The faith of Epicurus

184 Pages·1967·16.644 MB·English

by  Benjamin Farrington

The
Faith of
EPICURUS
cnjamin Harrington
TheFaithof
EPICURUS
Benjamin Farrington
Epicurus, one of the four great philoso-
phers of antiquity, is also in some re-
spects the most modern. While Plato
and Aristotle thought it impossible to
govern without the aid of a religious
—
mythology a set of beliefs that would
bridle the passions and console the
minds of ordinary men — Epicurus
presages the philosophy of the Enlight-
enment. He organized, for the first time
in history, a fraternity to liberate man-
kindfromsuperstitionandtoencourage
a view of nature that dispensed with
all supernatural agencies.
To the contemporary reader, the phi-
losophy of Epicurus has a particular
relevance.Hisage,likeours,wasaperiod
of social crisis demanding a guide for
—
the individual in the conduct of life
a "faith" with which to confront the
(continued on backflap)
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2010
in
http://www.archive.org/details/faithofepicurusOOfarr

The Faith of
EPICURUS

The
Faith of
EPICURUS
Benjamin Farrington
CULTURE &
DISCOVERY
BASIC BOOKS, PUBLISHERS
INC.,
New York
© 1967 by Benjamin Farrington
LibraryofCongressCatalogCard Number: 67-13136
Printed in the United StatesofAmerica
To my Wife