On the Observations of the Moral Philosophy of Epicurus

Regarding paragraph 80. He will have a care for his household affairs, but without a desire for becoming wealthy.

Section 9. Section 9. original: "καὶ κτήσεως προνοήσεσθαι" "And he will provide for his possessions." I include this conjunction according to the manuscripts. Because there is no convenient interpretation for the following word original: "ἀλλαχοσοῦ," meaning "elsewhere", I replace it with the phrase original: "ἀλλ' ἀρκεσοῦ" "but in a sufficient way." This serves as a caution for the first part of the sentence, so that one does not err in the care and foresight of household matters, which is a common and easy mistake to make. This excess is certainly opposed by that self-sufficiency term: autarkeia; the state of needing nothing from the outside for happiness praised by Epicurus, which shall be discussed later. It is also opposed by the sentiment of Epicurus found in Aelian, Varia Historia, Book 4, Chapter 17. Aelian and Stobaeus: "He for whom a little is not enough, for him nothing is enough." This certainly harmonizes with what Seneca says Epicurus spoke: Epistle 9. If a man does not see what he has as most ample, even if he is the master of the whole world, he is nonetheless miserable. Furthermore, he contends that the Wise Man should not neglect his household affairs in the meantime because it is a matter of practical use in life. If his estate should go to ruin and the necessities of life are no longer supplied, it becomes an obstacle to philosophizing. One would then have to laboriously seek what could have been preserved with little effort, or be forced to beg and importunately ask from another what could have been obtained from oneself through easy study. Otherwise, one might grow old, fall ill, or die in a state of poverty that greatly hinders tranquility.

Where illustrated, 73. Democritus and others are praised for reportedly throwing away their riches as a burden and an impediment to philosophy. However, if they truly cast away all riches so that they did not even keep what was necessary for life, how can this be turned into praise? Unless they wished to lose their lives at the same time, they would thereafter have to search for the very things they once had at hand just to survive. If they did retain necessities, then they can be commended for dismissing the superfluous and, along with it, the greatest part of their anxiety. Nevertheless, the care of that portion which they kept for themselves ought not to have been neglected, lest they be frustrated in the very purpose for which they kept it. Indeed, when Democritus is mentioned here, he did nothing other than divide the inheritance with his brothers. He granted them the larger part and took the smaller part for himself, specifically the portion consisting of silver. This was so he could more easily undertake the travels he intended. As Diogenes Laertius reports from Demetrius, this was not less than one hundred talents A talent was a massive unit of weight and value; Gassendi notes it equals one hundred thousand local "scudi" or crowns. Regarding the question of whether a Wise Man should reject or cast away the wealth that Fortune offers him, consider Plutarch speaking of the Wise Man in the company of a Prince: He will not seek wealth, glory, or power; but neither will he refuse them when they arrive of their own accord, provided he maintains moderation of mind. On the Happy Life, Chapter 23. Seneca also says: Just as the Wise Man admits no penny into his home that enters dishonestly, so he will not reject great wealth, which is a gift of fortune and the fruit of virtue. And immediately:

Various sayings about the Wise Man. Chapter 22. > Nor, as I said, will he cast them out of his house. For what will he say? Are you useless, or do I not know how to use wealth?

He had said earlier: There is no doubt that there is more material for a wise man to unfold his mind in wealth than in poverty. In poverty, the only kind of virtue is not to be bent or depressed; but in wealth, temperance, liberality, diligence, arrangement, and magnificence have an open field. And soon after: For certain things, even if they are small in the sum of things and can be withdrawn without the ruin of the principal good, still add something to perpetual joy that is born from virtue. Thus, riches affect and cheer the Wise Man like a favorable and following wind for a sailor, like a good day, or like a sunny spot in the frost and cold of winter. After a few words:

So you say: Why do you mock me? Riches hold the same place for you as they do for me. Do you want to know how they do not hold the same place? If riches flow away from me, they will take away nothing but themselves; you will be stunned, and you will seem to yourself to be left without yourself if they depart from you. With me, riches have some place; with you, they have the highest place. Finally, my riches belong to me; you belong to your riches.

He concludes: Stop, therefore, forbidding money to philosophers; no one has condemned wisdom to poverty.

Section 11. Section 11. original: "Τύχῃ δὲ ἀντιτάξεσθαι" "To set oneself in opposition to Fortune." Various things which Epicurus says hereafter regarding Fortune contribute to this saying. But lest we anticipate anything, I only observe that it is not the least duty of Wisdom to strengthen the mind against chance events. This ensures that nothing happens to the Wise Man as if it were unforeseen, or something he had not previously thought about bearing calmly. Indeed, as Stobaeus, Sermon 3. Socrates used to say, a Wise Man, while fortune is favorable, ought to prepare defenses with which to bear adversity bravely, just as a sailor with a fair wind must be equipped with the means to meet a storm. Since it is profitable to think of whatever sinister thing can happen according to the condition of life: childlessness, shipwreck, exile, wounds, tortures, diseases, ingratitude, slander, insult, and countless other things; one should be able to say whenever they happen: "These things do not rise up as new or unexpected to me."

Aeneid, Book 6. I have perceived all things and worked them out in my mind beforehand.

Then, a particularly excellent way of fortifying oneself against Fortune seems to be that which Seneca deduces at length from Epicurus. This involves exercising oneself and voluntarily returning to a state where hardly any malice of fortune could lead. Thus, he says to Lucilius: Epistle 18. Moreover, it pleases me so much to test the firmness of your mind that, following the precept of great men, I also command you to set aside certain days. During these, content with the least and cheapest food, and with hard and rough clothing, you may say to yourself: "Is this what was feared?" In security itself, let the mind prepare for difficult things, and let it be strengthened against the injuries of fortune while in the midst of benefits. The soldier in the middle of peace