Live unnoticed (Λε ισας) Philosophia Antiqua A Series of Studies on Ancient Philosophy Previous Editors J.H. Waszink † W.J. Verdenius† J.C.M. Van Winden Edited by K.A. Algra F.A.J. De Haas J. Mansfeld C.J. Rowe D.T. Runia Ch. Wildberg VOLUME 111 Live unnoticed (Λε ισας) On the Vicissitudes of an Epicurean Doctrine By Geert Roskam LEIDEN • BOSTON 2007 This book is printed on acid-free paper. ISSN: 0079-1678 ISBN: 978 90 04 16171 9 Copyright 2007 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in aretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands To my parents Ipsa enim altitudo attonat summa (Maecenas, ap. Senec., epist. 19,9) … le defir que i’ ay de vivre en repos & de continuer la vie que i’ ay commencée en prenant pour ma deuife: benè vixit, benè qui latuit … (Descartes, Letter to Mersenne,April1634; ed. Adam- Tannery I, 285–286) Epikur hat zu allen Zeiten gelebt und lebt noch, un- bekannt denen, welche sich Epikureer nannten und nennen, und ohne Ruf bei den Philosophen. Auch hat er selber den eigenen Namen vergessen: es war das schwerste Gepäck, welches er je abgeworfen hat. (Nietzsche, Menschliches, Allzumenschliches, 2,227) CONTENTS Acknowledgements .................................................... ix Abbreviations .......................................................... xi ChapterOne.Introduction ........................................... 1 Chapter Two. Epicurus................................................ 29 2.1. Introduction ..................................................... 29 2.2. The maxim λε ισας and Epicurus’ extant writings ....... 33 2.3. The maxim λε ισας insecondarysources................. 41 2.3.1. Themaximitself ........................................ 41 2.3.2. Themaximinitsbroadercontext...................... 44 2.4. The motivations behind λε ισας........................... 63 Chapter Three. The Epicureans of the first generation: Epicurus’ συμ ιλσ ντες...................................................... 67 3.1. A quick glance in the Garden .................................. 67 3.2. Metrodorus ...................................................... 69 3.3. Hermarchus ..................................................... 76 3.4. Colotes........................................................... 80 ChapterFour.Latergenerationsoftheschool ....................... 83 4.1. Lucretius......................................................... 83 4.1.1. Introduction ............................................. 83 4.1.2. Lucretius’ political philosophy in De rerum natura ....... 86 4.1.3. Livingunnoticed?Lucretius’ultimateambitions ...... 99 4.2. Philodemus ...................................................... 101 4.2.1. Introduction ............................................. 101 4.2.2. Theautonomyofpolitics… ........................... 104 4.2.3. … and of philosophy .................................... 108 4.2.4. The interaction of two separate worlds................. 120 4.2.5. Livingunnoticedinthefaceofdeath? ................. 125 4.2.6. Conclusion............................................... 128 4.3. DiogenesofOenoanda.......................................... 129 viii contents ChapterFive.Conclusion............................................. 145 Chapter Six. Appendix: Augustan poetry ............................ 155 6.1. Virgil............................................................. 155 6.2. Horace........................................................... 166 6.3. Ovid.............................................................. 179 Bibliography ........................................................... 189 Indices Indexnominum..................................................... 209 Indexlocorum ...................................................... 213 Indexrerum......................................................... 229 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS According to later traditions, Epicurus claimed to have learned noth- ing from his philosophical predecessors. He even gave his own teacher Nausiphanes the hardly enviable nickname of ‘jelly-fish’. I have abso- lutely no reason to follow his example. I have every reason, in fact, to be grateful to L. Van der Stockt, who was the supervisor of my PhD-dissertation on Plutarch and who since then has continued and still continues to encourage and support me. During the years I have been working with him, he has read more texts of mine than he would probably like to remember. His critical remarks and suggestions have always considerably improved the final result. It has been a great privilege to stay several months at Utrecht Uni- versity, where I had the opportunity to discuss my work with several members of the staff, which has led to thorough correction and revi- sion. I am especially indebted to K. Algra, who went through the whole manuscript and discussed it with me chapter by chapter. I have bene- fited greatly from his acute observations and pertinent criticisms, which often forced me to clarify my argument or give it up. J. Mansfeld like- wise spent many hours carefully reading the whole manuscript and I have been glad to adopt many of his helpful suggestions. I am sure both will recognise their positive influence throughout the book and they will perhaps remain wisely sceptical about those points where my stubbornness has not been overcome by their arguments. I am much indebted to A. Casanova, W. Evenepoel, P.H. Schrijvers, and T. van Houdt, who read substantial parts of an earlier draft of this book and especially to M. Erler who read the whole of it. They all saved me from many embarrassing errors and made extremely valuable, often challenging, suggestions. I also owe many thanks to C. Steel, who drew my attention to several interesting passages which I would otherwise have overlooked and who indirectly contributed more to this book than he probably realises himself. I am also much indebted to M. Funk Deckard and to the referee of the series for many useful suggestions and corrections. x acknowledgements It is a pleasure to extend thanks to my colleagues at the Department of Classical Studies at the Catholic University of Leuven and to the members of the De Wulf—Mansion Centre at the Leuven Institute of Philosophy. I also gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Fund for Scientific Research—Flanders (Belgium). Epicurus was extremely grateful to his own circle of family and friends. I have many reasons to follow his example. So I should like to express my thanks to my parents to whom this book is dedicated as a token of grateful pietas, to my children, who day after day show me in the most various ways that I was right not to follow Epicurus’ advice of μ τεκνπισειν, and to my wife Kristin, who shared in all the πνι and γρυπναι of my scientific research to such an extent that this book—except for its shortcomings—is no less the fruit of her work than it is of mine. ABBREVIATIONS References to Latin authors follow the forms established by the TLL. Abbreviations of Greek authors and works are usually as listed in LSJ. Where they differ (esp. in the case of Philodemus and of Plutarch’s Moralia), they are more complete. Abbreviations of journals are as listed in L’Année Philologique. ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt,Berlin–NewYork,1972–. CPG E.L. a Leutsch – F.G. Schneidewin (eds.), Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum, Göttingen, 1839–1851. DK H. Diels – W. Kranz (eds.), Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker,Dublin– Zurich, 1966–1967. KG R. Kühner – B. Gerth, Ausführliche Grammatik der griechischen Sprache, Zweiter Teil: Satzlehre, Hannover–Leipzig, 1898–1904. LCL Loeb Classical Library LSJ H.G. Liddell – R. Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th edn., rev. H. Stu- art Jones, with a revised supplement, Oxford, 1996. OCT Scriptorum Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis OLD P.G.W. Glare (ed.), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd edn., Oxford, 2000. PHerc. Herculaneum Papyri; cf. M. Gigante, Catalogo dei Papiri Ercolanesi, Napoli, 1979. RE G. Wissowa (and others) (ed.), Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Alter- tumswissenschaft, München–Stuttgart, 1893–1980. RS Ratae Sententiae (= Κριαι δαι) SV Sententiae Vaticanae SVF J. von Arnim (ed.), Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta [indices by M. Adler], Leipzig, 1903–1924. TAM E. Kalinka (and others) (ed.), Tituli Asiae Minoris, Vindobonae, 1901– 1989. TLL Thesaurus Linguae Latinae (Index: Leipzig, 1990). TrGF B. Snell – R. Kannicht – S. Radt (eds.), Tragicorum Graecorum Frag- menta, Göttingen, 1977–2004. chapter one INTRODUCTION σν δ μηδ να ναι πλν ατ γεγν ναι κα τν μαητν (Plutarch, Non posse 1100A) 1.1. This is a book on two words, which were offensive, scandalous, outrageous, and provocative. No doubt they were equally attractive, seductive, enticing, and fascinating. They were merely two common words, which were not even technical or abstruse ones, but they stood for a whole way of life, ridiculed and despised by many, praised and applauded by others. These two words were λε ισας: ‘live unno-