Best 161 quotes of Epicurus on MyQuotes

A beneficent person is like a fountain watering the earth, and spreading fertility; it is, therefore, more delightful to give than to receive.

A blessed and indestructible being has no trouble himself and brings no trouble upon any other being; so he is free from anger and partiality, for all such things imply weakness.

Accustom yourself to believe that death is nothing to us, for good and evil imply awareness, and death is the privation of all awareness; therefore a right understanding that death is nothing to us makes the mortality of life enjoyable, not by adding to life an unlimited time, but by taking away the yearning after immortality. For life has no terror; for those who thoroughly apprehend that there are no terrors for them in ceasing to live.

A free life cannot acquire many possessions, because this is not easy to do without servility to mobs or monarchs.

All friendship is desirable in itself, though it starts from the need of help

All other love is extinguished by self-love; beneficence, humanity, justice, philosophy, sink under it.

All sensations are true; pleasure is our natural goal.

An irreligious man is not one who denies the gods of the majority, but one who applies to the gods the opinions of the majority. For what most men say about the gods are not ideas derived from sensation, but false opinions, according to which the greatest evils come to the wicked, and the greatest blessings come to the good from the gods.

Any device whatever by which one frees himself from the fear of others is a natural good.

Any man who does not think that what he has is more than ample, is an unhappy man, even if he is the master of the whole world.

As if they were our own handiwork we place a high value on our characters.

A strict belief in fate is the worst of slavery, imposing upon our necks an everlasting lord and tyrant, whom we are to stand in awe of night and day.

A strong belief in fate is the worst kind of slavery; on the other hand, there is a comfort in the thought that God will be moved by our prayers.

A world is a circumscribed portion of sky... it is a piece cut off from the infinite.

Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in abundance.

But the universe is infinite.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not.

Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.

Death is nothing to us: for after our bodies have been dissolved by death they are without sensation, and that which lacks sensation is nothing to us. And therefore a right understanding of death makes mortality enjoyable, not because it adds to an infinite span of time, but because it takes away the craving for immortality.

Death is nothing to us: for that which is dissolved is without sensation; and that which lacks sensation is nothing to us.

Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.

Death, the most dreaded of evils, is therefore of no concern to us; for while we exist death is not present, and when death is present we no longer exist.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

Don't fear god, Don't worry about death; What is good is easy to get, and What is terrible is easy to endure

Earthquakes may be brought about because wind is caught up in the earth, so the earth is dislocated in small masses and is continually shaken, and that causes it to sway.

Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can and does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, but does not want to, he is wicked. If, as they say, God can abolish evil, and God really wants to do it, why is there evil in the world?

Empty is the argument of the philosopher which does not relieve any human suffering.

Fortune seldom troubles the wise man. Reason has controlled his greatest and most important affairs, controls them throughout his life, and will continue to control them.

Freedom is the greatest fruit of self sufficiency.

Gratitude is a virtue that has commonly profit annexed to it.

Haec ego non multis (scribo), sed tibi: satis enim magnum alter alteri theatrum sumus. I am writing this not to many, but to you: certainly we are a great enough audience for each other.

Happiness is man's greatest aim in life. Tranquility and rationality are the cornerstones of happiness.

He who needs riches least, enjoys riches most.

He who has peace of mind disturbs neither himself nor another.

He who understands the limits of life knows that it is easy to obtain that which removes the pain of want and makes the whole of life complete and perfect. Thus he has no longer any need of things which involve struggle.

If death causes you no pain when you're dead, it is foolish to allow the fear of it to cause you pain now.

If God listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one another.

If the gods have the will to remove evil and cannot, then they are not all-powerful. If they are neither able nor willing, they are neither all-powerful or benevolent. If they are both able and willing to annihilate evil, why does it exist?

If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.

If you wish to make Pythocles rich, do not add to his store of money, but subtract from his desires.

If you would enjoy real freedom, you must be the slave of Philosophy.

I have never wished to cater to the crowd; for what I know they do not approve, and what they approve I do not know.

In a philosophical dispute, he gains most who is defeated, since he learns most.

I never desired to please the rabble. What pleased them, I did not learn; and what I knew was far removed from their understanding.

Injustice is not evil in itself, but only in the fear and apprehension that one will not escape those who have been set up to punish the offense.

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

I spit upon luxurious pleasures, not for their own sake, but because of the inconveniences that follow them.

It is better for you to be free of fear lying upon a pallet, than to have a golden couch and a rich table and be full of trouble.