Free The Wisdom of Hypatia: Ancient Spiritual Practices for a More Meaningful Life by Bruce J. MacLennan
Authors: Bruce J. MacLennan
Hypatia. “In a word, so long as Learning flourished in Greece, and Rome was preserved from the Barbarians, the School and discipline of Epicurus continued eminent.”28
Epicurus required his students to memorize his maxims, and he worked to make them
very clear, which is important if they are to be psychologically potent. In ancient times he was considered an exceptionally prolific author; he wrote over 300 “books” (scrolls) and we have the titles of more than forty works. Unfortunately almost everything has been lost (or destroyed). We have only three letters, two collections of maxims, and several dozen fragments (most only a sentence or two in length), a total of less than fifty pages.
Fortunately some of his writings are among the 1785 charred scrolls from the Villa
of the Papyri in Herculaneum (the sister city of Pompeii, both of which were destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE). These scrolls belonged to a philosophical library, probably originally assembled by Philodemus, an influential Epicurean philosopher of the first century BCE. With the volcano rumbling above the villa, the scrolls were being crated so they could be moved to safety, when the pyroclastic flow—1800º gas and rocks moving at 450 mph—engulfed the library, instantly burning the scrolls nearly to charcoal and thus preserving them from decay. The carbonized scrolls cannot be unrolled because they crumble so easily, and in the more than 200 years since they were discovered, scholars have been trying to find a way to read them. Fortunately the latest technology is proving successful, and we may hope some valuable lost works will be reclaimed soon. Herculaneum’s loss may be our gain.
46 seeking tranquility in the garden
One of the most important Epicureans was Lucretius (c.94–55 BCE), a contemporary
of Philodemus. His long poem On the Nature of Things popularized Epicurean ideas in the Roman world, and influenced many other poets, including Virgil, Ovid, and Horace.
There is a story (dating from the beginning of the second century CE) that he wrote the poem between spells of insanity caused by a love potion his wife gave him, and that he eventually killed himself. Historians doubt the story, but it inspired Tennyson’s poem “Lucretius,” which imagines his erotic dreams, despair, and consequent suicide.
On the Nature of Things was lost for a thousand years, but after it was rediscovered in 1417 CE, it had a significant influence in European intellectual circles, and stimulated the development of scientific atomic theory in the seventeenth century. Thus it is the direct ancestor of the contemporary scientific worldview.
The Garden has remained an inspiration and source of wisdom for many people over
the centuries. For example Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter:
As you say of yourself, I too am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not
the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in
moral philosophy which Greece and Rome have left us.29
Atoms and the Void
Epicurus founded his ethical theory on the atomic theories of Leucippus (fl. 440 BCE) and Democritus (460–370 BCE). In this he was following the pattern, first established in Plato’s Academy, of many ancient philosophies, which were divided into three disciplines: Logic , Physics (Natural Science), and Ethics . Logic specified the criteria of truth and how it might be discovered; its goal was right discourse (saying what is true, the rules of discourse).
Physics, which was based on Logic, studied nature ( physis ) in all its aspects, including cos-mology, theology, and psychology; its goal was right thought (knowing the laws of nature).
Ethics used the knowledge obtained from Logic and Physics to understand how people
should live; its goal was right action (the norms of conduct).
According to Epicurus’ atomic philosophy, the universe is made of atoms and the void through which they move. The atoms are the smallest bits into which
Epicurus required his students to memorize his maxims, and he worked to make them
very clear, which is important if they are to be psychologically potent. In ancient times he was considered an exceptionally prolific author; he wrote over 300 “books” (scrolls) and we have the titles of more than forty works. Unfortunately almost everything has been lost (or destroyed). We have only three letters, two collections of maxims, and several dozen fragments (most only a sentence or two in length), a total of less than fifty pages.
Fortunately some of his writings are among the 1785 charred scrolls from the Villa
of the Papyri in Herculaneum (the sister city of Pompeii, both of which were destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE). These scrolls belonged to a philosophical library, probably originally assembled by Philodemus, an influential Epicurean philosopher of the first century BCE. With the volcano rumbling above the villa, the scrolls were being crated so they could be moved to safety, when the pyroclastic flow—1800º gas and rocks moving at 450 mph—engulfed the library, instantly burning the scrolls nearly to charcoal and thus preserving them from decay. The carbonized scrolls cannot be unrolled because they crumble so easily, and in the more than 200 years since they were discovered, scholars have been trying to find a way to read them. Fortunately the latest technology is proving successful, and we may hope some valuable lost works will be reclaimed soon. Herculaneum’s loss may be our gain.
46 seeking tranquility in the garden
One of the most important Epicureans was Lucretius (c.94–55 BCE), a contemporary
of Philodemus. His long poem On the Nature of Things popularized Epicurean ideas in the Roman world, and influenced many other poets, including Virgil, Ovid, and Horace.
There is a story (dating from the beginning of the second century CE) that he wrote the poem between spells of insanity caused by a love potion his wife gave him, and that he eventually killed himself. Historians doubt the story, but it inspired Tennyson’s poem “Lucretius,” which imagines his erotic dreams, despair, and consequent suicide.
On the Nature of Things was lost for a thousand years, but after it was rediscovered in 1417 CE, it had a significant influence in European intellectual circles, and stimulated the development of scientific atomic theory in the seventeenth century. Thus it is the direct ancestor of the contemporary scientific worldview.
The Garden has remained an inspiration and source of wisdom for many people over
the centuries. For example Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter:
As you say of yourself, I too am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not
the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in
moral philosophy which Greece and Rome have left us.29
Atoms and the Void
Epicurus founded his ethical theory on the atomic theories of Leucippus (fl. 440 BCE) and Democritus (460–370 BCE). In this he was following the pattern, first established in Plato’s Academy, of many ancient philosophies, which were divided into three disciplines: Logic , Physics (Natural Science), and Ethics . Logic specified the criteria of truth and how it might be discovered; its goal was right discourse (saying what is true, the rules of discourse).
Physics, which was based on Logic, studied nature ( physis ) in all its aspects, including cos-mology, theology, and psychology; its goal was right thought (knowing the laws of nature).
Ethics used the knowledge obtained from Logic and Physics to understand how people
should live; its goal was right action (the norms of conduct).
According to Epicurus’ atomic philosophy, the universe is made of atoms and the void through which they move. The atoms are the smallest bits into which