Editing Epicurus (section)

===Middle Ages===
By the early fifth century AD, Epicureanism was virtually extinct.{{sfn|Jones|2010|page=321}} The Christian [[Church Fathers|Church Father]] [[Augustine of Hippo]] (354–430 AD) declared, "its ashes are so cold that not a single spark can be struck from them."{{sfn|Jones|2010|page=321}} While the ideas of Plato and Aristotle could easily be adapted to suit a Christian worldview, the ideas of Epicurus were not nearly as easily amenable.{{sfn|Jones|2010|page=321}} As such, while Plato and Aristotle enjoyed a privileged place in Christian philosophy throughout the [[Middle Ages]], Epicurus was not held in such esteem.{{sfn|Jones|2010|page=321}} Information about Epicurus's teachings was available, through Lucretius's ''On the Nature of Things'', quotations of it found in medieval Latin grammars and ''[[florilegium|florilegia]]'' and encyclopedias, such as [[Isidore of Seville]]'s ''[[Etymologiae]]'' (seventh century) and [[Hrabanus Maurus]]'s ''De universo'' (ninth century),{{sfn|Jones|2010|page=321}} but there is little evidence that these teachings were systematically studied or comprehended.{{sfn|Jones|2010|page=321}}

During the Middle Ages, Epicurus was remembered by the educated as a philosopher,{{sfn|Jones|2010|page=321}} but he frequently appeared in popular culture as a gatekeeper to the Garden of Delights, the "proprietor of the kitchen, the tavern, and the brothel."{{sfn|Jones|2010|page=321}} He appears in this guise in [[Martianus Capella]]'s ''Marriage of Mercury and Philology'' (fifth century), [[John of Salisbury]]'s ''[[Policraticus]]'' (1159), [[John Gower]]'s ''[[Mirour de l'Omme]]'', and [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[The Canterbury Tales|Canterbury Tales]]''.{{sfn|Jones|2010|page=321}} Epicurus and his followers appear in [[Dante Alighieri]]'s ''[[Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]]'' in the Sixth Circle of Hell, where they are imprisoned in flaming coffins for having believed that the soul dies with the body.{{sfn|Jones|2010|page=321}}