Letter to Menoeceus
by Epicurus · Ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς Μενοικέα
Assigned by 2 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 300 BCE
- Language
- Greek
- Length
- Short · 10 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Epicurus Reader: Selected Writings and Testimonia, translated by Brad Inwood and Lloyd P. GersonHackett, 1994The letters, the Principal Doctrines and the main ancient reports in one cheap volume.
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Epicurus' short summary of his ethics, preserved by Diogenes Laertius. It tells the young Menoeceus that philosophy is never too early or too late, that the gods exist but do not concern themselves with us, that death is nothing to us because where death is we are not, and that pleasure, understood as freedom from bodily pain and mental disturbance, is the goal of life. Prudence, not indulgence, is the chief virtue, and the wise man laughs at fate.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns 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.
