Table of Contents
Pythagorean Ring v. Epicurus
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Authored by Frank Redmond, 2013
SYMBOL 24.
Inscribe not the image of God in a ring.
Explanation.–This Symbol, conformably to the foregoing conception, employs the following exhortation: Philosophize, and before everything consider the gods as having an incorporeal subsistence. For this is the most principal root of the Pythagorean dogmas, from which nearly all of them are suspended, and by which they are strengthened even to the end. Do not, therefore, think that the gods use such forms as are corporeal, or that they are received by a material subject and by body as a material bond, like other animals. But the engravings in rings exhibit the bond which subsists through the ring, its corporeal nature, and sensible form, and the view, as it were, of some partial animal which becomes apparent through the engraving; from which especially we should separate the genus of the gods as being eternal and intelligible, and always subsisting according to the same and in a similar manner, as we have particularly, most fully, and scientifically shown in our discourse concerning the gods.1)
VERSUS
Epicureanism
One of the remarkable features of Epicurus' philosophy is that it can be understood at several levels of subtlety. You don't need to be a philosophical genius to grasp the main points, which is why Epicurus coined slogans and maxims for ordinary people to memorize, to help them relieve their anxiety whenever it might arise. There were signet rings and hand mirrors, for example, engraved with the words 'death is nothing', so the faithful could be reminded while going about their daily business. Suppose, though, that you're not convinced that 'death is nothing', for example, and you want proof before you organize your life around that idea. For people like you, Epicurus wrote letters outlining his basic arguments, which circulated freely among those interested in the topic. Suppose, again, that you already have a philosophical education, and you want to assess Epicurus arguments against the competing arguments, from other philosophers, for example. For this purpose he wrote elaborately careful and thorough memoranda of his arguments; his main treatise on natural philosophy ran to a staggering thirty-seven volumes. This extremely long book was given an intermediate (but still quite detailed) summary by Epicurus, and there may have been other levels of length and subtlety. If on a certain topic all our evidence seems superficial, that is probably because the more extensive discussions of that topic have not survived.2)
Fruitful comparison.