Concludingremarks

Cicero, Lactantius and Plutarch (like other critics of Epicurus and Epicureanism), despite being so critical of Epicureanism, constitute valuable sources for our knowledge of the Garden and, in several cases, paradoxically offer relevant testimonies for the sophistication of certain Epicurean theses and arguments.⁵⁹ Indeed, in the comparison that can be made of their testimonies with other secondary sources (and with the few texts that have come down to us from Epicurus himself), one cannot but notice the refinement of Epicurean philosophy and, implicitly, of the reasons that its most ferocious critics had for trivializing its theories and arguments.

We cannot accuse the most virulent critics of Epicurus and his school of having their own agenda (no philosopher or philosophical writer lacks one). But as philosophers as well as historians of philosophy, we must demand that these critics substantiate their objections to Epicurus and Epicureanism more precisely, so as not to contribute to the silencing of a philosophical theory that was not only of theoretical but also of practical interest and considerable impact already in antiquity. The interpretation of Epicureanism by Cicero, Plutarch and Lactantius was not historiographical but belligerent, and it turns particularly virulent when they deal with the political approaches of the Epicureans, as can be seen particularly in the texts of Cicero and Plutarch. Cicero and Plutarch both are Platonic in some way, active politicians, and illustrious members of their society. Their critiques imply a peculiar approach to Greek philosophy, which can be seen in Plutarch's idealization of ‘the ancients, and in the way that they both integrate philosophy into the performance of real political activity. Both of them, though, omit the Epicurean interconnection between the study of nature and political theory. They do not set out the Epicurean theoretical framework in which Epicurean contractualism is inscribed. Consequently, its specific features and the rich Epicurean theme focused on security, justice and law are ignored.

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Source: Aoiz Javie, Boeri Marcelo D.. Theory and Practice in Epicurean Political Philosophy: Security, Justice and Tranquility. Bloomsbury Academic,2023. — 230 p.. 2023

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