Editing Epicureanism (section)

==Epicurean writings==
{{see also|List of English translations of De rerum natura}}

===On Nature===
On Nature ({{langx|grc|Περὶ φύσεως}}) is the name of a philosophical treatise in 37 books consisting of lectures written by Epicurus,<ref name="Long">{{Cite book | last=Long |first =A. A. | title=Hellenistic Philosophy | edition=2. | page=18 | publisher=University of California Press | year=1986}}</ref><ref name="Konstan">{{SEP|epicurus|Epicurus|David Konstans|16 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=O'Keefe| first=Tim | title=The Reductionist and Compatibilist Argument of Epicurus' ''On Nature'', Book 25 | journal=Phronesis | volume=47 | number=2 | year=2002 | pages=153–186 | doi=10.1163/15685280260028377 | jstor=4182694 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4182694}}</ref> which can be considered his main work, however, it has mostly been lost. Some excerpts have survived compiled from [[Herculaneum papyri|burnt papyri scrolls]] found in the [[Villa of the Papyri]] at [[Herculaneum]]. Most of the surviving papyri are kept in the [[Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III|National Library of Naples]]. Important parts of Book II are preserved in the [[British Museum]].<ref name="Long"/><ref name="Konstan"/>

Since most of the 37 books "On Nature" are lost,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.epicurism.info/etexts/ier.html|title = Epicurus.info : E-Texts : Introduction to the Epicurus Reader}}</ref> the Principal Doctrines and Epicurus' Letters to Herodotus, Menoeceus, and Pythocles are the most authoritative writings on Epicureanism. Similarly, Lucretius' poem ''[[De rerum natura]]'' probably follows Epicurus' work.<ref name="Konstan"/>

===Principal doctrines===
{{Main|Principal Doctrines}}
The Principal Doctrines are forty authoritative conclusions set up as official doctrines by Epicurus, [[Metrodorus of Lampsacus (the younger)|Metrodorus of Lampsacus]], [[Hermarchus]] of Mitilene and [[Polyaenus of Lampsacus]].  The Principal Doctrines exemplify the Epicurean philosophers' practice of publishing summaries and outlines of their teachings for easy memorization. However, they are so concise and short that it's difficult to understand them in depth without the context of additional commentaries and writings by ancient sources or by modern Epicurean practitioners, whenever possible. They are often cited as "PDs" in English.

Some of the Principal Doctrines are organized into groups and are meant to be studied together. The first four doctrines make up the Tetrapharmakos (Four Cures). PD's 10-13 discuss the Epicurean philosophy of science. PD's 18-21 explain the natural limits of desires and in time, and how the flesh is unable to learn these limits but the mind can. PD's 22-25 deal with the importance of the canon, or the Epicurean standard of truth. PD's 31-38 explain the Epicurean doctrines on justice based on mutual advantage and contractarianism.<ref>[http://www.johnjthrasher.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Reconciling-Justice-and-Pleasure-in-Epicurean-Contractarianism.pdf Reconciling Justice and Pleasure in Epicurean Contractarianism] johnjthrasher.com October 2012</ref> PD's 39-40 call for an intimate society of friends.

====Tetrapharmakos====
[[File:Tetrapharmakos PHerc 1005 col 5.png|thumb|Part of Herculaneum Papyrus 1005 (P.Herc.1005), col. 5. Contains Epicurean tetrapharmakos from Philodemus' Adversus Sophistas.]]
Tetrapharmakos, or "The four-part cure", is [[Philodemus of Gadara]]'s basic guideline as to how to live the happiest possible life, based on the first four of the doctrines. This poetic doctrine was handed down by an anonymous Epicurean who summed up Epicurus' philosophy on happiness in four simple lines:

{{blockquote|Don't fear god,<br />Don't worry about death;<br />What is good is easy to get, and<br />What is terrible is easy to endure.|[[Philodemus]]|[[Herculaneum]] Papyrus, 1005, 4.9–14}}

===Letters of Epicurus===
Three letters of Epicurus are preserved by Diogenes Laertius.

====Letter to Herodotus====
Epicurus' ''Letter to Herodotus'' (not the historian)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Naragon |first1=S |title=Letter to Herodotus |url=https://users.manchester.edu/Facstaff/SSNaragon/Online/texts/316/Epicurus,%20LetterHerodotus.pdf |website=manchester.edu |publisher=Manchester University, Indiana |access-date=13 June 2021}}</ref> was written as an introduction to [[Epicurean]] philosophy and method of studying nature. It included the most complete detail of the ancient conversations that led to the development of atomist theory, a doctrine of innumerable worlds, and an explanation of the phenomenon of time that posits an early form of relativism.<ref>{{citation |title=Review: The Letter to Herodotus  |author=A. A. Long |journal=[[The Classical Review]] |volume=24 |year= 1974 |pages=46–48 |doi=10.1017/S0009840X00241723 |jstor=709864 |s2cid=161797217 }}</ref> Epicurus' ''[[Letter to Herodotus]]'' appears to be a summary of ''On Nature'', books I–XIII.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sedley |first= David| contribution=Theophrastus and Epicurean Physics|editor1-last=van Ophuijsen|editor1-first=J. M.|editor2-last=van Raalte|editor2-first= Marlein | title=Theophrastus: Reappraising the sources |publisher=Transaction Publishers | year=1998 | isbn=1560003286 | page=346 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mcfVtYsaGmIC&pg=PA346 }}</ref>

====Letter to Pythocles====
Epicurus' ''Letter to Pythocles'' is the second letter preserved by [[Diogenes Laertius]] in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Yonge |first1=Charles Duke |title=Letter to Pythocles |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/57342/57342-h/57342-h.htm#Page_455 |website=Gutenberg.org |publisher=G. BELL AND SONS, LTD. |access-date=27 September 2023}}</ref> In Letter to Pythocles, Epicurus treats the things for which there is uncertainty in how they occur. His train of thought is explicated through meteorological phenomena: various weather events as well as celestial phenomena in space such as asteroids, the creation and destruction of cosmoi, and the paths of planetary bodies through space. In Epicurus' time, long before any modern technological advances such as microscopes or telescopes which allow us to establish greater knowledge of these phenomena, these were all examples of things that, as far as the limits of human knowledge extended, it was impossible to establish certainty with regards to their causes, or how they occurred. Epicurus elaborates on how one may reason regarding such things so as to come to reasonable conclusions without undue certainty, so as to maintain [[Ataraxia]].

====Letter to Menoeceus====
Epicurus' ''Letter to Menoeceus'' is a summary of his ethical teachings written in the epistolary literary style, and addressed to a student. It addresses theology, the hierarchies of desires, how to carry choices and avoidances in order to achieve net pleasure, and other aspects of [[Epicurean]] [[ethics]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-philosophy.com/epicurus-letter-menoeceus-summary|title=Epicurus: Letter to Menoeceus (Summary)|work=The-Philosophy|date=21 May 2012 |accessdate=2018-12-21}}</ref>

===Epicurea===
The Epicurea is a collection of texts, fragments, and testimonies by [[Epicurus]] that was collected by [[Hermann Usener]] in 1887. This work features a collection of writings by Epicurus that explain the values and beliefs of Ancient Epicurian philosophy.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/epicurea/63908DB47471737969F39CA156D7B9B1|doi=10.1017/CBO9780511711077 |title=Epicurea |year=2010 |editor-last1=Usener |editor-first1=Hermann |last1=Epicurus |isbn=9780511711077 }}</ref>

===Other ancient testimonies===
One of the earliest [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] writers espousing Epicureanism was [[Amafinius]], although his work has not survived. Other adherents to the teachings of Epicurus included [[Lucretius]], who wrote the poem ''De rerum natura'' about the tenets of the philosophy. The Epicurean philosopher [[Philodemus of Gadara]], until the 18th century only known as a poet of minor importance, rose to prominence as much of his work, along with other Epicurean material such as the lectures of [[Zeno of Sidon]], was discovered in the [[Villa of the Papyri]].  Another major source of information is the Roman politician and philosopher [[Cicero]], although he was highly critical, denouncing the Epicureans as unbridled [[hedonism|hedonists]], devoid of a sense of [[virtue]] and duty, and guilty of withdrawing from public life. Another ancient source is [[Diogenes of Oenoanda]], who composed a large inscription at [[Oenoanda]] in [[Lycia]].  [[Diogenes Laërtius]] reports slanderous stories, circulated by Epicurus' opponents.<ref name="Stanford" />