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Letter to Pythocles — Epicurus

Correspondence

Letter to Pythocles

Ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς Πυθοκλέα

Cabeza de Epicuro (Metropolitan Museum)
byEpicurus

A letter devoted to celestial and atmospheric phenomena: the sun, the moon and its phases, eclipses, comets, clouds, thunder, lightning, earthquakes. Its characteristic feature is the method of multiple explanations: when a phenomenon admits several causes consistent with what is observed, all should be accepted rather than imposing a single one or appealing to the gods. Its declared aim is not science for its own sake but peace of mind.

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Editions and translations · 8

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Authorship note

Authenticity disputed. Preserved by Diogenes Laertius (X 84–116). Since Usener some scholars have attributed it to a disciple summarising the master's doctrines; others, as Konstan notes, think there are sufficient reasons to regard it as Epicurus' own work.

Editions and translations

Editions in your language first, without hiding the others. Each with its cover and its store.

English

  • The Epicurus Reader: Selected Writings and Testimonia — Epicurus

    The Epicurus Reader: Selected Writings and Testimonia

    Hackett Publishing, 1994

    Translation: Brad Inwood y L. P. Gerson

    ISBN 9780872202412

    Introducción de D. S. Hutchinson.

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  • Epicurus: The Extant Remains

    Clarendon Press (ed. digital en Internet Archive), 1926

    Translation: Cyril Bailey

    Texto griego y traducción inglesa; dominio público en EE. UU. (publicado en 1926), no en la UE hasta 2028 (Bailey murió en 1957).

    View in store · Internet Archive (gratuito)

  • Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, Book X

    Wikisource (trad. de R. D. Hicks, Loeb, 1925), 1925

    Translation: R. D. Hicks

    Dominio público (Hicks murió en 1929).

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  • Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Volume II: Books 6–10 (Loeb Classical Library 185) — Epicurus

    Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Volume II: Books 6–10 (Loeb Classical Library 185)

    Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library), 1925

    Translation: R. D. Hicks

    ISBN 9780674992047

    Edición bilingüe griego-inglés; el libro X contiene los textos de Epicuro.

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Español

  • Los diez libros de Diógenes Laercio sobre las vidas, opiniones y sentencias de los filósofos más ilustres, tomo II

    Imprenta Real (ed. digital en Internet Archive), 1792

    Translation: José Ortiz y Sanz

    Dominio público; incluye el libro X.

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  • Obras completas — Epicurus

    Obras completas

    Cátedra (Letras Universales), 1995

    ISBN 9788437613307

    Reúne las tres cartas, las Máximas capitales, las Sentencias vaticanas y fragmentos; Open Library registra la reimpresión de 2004. Traductor no comprobado en catálogo.

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  • Obras — Epicurus

    Obras

    Tecnos (Clásicos del Pensamiento), 2007

    ISBN 9788430942572

    Registro de Open Library de 2007; traductor no comprobado en catálogo.

  • Vidas y opiniones de los filósofos ilustres — Epicurus

    Vidas y opiniones de los filósofos ilustres

    Alianza Editorial, 2013

    Translation: Carlos García Gual

    ISBN 9788420676975

    Traducción completa de Diógenes Laercio; el libro X contiene las cartas, las Máximas y el testamento.

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Other works by Epicurus

Sources

  • Konstan, David. «Epicurus». The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Edward N. Zalta; primera publicación 2005, revisión sustancial del 8 de julio de 2022.

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