Epicurean Ethics: The Primary Sources
What to Read and Recommended Translations
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While there are several hundred pages worth of intact Plato, Aristotle, and ancient Stoics, the Epicurean texts that have come down to us from antiquity are relatively few in number. But it can still be a little confusing knowing how to approach the primary sources. The major texts have multiple translators and varying editions: which should you read? The minor texts are often fragmentary or embedded in non-Epicurean works: where can you even find them? Today, I’ll present an overview of what we have, together with my recommendations of the best English translations currently available.
Epicurus
The main texts we have from Epicurus himself consist of three short letters and a collection of maxims, all contained within the biography of Epicurus in Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. While Diogenes Laertius was writing hundreds of years after the death of Epicurus and can sometimes be more interested in gossipy stories about his subjects than about the details of their philosophical doctrines, it is generally accepted that his text offers a faithful transmission of the Epicurean originals.
Letter to Herodotus (on physics, also called “The Small Epitome”)
Letter to Pythocles (on celestial phenomena, sometimes speculated to be the work of followers rather than Epicurus himself)
Letter to Menoeceus (on ethics)
The Principal Doctrines (or Kyriai Doxai, forty mostly ethical maxims)
Diogenes Laertius also includes a brief biography of Epicurus, a rather scattered summary of some of his teachings, and a discussion of the often-personal critiques that went back and forth between Epicurus and his philosophical rivals.
You could simply get an edition of Diogenes Laertius to read all of this core material in one continuous piece, as it has come down to us. The Loeb edition provides a facing Greek test and an old translation by Hicks (this is also available on Perseus). Pamela Mensch has written a more modern, easier to read translation of the whole work.
Most people, however, will probably prefer to get a collection of Epicurean writings that includes not only the material from Diogenes Laertius, but also a few other odds and ends that have survived independently. (An Epicurean anthology may also often provide more philosophically-focused editorial notes than a general translation of Diogenes Laertius.) Of these other texts, the most important is probably another collection of aphorisms known as the Vatican Sayings. This manuscript was discovered in the late 19th century in the Vatican library—you can see it digitized here, starting on page 401—and represents a later compilation rather than an original, ancient collection, so it has some duplication with the Principal Doctrines, as well as some fragments that we know from elsewhere to be originally authored by Metrodorus, Epicurus’ best friend and right-hand man. Modern anthologies will also include various short sayings quoted by other writers, fragments recovered from the Herculaneum papyri and the inscription of Diogenes of Oenoanda, and passages describing Epicurean doctrines from Lucretius, Cicero, Porphyry, and others. I’ll say a little more about some of those texts below.
For serious, English-speaking students, the best collection remains Cyril Bailey’s 1926 Epicurus: The Extant Remains. This remains the only edition with an (old-fashioned but excellent) English translation, Greek text, full critical apparatus, and notes covering both Epicurean doctrine and translation decisions. While it has been reprinted a few times, print copies are rather rare and can be expensive; fortunately, it can be viewed for free at the Internet Archive.
Of modern, currently in-print collections, the best option is probably The Epicurus Reader by Brad Inwood and L.P. Gerson (the same material is also combined with Stoic and Cynic texts in their Hellenistic Philosophy). On the positive side, this book is cheap, frequently cited in academic papers, and contains all the core texts, as well as some fragments not found in Bailey. Some modern academics will probably prefer this translation to that of Bailey for its tendency towards greater word-for-word literalism, which can be useful when tracking the use of specific terms, although this is not a particularly eloquent translation. Be aware that this is a very bare bones edition, however, with no Greek or Latin text and very little in the way of notes or commentary.
Still, it’s probably your best choice for a currently available, hard copy anthology. Second place goes to The Art of Happiness, Penguin’s modern printing of the translation work of George Strodach from the 1960s. This translation is somewhat more eloquent than Inwood and Gerson, and the editorial commentary is much more extensive, but the volume falls short as an anthology, as its only offerings beyond the core texts from Diogenes Laertius are some of the Vatican Sayings and “parallel passages” from Lucretius, who can perfectly well be read independently. (Though if you are not going to read through all of Lucretius, reading Strodach’s selections in direct conjunction with the Epicurus texts, with accompanying commentary, is not the worst way to round out your understanding of the teachings.)
There is also The Essential Epicurus translated by Eugene O’Connor, which aims to compete in the Inwood & Gerson niche of a minimalist, quarter-inch paperback, but which contains fewer fragments, doesn’t indicate the original sources, is never cited in scholarly work, has a fine but unexceptional translation, and is printed cheaply and uncrisply. The Hellenistic Philosophy anthology of Long and Sedley is cited regularly in academic circles, but is more suited to use as a textbook for a Hellenistic philosophy class: it cuts up the source texts into tiny fragments, ranges across the schools, and is arranged thematically (“Epicurean proof of the existence of void,” “Stoic non-simple propositions,” and so on). Long and Sedley occasionally have valuable notes, but I wouldn’t really recommend either of these for general readers.
If you happen to read French, you could get the expensive but magisterial Les Épicuriens edited by Daniel Delattre for the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. If you happen to read Italian, you might seek out Arrighetti’s Epicuro: Opere (out of print since the 1970s, but the most modern and comprehensive scholarly edition with the Greek and Latin texts) or a modern reprinting of the Scritti Morali compiled by Carlo Diano (which I haven’t seen, but Diano is a major scholar and I’d love an Ethical Writings anthology in English). And if you are comfortable in Latin, you could go back to the granddaddy of Epicurus anthologies, the Epicurea of Hermann Usener.
Failing such multilinguism, stick to Bailey (if you can find a copy, or don’t mind digital) or Inwood and Gerson (if you want something cheap and on paper).
Lucretius
Epicurus has attracted a relative paucity of skillful translators: there simply aren’t many texts and they aren’t famous as literary compositions. Lucretius, however, is a different story. Writing in the 1st century BCE, the Roman poet rendered Epicurean philosophy into an epic poem called De Rerum Natura, most commonly rendered On the Nature of Things. While much of the content is occupied by the teachings on physics and celestial phenomena, which may be less gripping to modern readers searching for ethical advice, the poem is widely acknowledged as one of the great masterpieces of Latin literature and has had no shortage of English renderings.
How to choose one? The first choice is whether you want a prose or verse translation. If you are simply using the poem as a source for Epicurean teachings, or if you simply want a supporting translation as you study the work in the original Latin, a prose translation might be appropriate. There are two prominent options here: the Loeb edition with facing Latin text and English translation by Rouse (lightly corrected by Martin Ferguson Smith, but largely that of the first 1924 edition) or the monolingual Hackett edition (Smith’s own modern translation).
Book II proem, by Rouse:
Pleasant it is, when on the great sea the winds trouble the waters, to gaze from shore upon another’s great tribulation: not because any man’s troubles are a delectable joy, but because to perceive what ills you are free from yourself is pleasant.
And by Smith:
It is comforting, when winds are whipping up the waters of the vast sea, to watch from land the severe trials of another person: not that anyone’s distress is a cause of agreeable pleasure; but it is comforting to see from what troubles you yourself are exempt.
While Smith is more modern, I wouldn’t say that I find him particularly easier to read or more accurate, so if you would like to have the Latin text there, you aren’t losing anything by just sticking to the Loeb. Smith does have a useful synopsis at the beginning of each book though.
The real translation competition, however, is between the many poets who have tried their hands at a verse translation. Here is a rundown of four widely available editions, in rough order of my descending preference, although reasonable people could have different priorities. I’ll illustrate their different approaches with a slightly longer selection of the opening ten lines of Book II, the famous “shipwreck” proem.
Ronald Melville, On the Nature of the Universe, Oxford World’s Classics
The introductory material notes that Sir Ronald Melville studied classics at Cambridge and that the composition process was conducted “in the evening after dinner, with a glass of port at hand in case I got stuck.” And that’s how the translation reads, like the stately, classic, rather timeless work of an old English gentleman. I find this style appealing, though some might consider it a little stuffy and old-fashioned.
As with Humphries and Copley below, Melville’s approach is basically the old English standby of unrhymed iambic pentameter, but I would say his attempt is the most successful at conveying the dignity and grandeur of the original. The old-fashioned-ness comes in part from vocabulary, in part from stylistic choices like the frequent inversion of normal syntax for the sake of more regular meter (“But nothing sweeter is than this” etc.), but if you’re at all accustomed to classic English poetry, it should still be quite readable.
A joy it is, when the strong winds of storm Stir up the waters of a mighty sea, To watch from shore the troubles of another. No pleasure this in any man’s distress, But joy to see the ills from which you are spared, And joy to see great armies locked in conflict Across the plains, yourself free from the danger. But nothing sweeter is than this: to dwell In quiet halls and lofty sanctuaries Well fortified by doctrines of the wise, And look thence down on others wandering And seeking all astray the path of life—
The Oxford World’s Classics edition is attractive and well-printed. Endnotes by Don and Peta Fowler provide assistance when needed, but don’t mark up the body of the text for an undistracted reading experience. All in all, this is my preferred verse edition.
Rolfe Humphries, The Way Things Are, Indiana University Press
Humphries, like Stallings below, is a poet first, translator second. Originally published in 1968, I imagine this rendition felt very vivid and fresh when it first came out: while he loosely keeps the blank verse form of Melville and much classic English poetry, Humphries opts for a more modern, looser diction. Sometimes it is refreshingly direct, but sometimes it feels more like a product of its time compared to the more timeless feel of Melville (which was actually written later, in the 90s).
How sweet it is, when whirlwinds roil great ocean, To watch, from land, the danger of another, Not that to see some other person suffer Brings great enjoyment, but the sweetness lies In watching evils you yourself are free from. How sweet, again, to see the clash of battle Across the plains, yourself immune to danger. But nothing is more sweet than full possession Of those calm heights, well built, well fortified By wise men’s teaching, to look down from here At others wandering below, men lost Confused, in hectic search for the right road…
The book is a serviceable paperback from Indiana University Press; the endnotes by Strodach are relatively minimal. All that is fine, though I would say one step down from Melville/Oxford in terms of both editorial usefulness and visual appeal. Verdict: perfectly reasonable if you like Humphries’ style, which is a little more direct and modern than Melville.
A.E. Stallings, The Nature of Things, Penguin Classics
This is the most contemporary translation, adopted by Penguin Classics for their 2007 re-edition of the poem, and also the most innovative and distinct. As with Humphries, Stallings is a poet in her own right, rather than purely a classical scholar. In her translation, she to break out of the stodgy blank verse tradition in favor of rhyming fourteeners (i.e. longer, seven-beat lines instead of the typical five-beat lines of all three of her competitors described here). The longer lines make it easier to fit all of the Lucretian content into a line-for-line translation without omission (Latin is denser than English), while rhyming makes the poem feel insistently like a poem, more sprightly and forward-moving than many other attempts. Of course, the constraints of rhyme necessitate on average a little more distance from a literal translation, but Stallings generally navigates the task well.
How sweet it is to watch from dry land when the storm-winds roil A mighty ocean’s waters, and see another’s bitter toil— Not because you relish someone else’s misery— Rather, it’s sweet to know from what misfortunes you are free. Pleasant it is even to behold contests of war Drawn up on the battlefield, when you are in no danger. But there is nothing sweeter than to dwell in towers that rise On high, serene and fortified with teachings of the wise, From which you may peer down upon the others as they stray This way and that, seeking the path of life, losing their way…
I can see the advantages. The long lines fit the Latin better, while the rhyming fourteeners are easy to read, with a lilting feeling of forward momentum—which is quite a valuable quality when pitching a 200+ page poem on ancient physics to modern readers. However, rhyming has downsides: it requires circumlocutions that on average will be more distant from a precise rendering, requires sometimes awkward enjambments that may feel less “like a poem” than blank verse, and can have a sing-song quality that to modern ears often lacks the grandeur and dignity of the original.
The modern black Penguin classics are handsome at first, but tend to get less so as white creases get worn into the covers. Stallings provides fairly streamlined, helpful notes, supplemented by a glossary of classical references to reduce duplicative bulk in the notes (though this may mean having to look in two places to find what you are looking for). Overall, Stallings is still a skillful craftswoman and this is a fine translation, though it is less to my personal taste than Melville.
Frank O. Copley, On the Nature of Things
One more blank verse/loose iambic pentameter effort, this one authored by Frank Copley, professor emeritus of Latin at the University of Michigan, and first published by Norton in 1977.
It’s sweet, when winds blow wild on open seas, to watch from land your neighbor’s vast travail, not that men’s miseries bring us dear delight but that to see what ills we’re spared is sweet; sweet, too, to watch the cruel contest of war ranging the field when you need share no danger. But nothing is sweeter than to dwell in peace high in the well-walled temples of the wise, whence looking down we may see other men wavering, wandering, seeking a way of life…
Although verse, Copley’s translation does feel more like the work of a Latin professor rather than a poet. This isn’t all bad—his translation is generally accurate and straightforward. But overall, I find his version more generic and less poetically powerful than the other blank verse versions.
Norton’s cover design is a bit cheesy and dated. This edition is the only one of the verse translations with footnotes, rather than endnotes, so if you despise having to flip to the back for notes, it does have that virtue. Overall: serviceable, but other options are better.
Other Ancient Sources
An Epicurus anthology and a copy of Lucretius are the two essentials. Once you have those, some other ancient sources to look into are:
Cicero, On Moral Ends (De Finibus): This dialogue presents and discusses the ethical systems of the Epicureans, the Stoics, and the contemporary Academic Antiochus. The exposition of Epicureanism given in Book I by the character Torquatus is one of the more extensive ancient accounts we have and generally seems to be an accurate and good faith rendition of Epicurean doctrines, despite Cicero’s many criticisms in Book II. Available with the Latin text in an old Loeb edition, or a good modern translation by Raphael Woolf.
Seneca, Letters on Ethics: Although Seneca is one of the three major figures of Roman Stoicism, he also finds much to admire in Epicurus. In his Letters (or Epistles, or Moral Epistles), he shares a large number of direct quotes from Epicurus that often have not come down to us from any other source, along with some eloquent rephrasing and commentary. Epicurus and his followers are almost omnipresent through the first 29 letters (out of 124 in total) and are then occasionally cited in later entries. The best complete translation is that of Margaret Graver and Anthony Long; Loeb divides the letters into three volumes, so Epistles 1-65 is of most interest to Epicureans.
There is also some minor, scattered discussion of Epicurean doctrine in Seneca’s essays as well, primarily in On Benefits, On the Happy Life, and On Leisure.
Philodemus: Unlike the two previous sources, Philodemus actually was an Epicurean. A contemporary of Cicero, Philodemus was active around the Bay of Naples and several of his philosophical works survived the eruption of Vesuvius and have been recovered—in very fragmentary form—from the Villa of the Papyri. Unfortunately, the texts are highly damaged and cannot really be read in a casual fashion. Although attempted reconstructions have been printed of several of his treatises, the most practical entry point to these fragments is probably through Voula Tsouna’s The Ethics of Philodemus.
Diogenes of Oenoanda: This monumental Epicurean inscription has similarly come down to us only in fragmentary form. (Though there is hope that improved editions of both Philodemus and Diogenes will arrive in the years to come, as papyrus-reading technology improves and perhaps future excavations one day take place at Oenoanda.) Newly discovered fragments have been published bit by bit over the past several decades, but a full scholarly edition with Greek text has not yet been produced. Just this year (March 2026), however, the leading scholar on Diogenes, Martin Ferguson Smith, released the most up to date English translation of the whole text, available free online under the title Urbi et Orbi: The Epicurean Inscription and Prescription of Diogenes of Oinoanda. (“Oenoanda” is another common spelling.)
Porphyry: If you look through Bailey, Inwood & Gerson, or Usener, you will see many “fragments” from Epicurus that have come to us through two works by the Neoplatonist Porphyry, To Marcella and On Abstinence from Killing Animals. Each contains several continuous pages paraphrasing and sometimes quoting Epicurus or his follower Hermarchus. Neither work is particularly renowned in itself, but both To Marcella and On Abstinence have been published in English translation.
Plutarch: The famous biographer also wrote extensively on ethics, including several polemics against the Epicureans. While these works often distort Epicurus’ arguments and generally exhibit poor philosophical judgment, they are still a valuable secondary source of information. Three essays in particular fall in this category: That Epicurus Actually Makes a Pleasant Life Impossible (“Non posse”), Against Colotes (“Ad. Colotem”), and Is “Live Unknown” a Wise Precept? (“De latenter vivendo”). These are relatively little read by the general public, so you will often see the abbreviated Latin names used by scholars.
Horace: One of the greatest of Latin lyric poets, with distinct leanings towards Epicureanism. Sometimes this is explicit, while often it is implicit in his celebrations of simple living, friendship, moderate drinking, and contentment. Unfortunately, my current impression is that there is no adequate translation in English, so you’ll just have to learn Latin and get the Loeb edition of the Odes. (There is Epicurean-flavored material in the Satires and Epistles as well, but these are less celebrated poems for a reason.)
None of these authors is perfectly represented in the available Epicurean anthologies. Ideally, a more comprehensive collection of ethical writings would include all of the relevant material that currently needs to be excavated from these diverse and sometimes difficult sources. But until someone gives me an opportunity to write that book, you’ll just have to tune in to Untroubled and our regular installments of Translation Tuesday, in which all of these writers will eventually claim their moment in the spotlight.