Epicurus: “It Is Impossible to Live Pleasantly Without Living Prudently, Honestly and Justly”
Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- Epicurus argued that a genuinely pleasurable life depends on prudence, honesty and justice, rejecting the later association between Epicureanism and uncontrolled indulgence.
- In his Letter to Menoeceus, he defined pleasure as freedom from bodily pain and mental disturbance rather than constant feasting or luxury.
- He considered prudence more valuable even than philosophy because it helps people judge which desires to pursue and which to reject.
“Epicurean” has long been used to describe a life of excess, but Epicurus himself argued for almost the opposite. In his view, pleasure could not exist apart from prudence, honesty and justice.
The idea appears in the Letter to Menoeceus, one of the few surviving texts by the Greek philosopher, written in the third century BC. “It is impossible to live pleasantly without living prudently, honestly and justly, and vice versa,” Epicurus wrote. He added that the virtues are naturally connected to a happy life, and that a happy life cannot be separated from them.
It is impossible to live pleasantly without living prudently, honestly and justly, and vice versa.
For Epicurus, pleasure and virtue were not competing paths. They were inseparable. A truly pleasurable life required the judgment to weigh choices and consequences, while virtuous living produced the conditions for lasting happiness.
He also clarified what he meant by pleasure, anticipating that his philosophy might be misunderstood. “When we say that pleasure is the final goal, we do not mean the pleasures of the vicious or those found in dissipation, as some people believe, but freedom from pain in the body and disturbance in the soul.”
When we say that pleasure is the final goal, we do not mean the pleasures of the vicious or those found in dissipation, as some people believe, but freedom from pain in the body and disturbance in the soul.
He rejected the idea that endless banquets, revelry, sexual pleasure or lavish food created a happy life. Instead, he praised sober reasoning that examines the causes behind every choice and rejection. Prudence, he said, was “more precious even than philosophy” because the other virtues arise from it.
More than two thousand years later, the argument still challenges the pursuit of immediate and unlimited pleasure. Epicurus did not call for pleasure to be abandoned. He presented it as something that depends on moderation, clear judgment, honesty and justice.
More precious even than philosophy
About this summary
Originally published by Clarín in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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