Another good visit on Saturday with my beloved mentor, and the anniversary tomorrow of my dad's passing at age 79 in 2008, reinforces for me the wisdom of this epicurean attitude:
"… a correct comprehension of the fact that death means nothing to us makes the mortal aspect of life pleasurable, not by conferring on us a boundless period of time but by removing the yearning for deathlessness. …
This, the most horrifying of evils, means nothing to us, then, because so long as we are existent death is not present and whenever it is present we are nonexistent. …
The sophisticated person neither begs off from living nor dreads not living. …
As in the case of food he prefers the most savory dish to merely the larger portion, so in the case of time he garners to himself the most agreeable moments rather than the longest span…"
https://open.substack.com/pub/figsinwinter/p/epicurus-on-death-and-the-gods?r=35ogp&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
OUP's Guides to the Good Life
Guides to the Good Life In accessible and friendly guides, drawing on philosophy from the ancient world through modern times, this series hi...
-
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Phil Oliver (@osopher) MTSU philosophy lecturer to speak on ‘Freedom in E...
-
Bakewell, How to Live (Mon) 1-4 Hope you enjoyed Fall Break. Ours was very happy. 1. What form of writing did Montaigne invent? 2. What doe...
-
Let's introduce ourselves, fellow Happiness scholars/pursuers. I'm Dr. Oliver, I've been teaching this course in alternate years...
No comments:
Post a Comment