Cleon looked around again. The people weren’t pretending to be happy. They were laughing at a simple joke, helping each other water the herbs, and resting in the afternoon shade.
An elderly man with kind eyes rose to greet him. “You look troubled, friend. Sit. Eat.” epicurus the art of happiness pdf
One evening, discouraged and exhausted, Cleon heard a rumor of an old teacher who lived outside the city walls in a simple garden. His name was Epicurus. Cleon looked around again
he said, “natural and necessary desires.” He pointed to the bread, the fig, the jug of water. “Food, shelter, friendship, safety. These are easy to satisfy. When fulfilled, they bring genuine peace.” An elderly man with kind eyes rose to greet him
He drew a third line and crossed it out. “Fame, limitless wealth, power over others. These are neither natural nor necessary. They are bottomless pits. The more you feed them, the hungrier they grow.”
