A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

.EPlCURUS. EPICYDES. St
disappeared, and philosophers endea'voured to estab- labbrious business of creating the world; ad as
lish an internal freedom based upon ethical princi- the government of the world would interfere with
ples, and to maintain it in spite of outward oppres- their happiness, he conceived the gods as exercising
sion, no less than to secure it against man's own no influence whatever upon the world or man.
passions and evil propensities. Perfect independ- The number of pupils of Epicurus who propaence, self* reliance, and contentment, therefore, gated his doctrines, was extremely great; but his
were regarded as the highest good and as the philosophy received no further development at
qualities which alone could make men happy, and their~ hands, except perhaps that in subsequent
as human happiness was with Epicurus the ultimate times his lofty notion of pleasure and happiness
end of all philosophy, it was necessary for him to was reduced to that of material and sensual pleamake ethics the most essential part, and as it were sure. His immediate disciples adopted and followed
the centre of his whole philosophy. He had little his doctrines with.the most scrupulous conscienesteemfor logic and dialectics, but as he could not tiousness: they were attached and devoted to their
altogether do without them, he prefixed to his master in a manner which has rarely been equalled
ethics a canon, or an introduction to ascertain the either in ancient or modern times: their esteem,
criterium which was to guide him in his search love, and veneration for him almost bordered upon
after truth and, in distinguishing good from evil. worship; they are said to have committed his
His criteria themselves were derived from sensuous works to memory; they had his portrait engraved
perception combined with thought and reflection. upon rings and drinking vessels, and celebrated
We obtain our knowledge and form our concep- his birthday every year. Athens honoured him
tions of things, according to him, through'8owAa, with bronze statues. But notwithstanding the
i. e. images of things which are reflected from them, extraordinary devotion of his pupils and friends,
and pass through our senses into our minds. Such whose number, says Diogenes, exceeded that of
a theory is destructive of all absolute truth, and a the population of whole towns, there is no philosomere momentary' impression upon our senses or pher in antiquity who has been so violently atfeelings is substituted for it. His ethical theory tacked, and whose ethical doctrines have been so
was based upbn the dogma of the Cyrenaics, that much mistaken and misunderstood, as Epicurus.
pleasure constitutes the highest happiness, and The cause of this singular phaenomenon was partly
must consequently be the end of all human exer- a superficial knowledge of his philosophy, of which
tions. Epicurus, however, developed and ennobled Cicero, for example, is guilty to a very great extent,
this theory in a manner which constitutes the and partly also the conduct of men who called
peculiarity and real merit of his philosophy, and themselves Epicureans, and, taking advantage of.which gained for him so many friends and admirers the facility with which his ethical theory was made
both in antiquity and in modern times. Pleasure the handmaid of a sensual and debauched. life, gave
with him was not a mere momentary and transitory themselves up to the enjoyment of sensual plea,
sensation, but he conceived it: as something lasting sures. At Rome, and during the time of Roman
and imperishable, consisting in pure and ~noble ascendancy in.the ancient world, the philosophy of
mental enjoyments, that is, in d&rapaia and darovla, Epicurus never took any firm root; and it is then
or the freedom from pain and from all influences and there that, owing to the paramount influence
which disturb the peace of our mind, and thereby of the Stoic philosophy, we meet with the bitour happiness, which is the result of it. The terest antagonists of Epicurus. The disputes
summumn bonum, according to him, consisted in this for and against his philosophy, however,'are not
peace of mind; and the great problem of his ethics, confined to antiquity; they were renewed at the
therefore, was to shew. how it was to be attained, time of the revival of letters, and are continued to
and ethics was not only the principal branch of the present day. The number of works that
philosophy, but philosophy itself,'and the value have been written upon Epicurus and his philosoand importance of all other kinds of knowledge phy is prodigious (Fabric. Bibl.'Graec. vol. iii.
Wvere. estimated by the proportion in which they p. 584, &c.); we pass over the many histories of
contributed towards that great object of human Greek philosophy, and mention only: the: most
life, or in which they were connected with ethics. important works of which Epicurus is the special
His peace of mind was based upon qpo''riaiSF, which subject.' Peter Gassendi,'de Vita et Moribus Epihe described as the beginning of everything good, curl conmzentarius libris' octo constans, Lugdun.
as the origin of all virtues, and which he himself 1647, and Hag. Comit. 1656, 4to.; Gassendi,
therefore occasionally treated' as the highest good Syntagnma Philosophiae Epicuri, Hag. Comit.' 1659,
itself.. 4to., London, 1668, 12mo., Amsterdam, 1684;
In the physical part of his philosophy, he fol- J. Rondel, La Vie d'Epicure, Paris, 1679, 12mo.,
lowed the atomistic doctrines of Democritus and La Haye, 1686, 12mo.; a Latin translation of this
Diagoras. His views are well known from Lucre- work appeared at Amsterdam,: 1693, 12mo.,'and:
tius's poem De Rerum Natura. It would, an English one by Digby, London, 1712, 8vo.;
however, appear that sometimes.he misunderstood Batteux, La Morale d'Epicure, Paris, 1758, 8vo.;
the views of his predecessors, and distorted them Bremer, Versuc-I einer Apoloyie des Epicur, Berlin,
by introducing things which were quite foreign to 1776, 8vo.; Warnekros, Apologie und Leben Epithem; sometimes he appears even in contradiction curs, Greifswald, 1795, 8vo.; and especially Steinwith himself. The deficiencies are most striking hart in Ersch.; Gruber, Allgemn. Encyclop. vol. xxxv.
in his views concerning the gods, which drew upon p. 459, &c.
him the charge of atheism. His gods, like every-. Diogenes Laertius (x. 26) mentions three other
thing else, consisted of atoms, and our notions of persons of the name of Epicurus,'and Menage on
them are -based upon the etGhoAa which are reflected'that passage points out three more; but all of
from them and pass into our minds. They were them are persons concerning whom nothing is
and always had been'in'the enjoyment of perfect known. [L. S.]happiness, which had not been. disturbed by the EPICY/DES ('Euric0ius). 1. A Syracusan by
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