Last Updated: 2020-03-25
The testimonia are Greek paraphrases or Latin translations of the thoughts of Epicurus as found in ancient authors. The numbering follows that of Hermann Usener in his 1887 volume Epicurea.
| English Translation | Greek or Latin Original [note] | |
|---|---|---|
| 4. | For Epicurus, also Metrodorus, Polyenus, and Aristobulus were sources of encouragement and joy; and indeed he mostly cured them when they were sick and lamented when they died. | τῷ μέν Ἐπικούρῳ καὶ Μῃτρόδωρος καὶ Πολύαινος καὶ Ἀριστόβουλος ἐκθάρσημα καὶ γῆθος ῆσαν, ῶν τούς πλείστους θεραπεύων νοσοῦντας ἣ καταθρηνὤν ἀποθνῄσκοντας διετέλεσε. |
| 9. | The wise man will not enter into public affairs, unless they interfere with him. | Non accedet ad rem publicam sapiens, nisi si quid intervenerit. |
| 132. | [It is your own studies that will make you shine and will render you eminent. Allow me to mention the case of Epicurus. He was writing to Idomeneus and trying to recall him from a showy existence to sure and steadfast renown. Idomeneus was at that time a minister of state who exercised a rigorous authority and had important affairs in hand. "If," said Epicurus, "you are attracted by fame, my letters will make you more renowned than all the things which you cherish and which make you cherished." Did Epicurus speak falsely? Who would have known of Idomeneus, had not the philosopher thus engraved his name in those letters of his?] | Studia te tua clarum et nobilem efficient. Exemplum Epicuri referam. Cum Idomeneo scriberet et illum a vita speciosa ad fidelem stabilemque gloriam revocaret, regiae tunc potentiae ministrum et magna tractantem: "Si gloria," inquit, "tangeris, notiorem te epistulae meae facient quam omnia ista, quae colis et propter quae coleris." Numquid ergo mentitus est? Quis Idomenea nosset, nisi Epicurus illum litteris suis incidisset? |
| 133. | [But no one is compelled to pursue prosperity at top speed; it means something to call a halt — even if one does not offer resistance — instead of pressing eagerly after favouring fortune. Shall you then be put out with me, if I not only come to advise you, but also call in others to advise you — wiser heads than my own, men before whom I am wont to lay any problem upon which l am pondering? Read the letter of Epicurus which appears on this matter; it is addressed to Idomeneus. The writer asks him to hasten as fast as he can, and beat a retreat before some stronger influence comes between and takes from him the liberty to withdraw. But he also adds that one should attempt nothing except at the time when it can be attempted suitably and seasonably. Then, when the long-sought occasion comes, let him be up and doing. Epicurus forbids us to doze when we are meditating escape; he bids us hope for a safe release from even the hardest trials, provided that we are not in too great a hurry before the time, nor too dilatory when the time arrives.] | Nulli necesse est felicitatem cursu sequi; est aliquid, etiam si non repugnare, subsistere nec instare fortunae ferenti. Numquid offenderis, si in consilium non venio tantum, sed advoco, et quidem prudentiores quam ipse sum, ad quos soleo deferre, si quid delibero? Epicuri epistulam ad hanc rem pertinentem lege, Idomeneo quae inscribitur, quem rogat, ut quantum potest fugiat et properet, antequam aliqua vis maior interveniat et auferat libertatem recedendi. Idem tamen subicit nihil esse temptandum, nisi cum apte poterit tempestiveque temptari. Sed cum illud tempus captatum diu venerit, exiliendum ait. Dormitare de fuga cogitantem vetat et sperat salutarem etiam ex difficillimis exitum, si nec properemus ante tempus nec cessemus in tempore. |
| 158. | [Even Epicurus, the teacher of pleasure, used to observe stated intervals, during which he satisfied his hunger in niggardly fashion; he wished to see whether he thereby fell short of full and complete happiness, and, if so, by what amount he fell short, and whether this amount was worth purchasing at the price of great effort. At any rate, he makes such a statement in the well known letter written to Polyaenus in the archonship of Charinus. Indeed, he boasts that he himself lived on less than a penny, but that Metrodorus, whose progress was not yet so great, needed a whole penny.] | Certos habebat dies ille magister voluptatis Epicurus, quibus maligne famem extingueret, visurus, an aliquid deesset ex plena et consummata voluptate, vel quantum deesset et an dignum quod quis magno labore pensaret. Hoc certe in his epistulis ait, quas scripsit Charino magistratu ad Polyaenum. Et quidem gloriatur non toto asse se pasci, Metrodorum, qui nondum tantum profecerit, toto. |
| 174. | [You desire to know whether Epicurus is right when, in one of his letters, he rebukes those who hold that the wise man is self-sufficient and for that reason does not stand in need of friendships. This is the objection raised by Epicurus against Stilpo and those who believe that the Supreme Good is a soul which is insensible to feeling.] | An merito reprehendat in quadam epistula Epicurus eos, qui dicunt sapientem se ipso esse contentum et propter hoc amico non indigere, desideras scire. Hoc obicitur Stilboni ab Epicuro et iis quibus summum bonum visum est animus inpatiens. |
| 175. | [The wise man, I say, self-sufficient though he be, nevertheless desires friends if only for the purpose of practising friendship, in order that his noble qualities may not lie dormant. Not, however, for the purpose mentioned by Epicurus in the letter quoted above: "That there may be someone to sit by him when he is ill, to help him when he is in prison or in want;" but that he may have someone by whose sick-bed he himself may sit, someone a prisoner in hostile hands whom he himself may set free.] | Sapiens, etiam si contentus est se, tamen habere amicum vult, si nihil aliud, ut exerceat amicitiam, ne tam magna virtus iaceat, non ad hoc, quod dicebat Epicurus in hac ipsa epistula, " ut habeat, qui sibi aegro adsideat, succurrat in vincula coniecto vel inopi," sed ut habeat aliquem, cui ipse aegro adsideat, quem ipse circumventum hostili custodia liberet. |
| 188. | [I have mentioned thus far those to whom Fortune has brought renown at the very moment of persecution; but how many there are whose progress toward virtue has come to light only after their death! And how many have been ruined, not rescued, by their reputation? There is Epicurus, for example; mark how greatly he is admired, not only by the more cultured, but also by this ignorant rabble. This man, however, was unknown to Athens itself, near which he had hidden himself away. And so, when he had already survived by many years his friend Metrodorus, he added in a letter these last words, proclaiming with thankful appreciation the friendship that had existed between them: "So greatly blest were Metrodorus and I that it has been no harm to us to be unknown, and almost unheard of, in this well-known land of Greece." Is it not true, therefore, that men did not discover him until after he had ceased to be? Has not his renown shone forth, for all that? Metrodorus also admits this fact in one of his letters: that Epicurus and he were not well known to the public; but he declares that after the lifetime of Epicurus and himself any man who might wish to follow in their footsteps would win great and ready-made renown.] | De his loquor, quos inlustravit fortuna, dum vexat; quam multorum profectus in notitiam evasere post ipsos! Quam multos fama non excepit, sed eruit! Vides Epicurum quantopere non tantum eruditiores, sed haec quoque imperitorum turba miretur. Hic ignotus ipsis Athenis fuit, circa quas delituerat. Multis itaque iam annis Metrodoro suo superstes in quadam epistula, cum amicitiam suam et Metrodori grata commemoratione cecinisset, hoc novissime adiecit, nihil sibi et Metrodoro inter bona tanta nocuisse, quod ipsos illa nobilis Graecia non ignotos solum habuisset, sed paene inauditos. Numquid ergo non postea quam esse desierat, inventus est? Numquid non opinio eius enituit? Hoc Metrodorus quoque in quadam epistula confitetur, se et Epicurum non satis enotuisse; sed post se et Epicurum magnum paratumque nomen habituros, qui voluissent per eadem ire vestigia. |
| 191. | [Epicurus says "In my sickness my conversation was not about my bodily sufferings, nor, did I talk on such subjects to those who visited me, but I continued to discourse on the nature of things as before, keeping to this main point, how the mind, while participating in such movements as go on in the poor flesh, shall be free from perturbations and maintain its proper good. Nor did I give the physicians an opportunity of putting on solemn looks, as if they were doing something great, but my life went on well and beautifully."] | Ὁ Ἐπίκουρος λέγει ὅτι: ῾ἐν τῇ νόσῳ οὐκ ἦσάν μοι αἱ ὁμιλίαι περὶ τῶν τοῦ σωματίου παθῶν οὐδὲ πρὸς τοὺς εἰσιόντας τοιαῦτά τινα, φησίν, ἐλάλουν, ἀλλὰ τὰ προηγούμενα φυσιολογῶν διετέλουν καὶ πρὸς αὐτῷ τούτῳ ὤν, πῶς ἡ διάνοια συμμεταλαμβάνουσα τῶν ἐν τῷ σαρκιδίῳ τοιούτων κινήσεων ἀταρακτεῖ τὸ ἴδιον ἀγαθὸν τηροῦσα. οὐδὲ τοῖς ἰατροῖς ἐμπαρεῖχον, φησί, καταφρυάττεσθαι ὥς τι ποιοῦσιν, ἀλλ̓ ὁ βίος ἤγετο εὖ καὶ καλῶς.᾿ |
| 192. | [Epicurus remarks that certain men have worked their way to the truth without any one's assistance, carving out their own passage. And he gives special praise to these, for their impulse has come from within, and they have forged to the front by themselves. Again, he says, there are others who need outside help, who will not proceed unless someone leads the way, but who will follow faithfully. Of these, he says, Metrodorus was one; this type of man is also excellent, but belongs to the second grade.] | Quosdam ait Epicurus ad veritatem sine ullius adiutorio exisse, fecisse sibi ipsos viam. Hos maxime laudat, quibus ex se impetus fuit, qui se ipsi protulerunt. Quosdam indigere ope aliena, non ituros, si nemo praecesserit, sed bene secuturos. Ex his Metrodorum ait esse; egregium hoc quoque, sed secundae sortis ingenium. |
| 199. | To achieve true freedom, you must be a slave to philosophy. | Philosophiae servias oportet, ut tibi contingat vera libertas. |
| 201. | If you live according to nature, you will never be poor; if you live according to opinion, you will never be rich. | Si ad naturam vives, numquam eris pauper; si ad opiniones, numquam eris dives. |
| 205. | Think upon death. | Meditare mortem. |
| 206. | Believe me, your words will make a greater impression if you sleep on a cot and wear worn-out clothes. For then you will not merely say them, but prove them. | Magnificentior, mihi crede, sermo tuus in grabato videbitur et in panno. Non enim dicentur tantum illa, sed probabuntur. |
| 208. | I write this not for the crowd but for you alone; each of us is a large enough audience for the other. | Haec ego non multis, sed tibi; satis enim magnum alter alteri theatrum sumus. |
| 209. | Take special care to withdraw into yourself when you are thrown into a crowd. | Tunc praecipue in te ipse secede, cum esse cogeris in turba. |
| 210. | We prize some worthy person and keep him always before our eyes, living as though he were watching us and doing everything as if he could see us. | Aliquis vir bonus nobis diligendus est ac semper ante oculos habendus, ut sic tamquam illo spectante vivamus et omnia tamquam illo vidente faciamus. |
| 211. | Do everything as if Epicurus were watching. | Sic fac omnia, tamquam spectet Epicurus. |
| 222. | ||
| 374. | ||
| 413. | ||
| 434. | [Death has no degrees of greater or less; for it has the same limit in all instances -- the finishing of life. The same thing holds true, I assure you, concerning goods; you will find one amid circumstances of pure pleasure, another amid sorrow and bitterness. The one controls the favours of fortune; the other overcomes her onslaughts. Each is equally a good, although the one travels a level and easy road, and the other a rough road. And the end of them all is the same -- they are goods, they are worthy of praise, they accompany virtue and reason. Virtue makes all the things that it acknowledges equal to one another. You need not wonder that this is one of our principles; we find mentioned in the works of Epicurus two goods, of which his Supreme Good, or blessedness, is composed, namely, a body free from pain and a soul free from disturbance. These goods, if they are complete, do not increase; for how can that which is complete increase? The body is, let us suppose, free from pain; what increase can there be to this absence of pain? The soul is composed and calm; what increase can there be to this tranquillity? Just as fair weather, purified into the purest brilliancy, does not admit of a still greater degree of clearness; so, when a man takes care of his body and of his soul, weaving the texture of his good from both, his condition is perfect, and he has found the consummation of his prayers, if there is no commotion in his soul or pain in his body. Whatever delights fall to his lot over and above these two things do not increase his Supreme Good; they merely season it, so to speak, and add spice to it. For the absolute good of man's nature is satisfied with peace in the body and peace in the soul. I can show you at this moment in the writings of Epicurus a graded list of goods just like that of our own school. For there are some things, he declares, which he prefers should fall to his lot, such as bodily rest free from all inconvenience, and relaxation of the soul as it takes delight in the contemplation of its own goods. And there are other things which, though he would prefer that they did not happen, he nevertheless praises and approves, for example, the kind of resignation, in times of ill-health and serious suffering, to which I alluded a moment ago, and which Epicurus displayed on that last and most blessed day of his life. For he tells us that he had to endure excruciating agony from a diseased bladder and from an ulcerated stomach, so acute that it permitted no increase of pain; "and yet," he says, "that day was none the less happy." And no man can spend such a day in happiness unless he possesses the Supreme Good. We therefore find mentioned, even by Epicurus, those goods which one would prefer not to experience; which, however, because circumstances have decided thus, must be welcomed and approved and placed on a level with the highest goods. We cannot say that the good which has rounded out a happy life, the good for which Epicurus rendered thanks in the last words he uttered, is not equal to the greatest.] | Mors nulla maior aut minor est; habet enim eundem in omnibus modum, finisse vitam. Idem tibi de bonis dico: hoc bonum inter meras voluptates est, hoc inter tristia et acerba. Illud fortunae indulgentiam rexit, hoc violentiam domuit. Utrumque aeque bonum est, quamvis illud plana et molli via ierit, hoc aspera. Idem finis omnium est: bona sunt, laudanda sunt, virtutem rationemque comitantur; virtus aequat inter se, quicquid agnoscit. Nec est, quare hoc inter nostra placita mireris; apud Epicurum duo bona sunt, ex quibus summum illud beatumque conponitur, ut corpus sine dolore sit, animus sine perturbatione. Haec bona non crescunt, si plena sunt. Quo enim crescet, quod plenum est? Dolore corpus caret; quid ad hanc accedere indolentiam potest? Animus constat sibi et placidus est; quid accedere ad hanc tranquillitatem potest? Quemadmodum serenitas caeli non recipit maiorem adhuc claritatem in sincerissimum nitorem repurgata, sic hominis corpus animumque curantis et bonum suum ex utroque nectentis perfectus est status et summam voti sui invenit, si nec aestus animo est nec dolor corpori. Si qua extra blandimenta contingunt, non augent summum bonum, sed ut ita dicam, condiunt et oblectant. Absolutum enim illud humanae naturae bonum corporis et animi pace contentum est. Dabo apud Epicurum tibi etiamnunc simillimam huic nostrae divisionem bonorum. Alia enim sunt apud illum, quae malit contingere sibi, ut corporis quietem ab omni incommodo liberam et animi remissionem bonorum suorum contemplatione gaudentis. Alia sunt, quae quamvis nolit accidere, nihilominus laudat et conprobat, tamquam illam, quam paulo ante dicebam, malae valetudinis et dolorum gravissimorum perpessionem, in qua Epicurus fuit illo summo ac fortunatissimo die suo. Ait enim se vesicae et exul erati ventris tormenta tolerare ulteriorem doloris accessionem non recipientia, esse nihilominus sibi illum beatum diem. Beatum autem agere, nisi qui est in summo bono, non potest. Ergo et apud Epicurum sunt haec bona, quae malles non experiri, sed quia ita res tulit, et amplexanda et laudanda et exaequanda summis sunt. Non potest dici, hoc non esse par maximis bonum, quod beatae vitae clausulam inposuit, cui Epicurus extrema voce gratias egit. |
| 447. | In the case of most pains let this remark of Epicurus assist you, that they are neither intolerable nor everlasting if you remember their limits and don't magnify them in your mind. | ἐπὶ μέντοι τῶν πλείστων πόνων καὶ τὸ τοῦ Ἐπικούρου σοι βοηθείτω, ὅτι οὔτε ἀφόρητον οὔτε αἰώνιον, ἐὰν τῶν ὅρων μνημονεύῃς καὶ μὴ προσδοξάζῃς. |
| 474. | [But you must not think that our school alone can utter noble words; Epicurus himself, the reviler of Stilbo, spoke similar language; put it down to my credit, though I have already wiped out my debt for the present day. He says: "Whoever does not regard what he has as most ample wealth, is unhappy, though he be master of the whole world." Or, if the following seems to you a more suitable phrase — for we must try to render the meaning and not the mere words: "A man may rule the world and still be unhappy, if he does not feel that he is supremely happy."] | Ne existimes nos solos generosa verba iactare; et ipse Stilbonis obiurgator Epicurus similem illi vocem emisit, quam tu boni consule, etiam si hunc diem iam expunxi. " Si cui," inquit, " sua non videntur amplissima, licet totius mundi dominus sit, tamen miser est." Vel si hoc modo tibi melius enuntiari videtur,— id enim agendum est, ut non verbis serviamus, sed sensibus,—: "Miser est, qui se non beatissimum iudicat, licet imperet mundo." |
| 475. | A joyous poverty is a noble thing. | Honesta res est laeta paupertas. |
| 477. | Poverty in accord with the law of nature is wealth. | Divitiae sunt ad legem naturae composita paupertas. |
| 484. | Uncontrolled anger begets madness. | Immodica ira gignit insaniam. |
| 487. | It is bad to live under necessity; but it is not necessary to live under necessity. | Malum est in necessitate vivere; sed in necessitate vivere necessitas nulla est. |
| 491. | A fool's life is unpleasant and confused; it is always something yet to be. | Stulta vita ingrata est et trepida; tota in futurum fertur. |
| 493. | They live poorly, who are always merely preparing to live. | Male vivunt, qui semper vivere incipiunt. |
| 494. | Among other faults he also has this folly: he is always merely preparing to live. | Inter cetera mala hoc quoque habet stultitia: semper incipit vivere. |
| 495. | Everyone goes out of life just as they came into it. | Nemo non ita exit e vita, tamquam modo intraverit. |
| 496. | It's absurd to rush toward death because of disgust with life, when it's the kind of life you lead that causes you to rush toward death. | Ridiculum est currere ad mortem taedio vitae, cum genere vitae, ut currendum ad mortem esset, effeceris. |
| 497. | Human beings are so thoughtless, nay, so mad, that some, through fear of death, force themselves to die. | Tantam hominum inprudentiam esse, immo dementiam, ut quidam timore mortis cogantur ad mortem. |
| 498. | It's absurd to seek the peace of death, when your fear of death is what makes your life bereft of peace. | Quid tam ridiculum quam adpetere mortem, cum vitam inquietam tibi feceris metu mortis? |
| 503. | [I hope, first of all, that there is no pain at the moment when a man breathes his last; but if there is, one will find an element of comfort in its very shortness. For no great pain lasts long. And at all events, a man will find relief at the very time when soul and body are being torn asunder, even though the process be accompanied by excruciating pain, in the thought that after this pain is over he can feel no more pain. I am sure, however, that an old man's soul is on his very lips, and that only a little force is necessary to disengage it from the body. A fire which has seized upon a substance that sustains it needs water to quench it, or, sometimes, the destruction of the building itself; but the fire which lacks sustaining fuel dies away of its own accord.] | Primum sperare se nullum dolorem esse in illo extremo anhelitu; si tamen esset, habere aliquantum in ipsa brevitate solacii. Nullum enim dolorem longum esse, qui magnus est. Ceterum succursurum sibi etiam in ipsa distractione animi corporisque, si cum cruciatu id fieret, post illum dolorem se dolere non posse. Non dubitare autem se, quin senilis anima in primis labris esset nec magna vi distraheretur a corpore. |
| 508. | Epicurus also decides that one who possesses virtue is happy, but that virtue of itself is not sufficient for the happy life, because the pleasure that results from virtue, and not virtue itself, makes one happy. | Epicurus quoque iudicat eum qui virtutem habeat, beatum esse, sed ipsam virtutem non satis esse ad beatam vitam, quia beatum efficiat voluptas, quae ex virtute est, non ipsa virtus. |
| 513. | The noble appears to be either nothing at all or if anything a matter of opinion. | ἀποφαίνων ἢ μηδὲν εἶναι τὸ καλὸν ἢ εἰ ἄρα τὸ ἔνδοξον |
| 522. | Knowledge of error is the beginning of health. | Initium est salutis notitia peccati. |
| 542. | Choose who you will eat and drink with before you choose what to eat and drink; for to feast without a friend is to live like a lion or a wolf. | Ante circumspiciendum est, cum quibus edas et bibas, quam quid edas et bibas. Nam sine amico visceratio leonis ac lupi vita est. |
| 602. |
[0] The English translation is provided under Creative Commons CC0 (for details, refer to the Publisher's Note). The Greek and Latin text is in the public domain. The text provided here generally follows that of Hermann Usener as published in his Epicurea (1887), with some attention paid to the texts of G. Arrighetti as published in Epicuro Opere (Torino: Giulio Einaudi Editore, 1960) and of A.A. Long and D.N. Sedley as published in Volume 2 of The Hellenistic Philosophers (Cambridge University Press, 1987).
The Greek and Latin text provided here is in the public domain.
The translator has provided the following statement regarding the copyright of his translation:
I, Peter Saint-Andre, made this translation of the ancient testimonia about Epicurus from Greek and Latin into English in the year 2018. By licensing this translation under Creative Commons CC0, I hereby release all legal and economic rights to this translation under all jurisdictions (including but not limited to the rights to copy, republish, translate, arrange, modify, and make derivative works from this translation), and I grant anyone the right to use this translation without conditions for any purpose. My intent is that this translation shall be free from all claims of copyright and therefore dedicated directly into the public domain.
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