It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living pleasantly.
Genuine
Yes. In Principal Doctrines (270 BC), Principal Doctrines 5 (Diogenes Laertius, Lives X.140); translated by R. D. Hicks, 1925, as Sovran Maxims.
Found word for word by program in the Greek original and in R. D. Hicks’ English translation (1925).
- Work
- Principal Doctrines (Κύριαι Δόξαι), 270 BC
- Where
- Principal Doctrines 5 (Diogenes Laertius, Lives X.140); translated by R. D. Hicks, 1925, as Sovran Maxims
- Found at
- Paragraph 5 of the Greek text, 5 of the English
- Translation
- R. D. Hicks, 1925
Researched by AI; checked by program against the full text on 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
On the page
[…] Illnesses of long duration even permit of an excess of pleasure over pain in the flesh.
[…] Οὐ χρονίζει τὸ ἀλγοῦν συνεχῶς ἐν τῇ σαρκί, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν ἄκρον τὸν ἐλάχιστον χρόνον πάρεστι, τὸ δὲ μόνον ὑπερτεῖνον τὸ ἡδόμενον κατὰ σάρκα οὐ πολλὰς ἡμέρας συμμένει. αἱ δὲ πολυχρόνιοι τῶν ἀρρωστιῶν πλεονάζον ἔχουσι τὸ ἡδόμενον ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ ἤ περ τὸ ἀλγοῦν.
5. It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living pleasantly. Whenever any one of these is lacking, when, for instance, the man is not able to live wisely, though he lives well and justly, it is impossible for him to live a pleasant life.
[V.] Οὐκ ἔστιν ἡδέως ζῆν ἄνευ τοῦ φρονίμως καὶ καλῶς καὶ δικαίως, 〈οὐδὲ φρονίμως καὶ καλῶς καὶ δικαίωσ〉 ἄνευ τοῦ ἡδέως. ὅτῳ δὲ τοῦτο μὴ ὑπάρχει ἐξ οὗ ζῆν φρονίμως, καὶ καλῶς καὶ δικαίως ὑπάρχει, οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτον ἡδέως ζῆν.
6. In order to obtain security from other men any means whatsoever of procuring this was a natural good.
[VI.] Ἕνεκα τοῦ θαρρεῖν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ἦν κατὰ φύσιν [ἀρχῆς καὶ βασιλείας] ἀγαθόν, ἐξ ὧν ἄν ποτε τοῦθʼ οἷός τʼ ᾖ παρασκευάζεσθαι.
7. 141. Some men have sought to become famous and renowned, thinking that thus they would make themselves secure against their fellow-men. […]
[VII.] […]
The scene
The fifth maxim makes a pleasant life and wise, honourable, just conduct inseparable. Its next sentence says that a life cannot be pleasant if even one of these conditions is missing. The same claim is developed in the Letter to Menoeceus, X.132, where prudence is the source of the other virtues.
What it means
Lasting pleasure is not an alternative to wisdom and justice: the pleasant life requires them, and they in turn belong to that life.
Often misread
This is not permission to pursue any pleasure at any cost, or a claim that every agreeable sensation proves its recipient virtuous. Epicurus is describing a whole way of living, not an isolated sensation. The Greek text here retains the editorial restoration printed in the held Hicks edition.
Topics
Related quotes
- When we say that pleasure is the end and aim, we do not mean the pleasures of the prodigal or the pleasures of sensuality. By pleasure we mean the absence of pain in the body and of trouble in the soul.
- Of all this the beginning and the greatest good is prudence. Wherefore prudence is a more precious thing even than philosophy; from it spring all the other virtues …
- No pleasure is in itself evil, but the things which produce certain pleasures entail annoyances many times greater than the pleasures themselves.
- The just man enjoys the greatest peace of mind, while the unjust is full of the utmost disquietude.
- The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sources
Cite it
Epicurus, Principal Doctrines (270 BC), Principal Doctrines 5 (Diogenes Laertius, Lives X.140); translated by R. D. Hicks, 1925, as Sovran Maxims, translated by R. D. Hicks (1925). Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/impossible-to-live-pleasantly-without-living-wisely/ (31 October 2026).
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