EPICURUS - THE ANSWERS

<BODY> <CENTER><FONT SIZE=5><B><FONT SIZE=6>EPICURUS</FONT><BR> THE MASTER OF PLEASURE</B></FONT></CENTER><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>All is Revealed</B></FONT><P> <IMG ALIGN=Left SRC="0704a.jpg" WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="198" ALT="PLEASURE"> <BLOCKQUOTE>"Pleasure is our first and kindred good.<BR> It is the starting point of every choice and of every aversion."<P> (Letter to Menoeceus in Diogenes Laertius X. 129)</BLOCKQUOTE><BR clear=left><BR> <FONT SIZE=4><B>HEDONISM</B></FONT><BR> Epicurus is best known for his his doctrine of pleasure. Pleasure could be either bodily - perfect health and freedom from pain, or mental - freedom from fears and anxiety. This part of the doctrine of Epicurus is undoubtedly the most well known. It is also the most constantly misinterpreted and misconstrued as a crude <A HREF="../t03/g020.html" TARGET="_top">hedonism</A> based on sensual pleasure. But the statement can only be truly understood within the context of his broader pattern of thinking which emphasized the importance of the senses rather than the intellect in confirming truth. To see him as encouraging excess and profligacy is to do him an injustice. Yet this is how he has been represented in history.<P> When Epicurus says "our one need is untroubled existence", he is not suggesting a life of ease. Rather the opposite. The Epicurean achieved this state of tranquillity through study and an understanding of how the universe functioned. In this way, he was no longer troubled by superstition and fear of the unknown. Man was no longer at the mercy of the whim of the gods if he sees that the universe is subject to unvarying laws and patterns over which neither man nor the gods has control. <BR clear=left><BR> <HR width=100%> <A HREF="http://www.creatorix.com.au"><IMG SRC="../creatorix.gif" WIDTH="85" HEIGHT="40" BORDER="0" ALT="Creatorix" align=right></A> </BODY>