Letter to Herodotus and Letter to Menoeceus
by Epicurus
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 300 BCE
- Language
- Greek
- Length
- Short · 40 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Epicurus Reader: Selected Writings and Testimonia, translated by Brad Inwood and Lloyd P. GersonHackett, 1994All three surviving letters, the Principal Doctrines and the main ancient reports in one cheap volume.
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The two letters that between them summarise Epicurus' system, both preserved in Diogenes Laertius. The Letter to Herodotus is a compressed outline of his physics: everything is atoms and void, the atoms are infinite and always in motion, worlds are countless, the soul is material and perishes with the body, and the senses are the criterion of truth. The Letter to Menoeceus draws the ethical conclusions: the gods do not interfere, death is nothing to us, and a pleasant life is a prudent one.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Letter to Herodotus and Letter to Menoeceus are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
