Cicero, in writing against Epicurus, preserves for us (1) confirmation of Epicurus' focus on pleasure as the goal, with virtue being value only as an instrument of pleasure, as the heart of his doctrine, and (2) a statement of Metrodorus emphasizing the importance of a "strong constitution of body" and a "reasonable expectation of continuing" the same. From De Officiis, Peabody translation.
Metrodorus On The Importance of A "Strong Constitution of Body"
-
-
From the same source, Cicero buries himself deeper! "I affirm that all sensual pleasure is opposed to the right!" Cicero was more of a neo-Platonist than a Stoic, but regardless of his influence this kind of quote serves as a warning against trying to pick and choose among the schools - Epicurus leads in a totally different direction than the others:
-
This reminds me of Michel Onfray's praise of ancient philosophers who rejected Stoicism because they felt that they had to be true to their bodies and wanted to philosophize with their bodies--making the body a token of one's conscience because it represents that which we know with all our being to be true.
Unread Threads
-
- Title
- Replies
- Last Reply
-
-
-
The Rhetoric of Explanation in Lucretius' De Rerum Natura 4
- Kalosyni
November 5, 2024 at 8:28 AM - General Discussion of "On The Nature of Things"
- Kalosyni
November 21, 2024 at 3:51 PM
-
- Replies
- 4
- Views
- 270
4
-
-
-
-
Evidence of Survivors of Pompeii and Herculaneum 1
- kochiekoch
November 20, 2024 at 5:05 PM - General Discussion
- kochiekoch
November 20, 2024 at 8:17 PM
-
- Replies
- 1
- Views
- 121
1
-
-
-
-
“Better to lose the money because of me than to lose me because of the money.” 3
- TauPhi
November 19, 2024 at 7:57 PM - General Discussion
- TauPhi
November 19, 2024 at 9:30 PM
-
- Replies
- 3
- Views
- 257
3
-
-
-
-
An Anti-Epicurean Article - "The Meaning of Life Is Not Happiness" (For Future Reference) 12
- Cassius
November 9, 2024 at 8:07 AM - General Discussion
- Cassius
November 19, 2024 at 12:17 PM
-
- Replies
- 12
- Views
- 909
12
-
-
-
-
Was De Rerum Natura intended as satire? A lecture by THM Gellar-Goad. 14
- Julia
October 24, 2024 at 4:03 PM - General Discussion of "On The Nature of Things"
- Julia
November 11, 2024 at 4:09 PM
-
- Replies
- 14
- Views
- 1.1k
14
-