The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
eternal attributes. They are, as one sees plainly, accidents of the body;
accidents which do not of necessity make any part of its nature; which
cannot be considered as independent substances, but still to each of
which sensation gives the peculiar character under which it appears to us.
“Another important question is that of time. Here we cannot apply any
more the method of examination to which we submit other objects, which
we study with reference to a given subject; and which we refer to the
preconceptions which exist in ourselves. We must seize, by analogy, and
going round the whole circle of things comprised under this general
denomination of time—we must seize, I say—that essential character which
causes us to say that a time is long or short. It is not necessary for
that purpose to seek for any new forms of expression as preferable to
those which are in common use; we may content ourselves with those by
which time is usually indicated. Nor need we, as certain philosophers do,
affirm any particular attribute of time, for that would be to suppose
that its essence is the same as that of this attribute. It is sufficient
too seek for the ingredients of which this particular nature which we
call time is composed, and for the means by which it is measured. For
this we have no need of demonstration; a simple exposition is sufficient.
It is, in fact, evident, that we speak of time as composed of days and
nights, and parts of days and nights; passiveness and impassibility,
movement and repose, are equally comprised in time. In short, it is
evident that in connection with these different states, we conceive a
particular property to which we give the name of time.
(Epicurus lays down the same principles in the second book of his
treatise on Nature, and in his great Abridgment.)
“It is from the infinite that the worlds are derived, and all the finite
aggregates which present numerous analogies with the things which we
observe under our own eyes. Each of these objects, great and small, has
been separated from the infinite by a movement peculiar to itself. On
the other hand, all these bodies will be successively destroyed, some
more, and others less rapidly; some under the influence of one cause, and
others because of the agency of some other.
(It is evident, after this, that Epicurus regards the worlds
as perishable, since he admits that their parts are capable of
transformation. He also says in other places, that the earth rests
suspended in the air.)
“We must not believe that the worlds have of necessity all one identical
form.
(He says, in fact, in the twelfth book of his treatise on the World,
that the worlds differ from one another; some being spherical, other
elliptical, and others of other shapes.)
“Nevertheless, there are not worlds of every possible form and shape.
“Let us also beware of thinking that animals are derived from the
infinite; for there is no one who can prove that the germs from which
animals are born, and plants, and all the other objects which we
contemplate, have been brought from the exterior in such a world, and
that this same world would not have been able to produce them of itself.
This remark applies particularly to the earth.
“Again, we must admit that in many and various respects, nature is both
instructed and constrained by circumstances themselves; and that reason
subsequently makes perfect and enriches with additional discoveries
the things which it has borrowed from nature; in some cases rapidly,
and in others more slowly. And in some cases according to periods and
times greater than those which proceed from the infinite; in other
cases according to those which are smaller. So, originally it was only
in virtue of express agreements that one gave names to things. But men
whose ideas and passions varied according to their respective nations,
formed these names of their own accord, uttering divers sounds produced
by each passion, or by each idea, following the differences of the
situations and of the peoples. At a later period one established in each
nation, in a uniform manner, particular terms intended to render the
relations more easy, and language more concise. Educated men introduced
the notion of things not discoverable by the senses, and appropriated
words to them when they found themselves under the necessity of uttering
their thoughts; after this, other men, guided in every point by reason,
interpreted these words in the same sense.
“As to the heavenly phænomena, such as the motion and course of the
stars, the eclipses, their rising and setting, and all other appearances
of the same kind, we must beware of thinking that they are produced by
any particular being which has regulated, or whose business it is to
regulate, for the future, the order of the world, a being immortal and
perfectly happy; for the cares and anxieties, the benevolence and the
anger, far from being compatible with felicity, are, on the contrary,
the consequence of weakness, of fear, and of the want which a thing has
of something else. We must not fancy either that these globes of fire,
which roll on in space, enjoy a perfect happiness, and give themselves,
with reflection and wisdom, the motions which they possess. But we must
respect the established notions on this subject, provided, nevertheless,
that they do not all contradict the respect due to truth; for nothing is
more calculated to trouble the soul than this strife of contradictory
notions and principles. We must therefore admit that from the first
movement impressed on the heavenly bodies since the organization of the
world there is derived a sort of necessity which regulates their course
to this day.
“Let us be well assured that it is to physiology that it belongs to
determine the causes of the most elevated phænomena, and that happiness
consists, above all things, in the science of the heavenly things and
their nature, and in the knowledge of analogous phænomena which may aid
us in the comprehension of the ethics. These heavenly phænomena admit
of several explanations; they have no reason of a necessary character,
and one may explain them in different manners. In a word, they have no
relation—a moment’s consideration will prove this by itself—with those
imperishable and happy natures which admit of no division and of no
confusion. As for the theoretical knowledge of the rising and setting
of the stars, of the movement of the sun between the tropics, of the
eclipses, and all other similar phænomena, that is utterly useless, as
far as any influence upon happiness that it can have. Moreover, those
who, though possessed of this knowledge, are ignorant of nature, and
of the most probable causes of the phænomena, are no more protected
from fear than if they were in the most complete ignorance; they even
experience the most lively fears, for the trouble, with which the
knowledge of which they are possessed inspires them, can find no issue,
and is not dissipated by a clear perception of the reasons of these
phænomena.
“As to us, we find many explanations of the motions of the sun, of the
rising and setting of the stars, of the eclipses and similar phænomena,
just as well as of the more particular phænomena. And one must not think
that this method of explanation is not sufficient to procure happiness
and tranquillity. Let us content ourselves with examining how it is that
similar phænomena are brought about under our own eyes, and let us apply
these observations to the heavenly objects and to everything which is
not known but indirectly. Let us despise those people who are unable
to distinguish facts susceptible of different explanations from others
which can only exist and be explained in one single way. Let us disdain
those men who do not know, by means of the different images which result
from distance, how to give an account of the different appearances of
things; who, in a word, are ignorant what are the objects which can
excite any trouble in us. If, then, we know that such a phænomenon can be
brought about in the same manner as another given phænomenon of the same
character which does not inspire us with any apprehension; and if, on the
other hand, we know that it can take place in many different manners, we
shall not be more troubled at the sight of it than if we knew the real
cause of it.
“We must also recollect that that which principally contributes to
trouble the spirit of men is the persuasion which they cherish that the
stars are beings imperishable and perfectly happy, and that then one’s
thoughts and actions are in contradiction to the will of these superior
beings; they also, being deluded by these fables, apprehend an eternity
of evils, they fear the insensibility of death, as that could affect
them. What do I say? It is not even belief, but inconsiderateness and
blindness which govern them in every thing, to such a degree that, not
calculating these fears, they are just as much troubled as if they had
really faith in these vain phantoms. And the real freedom from this
kind of trouble consists in being emancipated from all these things,
and in preserving the recollection of all the principles which we have
established, especially of the most essential of them. Accordingly, it
is well to pay a scrupulous attention to existing phænomena and to the
sensations, to the general sensations for general things, and to the
particular sensations for particular things. In a word, we must take
note of this, the immediate evidence with which each of these judicial
faculties furnishes us; for, if we attend to these points, namely,
whence confusion and fear arise, we shall divine the causes correctly,
and we shall deliver ourselves from those feelings, tracing back the
heavenly phænomena to their causes, and also all the others which present
themselves at every step, and inspire the common people with extreme
terror.
“This, Herodotus, is a kind of summary and abridgment of the whole
question of natural philosophy. So that, if this reasoning be allowed to
be valid, and be preserved carefully in the memory, the man who allows
himself to be influenced by it, even though he may not descend to a
profound study of its details, will have a great superiority of character
over other men. He will personally discover a great number of truths
which I have myself set forth in my entire work; and these truths being
stored in his memory, will be a constant assistance to him. By means of
these principles, those who have descended into the details, and have
studied the question sufficiently, will be able, in bringing in all
their particular knowledge to bear on the general subject, to run over
without difficulty almost the entire circle of the natural philosophy;
those, on the other hand, who are not yet arrived at perfection, and who
have not been able to hear me lecture on these subjects, will be able in
their minds to run over the main of the essential notions, and to derive
assistance from them for the tranquillity and happiness of life.”
This then is his letter on physics.
XXV. About the heavenly bodies he writes thus:—
EPICURUS TO PYTHOCLES, WISHING HE MAY DO WELL.
“Cleon has brought me your letter, in which you continue to evince
towards me an affection worthy of the friendship which I have for you.
You devote all your care, you tell me, to engraving in your memory those
ideas which contribute to the happiness of life; and you entreat me at
the same time to send you a simple abridgment and abstract of my ideas on
the heavenly phænomena, in order that you may without difficulty preserve
the recollection of them. For, say you, what I have written on this
subject in my other works is difficult to recollect, even with continual
study.
“I willingly yield to your desire, and I have good hope, that in