Vatican Saying 36

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Translation

Template:Vatican Saying 36

Analysis

This is a comment that Usener attributes to Hermarchus, Epicurus' successor as leader of the Garden. In any case, it is clearly written in the third person, by a worshipful student of the Sage. Much like Epicurus encouraged his students to strive to become "god-like" in attaining ataraxia, thus the author of this Saying claims that Epicurus' own life became "mythical" in his time and beyond, on account of the wonderous mildness and self-sufficiency that he exhibited.

Multiple other mentions of Epicurus having been a "friend to all men", or of the universal praise his city bestowed upon him, corroborate the high esteem in which he was held. While the suggestion that Epicurus was near-myth (or Lucretius' Messianic hyperbole that he was near-god) may strike one as exaggerated, there seems to be no doubt that Epicurus' passing through life and the world left a lasting, luminous impression on many.

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