Quotes from Epicurus

There is nothing dreadful in life for the man who has truly comprehended that there is nothing terrible in not living.

the universe as a whole is eternal, although individual worlds within the system are born and die; and if the universe is eternal it must be self-sustaining and require no divine assistance for its maintenance.

Si quieres ser feliz, vive oculto

Epicureanism was devised specifically as a "salvation" philosophy, a positive way of escape from a most unpleasant social and political environment. So it became imperative, in a positive sense, for the Epicureans to imitate the perfect serenity and self-sufficiency of their own idealized gods, who were actually a psychological projection of the kind of beings they themselves wanted to be.

sense data are what they are, and they are infallible, being mechanically transmitted to us by atomic images from the outer world. They may be overlaid with misleading interpretations and lead to "false opinions," 39 but they are true if confirmed by close inspection or if they are not contradicted.

If man is nothing but a material mechanism and part of the world mechanism, then his choices of good and evil are mechanically determined, and he cannot be said to be an autonomous and responsible ethical being. Thus if materialism is to save moral responsibility and at the same time save determinism, it must represent man as partially determined (in his organic functions) and partially free (in his ethical capacity).

N.F.F.N.S.N.C. Non Fui; Fui; Non Sum; Non Curo. "I was not, I was, I am not, I care not." It's a Latin saying found on Roman grave markers. It means I wasn't bothered about not existing before I existed and I'm not bothered about not existing now that I don't exist.

Against other things it is possible to obtain security, but when it comes to death, we human beings all live in an unwalled city.

Don't ruin the things you have by wanting what you don't have, but realize that they too are things you once did wish for.

Nature's wealth is limited and easy to acquire; but the wealth of vain fancies recedes to an infinite distance.

O homem justo é o mais livre da angústia; o injusto o mais cheio de angústia.

A Fortuna, porém, raramente interfere com o sábio; seus maiores e mais elevados interesses têm sido, são e serão dirigidos pela razão ao longo de sua vida.

a mente, apreendendo em pensamento qual é o fim e o limite do corpo, e banindo os terrores do futuro, proporciona uma vida completa e perfeita, e já não tem necessidade de tempo ilimitado.

Non fui, fui, non sum, non curo

Per noi è molto importante la capacità di dire no ai desideri, non perché dobbiamo sempre accontentarci di poco, ma perché quando non abbiamo molto possiamo comunque apprezzare il poco che abbiamo.

Meglio essere saggi e sfortunati che sciocchi e molto fortunati. È preferibile che un'azione pianificata con giudizio fallisca piuttosto che qualcosa preparato senza ragionarci su venga premiato dalla sorte.

Natural justice is a covenant for mutual benefit, to not harm one another or be harmed.

Nessuno è mai troppo giovane o troppo vecchio per la salute dell'anima.

La morte, il più terribile dei mali, non è niente. Quando ci siamo noi la morte non c'è, e quando c'è lei noi non siamo più.

It's a great thing learning how to die.

Practice these and the related percepts day and night and you will live as a god among men.

Most beautiful is the sight of those near and dear to us when our original kinship makes us of one mind.

Both old and young alike ought to seek wisdom: the former in order that, as age comes over him, he may be young in good things because of the grace of what has been, and the latter in order that, while he is young, he may at the same time be old, because he has no fear of the things which are to come.

Justice... is a kind of compact not to harm or be harmed.