From Epicurus - that we value virtue, not because of the gods, but because living virtuously makes us happy (brings pleasure).
From Epictetus - that we cannot escape into "a Garden" - that the only thing we control is our virtue (our aversion and desire) - that the Epicurean path to happiness by retreating into the Garden and focusing on friendship is a formula for anxiety - for friends are externals and thus unpredictable - and we will never know when an intruder is about to scale the walls of the Garden. The quest for Epicurean ataraxia means constant vigilance, constant vulnerability to whoever intrudes, constant slavery to whoever can secure (or invade) our Garden.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment