Principal Doctrines, 5

Epicurus  translated by Peter Saint-Andre

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5It is not possible to live joyously without also living wisely and beautifully and rightly, nor to live wisely and beautifully and rightly without living joyously; and whoever lacks this cannot live joyously.[3]

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Notes

  • [3] The word φρονίμως, translated here as "wisely", derives from the word for practical wisdom; although it is often translated as "prudently", that word is no longer commonly used in current English and to the modern ear sounds positively Victorian, which is why I have opted to translate φρονίμως as "wisely". The word καλῶς, translated here as "beautifully", has many meanings, including "nobly" and "honorably"; however, the root meaning of καλός is "beauty" in either the aesthetic or the ethical sense. On the word δικαίως as "rightly" instead of "justly", see the note to Principal Doctrine #17 [note 7]. It is not clear what Epicurus means by "this" when he says "whoever lacks this cannot live joyously"; I take that phrase to mean that one cannot live joyously if one lacks the integration or harmony of wisdom, beauty, and rightness.