No pleasure is in itself evil, but the things which produce certain pleasures entail annoyances many times greater than the pleasures themselves.
Genuine
Yes. In Principal Doctrines (270 BC), Principal Doctrines 8 (Diogenes Laertius, Lives X.141); 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 8 (Diogenes Laertius, Lives X.141); translated by R. D. Hicks, 1925, as Sovran Maxims
- Found at
- Paragraph 8 of the Greek text, 8 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
[…] If, then, the life of such persons really was secure, they attained natural good; if, however, it was insecure, they have not attained the end which by nature’s own prompting they originally sought.
[…] Ἔνδοξοι καὶ περίβλεπτοί τινες ἐβουλήθησαν γενέσθαι, τὴν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀσφάλειαν οὕτω νομίζοντες περιποιήσεσθαι. ὥστʼ εἰ μὲν ἀσφαλὴς ὁ τῶν τοιούτων βίος, ἀπέλαβον τὸ τῆς φύσεως ἀγαθόν· εἰ δὲ μὴ ἀσφαλής, οὐκ ἔχουσιν οὗ ἕνεκα ἐξ ἀρχῆς κατὰ τὸ τῆς φύσεως οἰκεῖον ὠρέχθησαν.
8. No pleasure is in itself evil, but the things which produce certain pleasures entail annoyances many times greater than the pleasures themselves.
[VIII.] Οὐδεμία ἡδονὴ καθʼ ἑαυτὸ κακόν· ἀλλὰ τὰ τινῶν ἡδονῶν ποιητικὰ πολλαπλασίους ἐπιφέρει τὰς ὀχλήσεις τῶν ἡδονῶν.
9. 142. […]
[IX.] Εἰ κατεπυκνοῦτο πᾶσα ἡδονή, καὶ χρόνῳ καὶ περὶ ὅλον τὸ ἄθροισμα ὑπῆρχεν ἢ τὰ κυριώτατα μέρη τῆς φύσεως, οὐκ ἄν ποτε διέφερον ἀλλήλων αἱ ἡδοναί.
10. […]
[X.] […]
The scene
The eighth of the forty maxims preserved at the end of Diogenes Laertius’ account of Epicurus distinguishes a pleasure from the means that produce it. The tenth maxim develops the point: pleasures of profligacy would not be objectionable if they actually removed fear and pain and taught the limits of desire.
What it means
Pleasure is not bad in itself, but getting it can bring pains that outweigh it; the whole consequence of a choice matters.
Often misread
Stopping after the first clause turns a rule for weighing consequences into permission to pursue any pleasure. The qualification is essential, as is the Letter to Menoeceus’ distinction between a pleasure being good and being worth choosing.
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.
- 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.
- The just man enjoys the greatest peace of mind, while the unjust is full of the utmost disquietude.
- Nature’s wealth at once has its bounds and is easy to procure; but the wealth of vain fancies recedes to an infinite distance.
- There never was an absolute justice, but only an agreement made in reciprocal intercourse in whatever localities now and again from time to time, providing against the infliction or suffering of harm.
Sources
Cite it
Epicurus, Principal Doctrines (270 BC), Principal Doctrines 8 (Diogenes Laertius, Lives X.141); translated by R. D. Hicks, 1925, as Sovran Maxims, translated by R. D. Hicks (1925). Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/no-pleasure-is-in-itself-evil/ (31 October 2026).
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