II. OPINIONS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DEMOCRITEAN AND EPICUREAN PHYSICS

The way in which my general outlook is related to earlier points of view will become quite obvious if a brief review is made of the opinions held by the ancient authors concerning the relationship between Democritean and Epicurean physics.

Posidonius the Stoic, Nicolaus and Sotion reproach Epicurus for having presented the Democritean doctrine of atoms and Aristippus’ teaching on pleasure as his own.” Cotta the Academician asks in Cicero: “What is there in Epicurus’ physics which does not belong to Democritus? True, he modifies some details, but most of it he repeats after him.” ” Cicero himself says similarly:

“In physics, where he is the most pretentious, Epicurus is a perfect stranger. Most of it belongs to Democritus; where he deviates from him, where he endeavours to improve, he spoils and worsens it.”

Although many authors reproach Epicurus for aspersions against Democritus, Leonteus, according to Plutarch, affirms on the contrary that Epicurus honoured Democritus because the latter had adhered to the true doctrine before him, because he had discovered the principles of nature earlier. In the essay De placitis philosophorum Epicurus is called one who philosophises after the manner of Democritus.” Plutarch in his Colotes goes further. Successively comparing Epicurus with Democritus, Empedocles, Parmenides, Plato, Socrates, Stilpo, the Cyrenaics and the Academicians, he seeks to prove that “Epicurus appropriated from the whole of Greek philosophy the false and did not understand the true”. Likewise the treatise De eo, quod secundum Epicurum non beate vivi possit teems with inimical insinuations of a similar kind.

In the Fathers of the Church we find this unfavourable opinion, held by the more ancient authors, maintained. In the note I quote only one passage from Clement of Alexandria,” a Father of the Church who deserves to be prominently mentioned with regard to Epicurus, since he reinterprets the warning of the apostle Paul against philosophy in general into a warning against Epicurean philosophy. as one which did not even once spin fantasies concerning providence and the like.* But how common was the tendency to accuse Epicurus of plagiarism is shown most strikingly by Sextus Empiricus, who wishes to turn some quite inappropriate passages from Homer and Epicharmus into principal sources of Epicurean philosophy.”

It is well known that the more recent writers by and large make Epicurus, insofar as he was a philosopher of nature, a mere plagiarist of Democritus. The following statement of Leibniz may here represent their opinion in general:

“Nous ne savons presque de ce grand homme” (Démocrite) “que ce qu’Epicure en a emprunté, qui n’était pas capable d’en prendre toujours le meilleur.” *

* “Of this great man” (Democritus) “we scarcely know anything but what Epicurus borrowed from him, and Epicurus was not capable of always taking the best.” — Ed.

Thus while Cicero says that Epicurus worsened the Democritean doctrine, at the same time crediting him at least with the will to improve it and with having an eye for its defects, while Plutarch ascribes to him inconsistency’ and a predisposition toward the inferior, hence also casts suspicion on his intentions, Leibniz denies him even the ability to make excerpts from Democritus skilfully.

But all agree that Epicurus borrowed his physics from Democritus.