πολυτελὴς 


(a) luxurious  

τράπεζα, 


dining table [carries]  

τὸν 


[engender] the  

ἡδὺν 


pleasurable  

γεννᾷ 


  

βίον, 


life  

ἀλλὰ 


but  

νήφων 


sober  

λογισμὸς 


reasoning  

καὶ 


  

τὰς 


  

αἰτίας 


  

ἐξερευνῶν 


that explores [the causes]  

πάσης 


of every  

αἱρέσεως 


choice  

καὶ 


and  

φυγῆς 


avoidance  

καὶ 


and  

τὰς 


  

δόξας 


  

ἐξελαύνων, 


drives out (false) [beliefs]  

ἐξ 


because of  

ὧν 


which  

πλεῖστος 


(the) greatest [disturbance seizes]  

τὰς 


the  

ψυχὰς 


souls  

καταλαμβάνει 


  

θόρυβος. 


  

Translation

Thus when we say that pleasure is the goal, we do not mean the pleasure of debauchery or sensuality, despite whatever the ignorant, disagreeable, or malignant people believe. By pleasure, we mean this: freedom from pain in the body and freedom from turmoil in the soul. For it is not continuous drinking and revelry, the sexual enjoyment of women and boys, or feasting upon fish and fancy cuisine which result in a happy life. Sober reasoning is what is needed, which decides every choice and avoidance and liberates us from the false beliefs which are the greatest source of anxiety.

Analysis

Epicurus was always careful to distinguish his position on pleasure from that of the Cyrenaics, and to defend himself and his teaching from the frequent misunderstandings and accusations by competing philosophical schools, or simply the unenlightened hoi polloi. The Epicurean pleasure is decidedly not like the various and sundry pleasures of the profligate.

Pleasure (always in the singular, summary, all-encompassing) should not be confused with what the many consider as pleasures, i.e. the many, various, sensual delights. Epicurus also voices some suspicion by leaving the possibility open: some may misunderstand him due to their own intellectual limitations; others, maliciously, do understand what he meant, yet deliberately distort it, in order to assault it on grounds of immorality. (It was not uncommon, then as now, for competing schools of thought to set up each other's views as strawmen, then burn them down with logical and immediately palatable argumentation.)

True pleasure, argues Epicurus, is not made up of the sensuous delights of sex, or delicious foods, part and parcel of a lavish lifestyle; it is made up of rather more humble material gratification, by which the basic needs of the body are comfortably satisfied, plus crucially important peace of mind. The later stems from a sober reasoning regarding choices and avoidances, as discussed previously in Menoeceus 128-130. If that clear-minded reasoning is absent, all sorts of disturbance and anxiety ensue due to false beliefs.

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