ДРУШТВО ЗА АНТИЧКЕ СТУДИЈЕ СРБИЈЕ АНТИКА И САВРЕМЕНИ СВЕТ: ТУМАЧЕЊЕ АНТИКЕ Зборник радова ДРУШТВО ЗА АНТИЧКЕ СТУДИЈЕ СРБИЈЕ БУКЕФАЛ E.O. Н. Научне публикације Друштва за античке студије Србије Едиција Антика и савремени свет Том 1: Антика и савремени свет, 2007, стр. 404 Скуп одржан 2006. године Том 2: Европске идеје, античка цивилизација и српска култура, 2008, стр. 496 Скуп одржан 2007. године Том 3: Антички свет, европска и српска наука, 2009, стр. 432 Скуп одржан 2008. године Том 4: Античка култура, европско и српско наслеђе, 2010, стр. 508 Скуп одржан 2009. године Том 5: Антика и савремени свет: култура и религија, 2011, стр. 507 Скуп одржан 2010. године Том 6: Антика, савремени свет и рецепција античке културе, 2012, стр. 524 Скуп одржан 2011. године Том 7: Антика и савремени свет: научници, истраживачи и тумачи 2012, стр. 350 Скуп одржан 2012. године Том 8: Антика и савремени свет: тумачење антике, 2013; стр. 472 Скуп одржан 2013. године Proceedings of the Serbian Society for Ancient Studies Series Antiquity and Modern World Antiquity and Modern World, Proceedings of the Serbian Society for Ancient Studies,Vol. I, Belgrade 2007, pp. 404 European Ideas, Ancient Civilization and Serbian Culture, Proceedings of the Serbian Society for Ancient Studies, Vol. II, Belgrade 2008, pp. 496 Ancient World, European and Serbian Scholarship, Proceedings of the Serbian Society for Ancient Studies, Vol. III, Belgrade 2009, pp. 432 Ancient Culture, European and Serbian Heritage, Proceedings of the Serbian Society for Ancient Studies, Vol. IV, Belgrade 2010, pp. 508 Antiquity and Modern World: Religion and Culture, Proceedings of the Serbian Society for Ancient Studies, Vol. V, Belgrade 2011, pp. 507 Antiquity, Modern World and Reception of Ancient Culture, Proceedings of the Serbian Society for Ancient Studies, Vol. VI, Belgrade 2012, pp. 524 Antiquity and Modern World, Scientists, Researchers and Interpreters, Proceedings of the Serbian Society for Ancient Studies, Vol. VII, Belgrade 2013, pp. Antiquity and Modern World, Interpretation of antiquity The Editor in chief of the Proceedings of the Serbian Society for Ancient Studies, Vol. IVII, is Prof. Dr. Ksenija Maricki Gadjanski Весна Манојловић Николић, Из средњовековне археологије, Студије и истраживања, Београд, 2012, стр. 160, ил. Vesna Manojlović Nikolić, From Medieval Archeology, Studies and researches, Belgrade, 2012, 160 pp, ill. ИЗДАВАЧИ Друштво за античке студије Србије, Београд Букефал ЕОН, Београд За издаваче Проф. др Ксенија Марицки Гађански Милан Милетић УДК Драгана Обрадовић Лектура и коректура др Ксенија Марицки Гађански др Снежана Ферјанчић Припрема рукописа за штампу Милан Милетић др Ивана Гађански др Снежана Ферјанчић Прелом, графичко уређење и дизајн корица Милан Милетић Штампа „Jован", Београд Тираж 100 ISBN 978-86-89367-03-4 CIP – Каталогизација у публикацији Народна библиотека Србије, Београд 94(398)(082) 930.85(398)(082) 1:929 Савић Ребац А.(082) АНТИКА и савремени свет: тумачење антике : зборник радова / [организатор скупа] Друштво за античке студије Србије ; [главни уредник Ксенија Марицки Гађански]. – Београд : Друштво за античке студије Србије ; Београд : Букефал Е.О.Н, 2014 (Београд : Јован). – 476 стр. ; 23 cm. – (#Едиција #Антика и савремени свет ; #том #8 = #Series #Antiquity and Modern World. #vol.#8) Радови на срп. и енг. језику. – Текст ћир. и лат. – „Свој осми међународни научни скуп Антика и савремени свет: Тумачење антике Друштво за античке студије Србије је одржало од 18–20. октобра 2013"--> уводна реч. – Тираж 100. – Напомене и библиографске референце уз текст. – Библиографија уз сваки рад. – Резимеи на страним језицима. ISBN 978-86-89367-03-4 1. Друштво за античке студије (Београд) a) Савић Ребац, Аница (1892–1953) – Зборници b) Југоисточна Европа – Историја – Стари век – Зборници c) Југоисточна Европа – Културна историја – Стари век – Зборници COBISS.SR-ID 207866636 САДРЖАЈ Ксенија Марицки Гађански: Уводна реч . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 I У ЧАСТ АНИЦЕ САВИЋ РЕБАЦ Срђан Дамњановић, У пропадљивом телу пребива дух. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Srđan Damnjanović, Fragile is the Body that Holds the Spirit Мирјана Д. Стефановић, Лирика Анице Савић Ребац и антика . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Mirjana D. Stefanović, Die lyrik von Anica Savić Rebac und die Antike Nebojša Grubor, Platonova estetika u interpretaciji Anice Savić Rebac . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Nebojša Grubor, Plato's aesthetics in the interpretation of Anica Savić Rebac Sandra Dučić Collette, Anica Savić Rebac i Platonov Eros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Sandra Dučić Collette, Anica Savić Rebac and the Platonic Eros Марија Стијепић, Аница Савић-Ребац и Летопис Матице Српске . . . . . . . . . . 52 Marija Stijepić, Anica Savić Rebac and the Letopis Matice Srpske Jasmina Premović, O „Životnoj istinitosti" u delima Tomasa Mana prema tumačenjima Anice Savić Rebac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Jasmina Premović, Anica Savić Rebac on the „Verity of Life" in the writings of Thomas Mann Danijela Stefanović, Osvrt Anice Savić Rebac na „orijentalna društva" i koncept primitivne demokratije . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Danijela Stefanović, A note by Anica Savić Rebac on the oriental societies and the concept of primitive democracy Слађана Миленковић, Аница Савић Ребац и Димитрије Митриновић: Једна паралела . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Slađana Milenković, Anica Savić Rebac and Dimitije Mitrinović: A parallel Мирјана Д. Стефановић, Библиографија Анице Савић Ребац (1998–2013) . . . 85 Mirjana D. Stefanović, Die Bibliografie von Anica Savić Rebac (1998–2013) 473 II РАДОВИ СА СКУПА Самир Аличић, Аквилијанска заштита плодоуживања у римском праву. . . 107 Samir Aličić, Aquilian Protection of Usufruct in Roman Law Snežana Božanić, Milica Kisić, Intertekstualni dijalog Georgika i De Rerum Natura kroz IV knjigu Vergilijevog speva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Snežana Božanić, Milica Kisić, Vergil's Georgics and Lucretius' De Rerum Natura Зоја Бојић, Сликање времена: Филострат Старији о времену и сликање Филостратовог концепта времена у европској уметности. . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Zoja Bojić, Painting Time: Philostratus The Elder on Time and Depictions of Philostrateian Concept of Time in European Art Светозар Бошков, Историја предримског подунавља у радовима Растислава Марића . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Svetozar Boškov, The History of the Pre-Roman Danube Region in the Studies of Rastislav Marić Немања Вујчић, Криви су богови и римљани! Питање кривице за покретање Митридатових ратова у античким изворима и модерним тумачењима . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Nemanja Vujčić, Gods and Romans are to be Blamed! The Question of War Guilt in the Case of Mithridatic Wars in Ancient Sources and Modern Interpretations Владан Гавриловић, Професура Јована Ђорђевића На Великој православној новосадској гимназији у Новом Саду . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Vladan Gavrilović, The professor Jovan Đorđević at the Great serbian orthodox gymnasium of Novi Sad Петар Грујић, Платоново наслеђе . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 Petar Grujić, Plato's Legacy Ивана Кузмановић Нововић, Gryllo представе у античкој глиптици . . . . . . 197 Ivana Kuzmanović, Gryllo Representation in Glyptic Art of antiquity Ирена Љубомировић, ГалериЈев едикт и хришћани . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 Irena Ljubomirović, The Edict of Galerius and the Christians Michail Mantzanas, Aritotle on the Presocratic Moral Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Μιχαήλ Μαντζανάς, Η κριτική του Αριστοτέλη στην ηθική ψυχολογία των προσωκρατικών Весна Манојловић Николић, Симболика орла на средoовековном прстењу у Србији . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Vesna Manojlović Nikolić, Symbolism of the Eagle on the Medieval Rings from Serbia 474 Гордан Маричић, Ужиј љубав, зграби „сад": Песме Катула, Проперција, Адија и Милана Ракића. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 Gordan Maričić, Carpe Amorem, Carpe Diem (Seize the Love, Seize the Now): Poems by Catulus, Propertius, Ady, and Rakić Ненад Марковић, Јулијан Апостата и свети бик Апис . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 Nenad Marković, Julian the Apostate and the sacred bull Apis Emilia Masson-Jovanović, Од некада до данас: Дуговечност и поука прастарих сведочанстава . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 Emilia Masson-Jovanović, De jadis à nos jours : La longevité et L'Enseignement de Témoignages Anciens Miroslava Mirković, Metodi i model, pojdinačno i opšte u istraživanju antike . . . . 285 Miroslava Mirković, Method and model, from the particular to the general concept in researching Antiquity Mirko Obradović, Lakonofilija u službi filhelenstva: Ksenofontovo panhelenstvo u Agesilaju i ustavu Lakedemonjana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 Mirko Obradović, Philolaconism in the Name of Philhellenism: Xenophon's Panhellenism in Agesilaus and Lakedaimoniôn Politeia Јелена Пилиповић, Porta еburna – Дијалог са Хомером као средство онтолошке игре у Вергилијевој Енеиди . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 Jelena Pilipović, Porta eburna – a dialogue with Homer as an instrument in the ontological play of Vergil in the Aeneid Evangelos D. Protopapadakis, "Death is Nothing to Us": A Critical Analysis of the Epicurean Views Concerning the Dread of Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 Evangelos D. Protopapadakis, „Ουδέν προς ημάς ο θάνατος: Μια κριτική ανάλυση των επικούρειων αντιλήψεων περί του φόβου του θανάτου" Небојша М. Раденковић, Антички остаци у Топлици у делу Феликса Каница . . 324 Nebojša M. Radenković, Antique Remains in Toplica in the Work of Felix Kanitz Саша Радојчић, Превод као интерпретација . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 Saša Radojčić, Translation as an Interpretation Мира Ружић, Текија (Тransdierna) – живот у кастелу . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 Mira Ružić, Tekija (Тransdierna) – Living in a Castellum Глигор Самарџић, Биљешке о миљоказима са југа Далмације . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357 Gligor Samardžić, Notes on the Milestones from Southern Dalmatia Georgios Steiris, Conclusiones Secundum Pythagoram et Hymnos Orphei: Early Modern Conception of Ancient Greek Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372 Γεώργιος Στείρης, Συμπεράσματα σύμφωνα με τον Πυθαγόρα και τους Ορφικούς ύμνους Борис Стојковски, Житије Константина Великог у јакобитском и етиопском синаксару . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 Boris Stojkovski, The Life of Saint Contantine the Great in the Jacobite and Ethiopian Synaxarion 475 Евстратије Т. Теодосију, Василије Н. Маниманис, Милан С. Димитријевић, Астрологија у раном Византијском царству и њена осуда. . . . . . . . . . . . 396 Åfstration Theodosiu, Vassilios N. Manimanis, Milan S. Dimitrijević, Astrology in the early Byzantine Empire and Its Condemnation Снежана Ферјанчић, Константинова паганска визија у савременој историографији 20. века . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417 Snežana Ferjančić, Saxa Loquuntur: Constantine's Pagan Vision in Modern Historiography of the Twentieth Century Валентина Цветковић-Ђорђевић, Антички корени правно неоснованог обогаћења . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424 Valentina Cvetković-Đorđević, Ancient Roots of Unjust Enrichment Боривој Чалић, Заборављени славенски словар Захариjе Oрфелина . . . . . . . . 438 Borivoj Čalić, Forgotten Slavic Dictionary from Zaharia Orfelin Срђан Шаркић, Држава и црква у Јустинијановом законодавству . . . . . . . . . 449 Srđan Šarkić, State and Church in the Legislation of Jutinijan Ђурђина Шијаковић, Жена у рановизантијском друштву: Статус тијела и друштвени статус . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457 Đurđina Šijaković, Woman in Early Byzantine Society: Body Status and Social Status Учесници скупа 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469 476 UDC 17 Epikuros UDC 128 EVANGELOS D. PROTOPAPADAKIS National and Kapodistrian University of Athens "DEATH IS NOTHING TO US": A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EPICUREAN VIEWS CONCERNING THE DREAD OF DEATH Abstract: To the mind of humans death is an impossible riddle, the ultimate of mysteries; therefore it has always been considered a task of paramount importance for philosophers to provide a satisfactory account for death. Among the numerous efforts to deal with the riddle of death, Epicurus' one stands out not only for its unsurpassed simplicity and lucidness, but also for the innovative manner in which it approaches the issue: Epicurus denounces the fear of death as a profoundly unfruitful, unreasonable and unjustifiable passion of the mind. In this short paper I will first provide a brief account of Epicurus' argumentation. Then I will argue that, although Epicure's efforts to annihilate the fear of death proved to be unconvincing (people never ceased to fear death), still in a way they have been successful. Epicurus managed to rationalize in a certain degree the most deeply rooted fear in the souls of humans, and this seems to have been his initial purpose: consolation sometimes is due not only to definite resolution, but also to doubt and inconclusiveness. Key-Words: Epicurus, death, dread, consolation. He don ism in both its Ep i cu re an and Ar is tip pi an forms is a part of the con se quen tial tra di tion in eth ics – as a mat ter of fact in a way it ac tu al ly in i ti ates it. To a con vinced he don ist like Ep i cur us what can be in trin si cal ly good is on ly ἡδονή (pleas ure), while what is in trin si cal ly bad can on ly be πόνος ( pain). There fore, to be a he don ist means to ac cept the view that all sit u a tions in life, any op tion or ac tion are of on ly ex trin sic val ue, one to tal ly de pend ent on wheth er these sit u a tions, ac tions or op tions fa cil i tate the en joy ment of pleas ure and drag off suf fer ing or pain. It is true that Ar is tip pus seems to have in vest ed the most of his ef forts in dis cuss ing ex clu sive ly the pleas ures and the pains of the body, giv ing thus the im pres sion that he some how tend ed to dis re gard the pleas ures and the pains of the soul, but this isn't pe cu liar for a the o ry in its ba by steps that fo cus es on the pos si ble con se quen ces of a giv en op tion: eight eenth cen tu ry util i tar i an eth i cists 316 Jer emy Ben tham1 and – in a some what less er de gree – John Stu art Mill seem to have been shar ing the same dis po si tion. Aft er all, the pleas ures of the body are much more eas i ly ac count a ble com pared to those of the spir it, and they are equal ly shared by all hu mans, while spir it u al de light is most of the times a mat ter of in di vid u al taste. Tag ging along with Ar is tip pus, Ep i cur us miss es no chance to put as much em pha sis as he could on the val ue of bod i ly pleas ures: " If I have rye-bread and baked bar ley and wa ter", he writes, "I think my ta ble so well fur nished, as to dare dis pute hap pi ness with Zeus him self"2; and again, "ev ery pleas ure is based on the pleas ures of the bel ly"3. The lat ter could be tak en as to im ply that, ac cord ing ly, all pains are based on the pains of the bel ly. Ep i cur us, how ev er, did not share this view; he re gard ed men tal pleas ures and pains as equal ly im por tant for the ac qui si tion of ἡδονή4. As a mat ter of fact, he con sid ered ἡδονή as the com plete ab sence of both phys i cal (ἀπονία) and men tal pain (ἀταραξία)5. As for the first, he sug gest ed that one should pre fer stat ic (καταστηματικαί ἡδοναί) over dy nam ic pleas ures (κατὰ κίνησιν ἡδοναί), since the former are free from pain, while the lat ter are not6. As for the sec ond, he in vest ed all his ef forts in an am bi tious project: Ep i cur us set out to elim i nate any fear that may lurk in the souls of hu mans, in clud ing the most prom i nent among these, the fear of death. As to oth er pos si ble sour ces of fear, Ep i cur us pro vid ed some piece of prac ti cal ad vice: if you fear for the fate of those you are in ti mate ly con nect ed with, you should avoid get ting in ti mate ly con nect ed7: re frain from get ting mar ried and ac quir ing off-spring8. If you fear the en vy of oth ers, try not to ex pose your self to 317 1 See Jeremy Bentham's amusing doggerel: "Intense, long, speedy, certain, fruitful, pure, such marks in pleasures and in pains endure; such pleasures seek – if private – by the end; if it be public, wide let them extend. Such pains avoid, whichever by thy view..." Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (New York: Dover, 2007), 29. 2 Aelianus, Varia historia, edited by R. Hercher (Leipzig: Teubner, 1866), IV.13 3 Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, edited by G. Kaibel (Leipzig: Teubner, 1890), XII 546f: "... the beginning and the root of every good is the pleasure of the belly. And everything that is wise or useless is due to it". 4 Diogenes Laertius, Vitae philosophorum, edited by H. S. Long (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966), X.136-137. 5 Seneca, Epistulae morales ad Lucilium, edited and translated by Richard Gummere (London: William Heinemann, 1951), 66.45: "... apud Epicurum duo bona sunt, ex quibus summum illud beatumque componitur, ut corpus sine dolore sit, animus sine perturbatione." 6 Epicurus, Ratae sententiae, in Epicuro. Opere, edited by G. Arrighetti (Turin: Einaudi, 1973), VIII: "No pleasure is evil as such. However, the sources of some pleasures bring about much more nuisance than pleasure". See also Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1967), 244. 7 Diogenes Laertius, Vitae philosophorum, edited by H. S. Long (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966), X.120a: "[the wise man] will not acquire anything dear to him". 8 Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1967), 245. 9 Plutarch, Adversus Colotem, in Plutarchi moralia, edited by R. Westman, vol. 6.2, 2nd ed. (Leipzig: Teubner, 1959), 1125c: "... We have to say which way one will maintain the purpose of his nature, and willingly refrain from being elected to office". their mean ness: avoid get ting en gaged in to pol i tics9, and in gen er al try to live your life un no ticed by oth ers – this is his fa mous λάθε βιώσας im per a tive10. All these prac ti cal pie ces of ad vice might sound like easy wit ti cism to some, and they seem to form the gos pel of a luke warm life to tal ly de prived of any fer vor; to some a way of life as the one pro posed by Ep i cur us might look to tal ly mean ing less. It was not due to teach ings like these, how ev er, that Ep i cur us earned his rep u ta tion; it was rath er due to the in no va tive way he dealt with the great est fear that haunts the hearts and the minds of hu mans, which is no oth er than the fear of death. The way Ep i cur us sees it, the fear of death is of a two fold char ac ter: on the one hand it is about the wrath of the gods that one might fear that may fall up on him in the aft er life, when he has reached the eter nal dark ness of Ha des; on the oth er it is about death per se, to wit about being dead. As to the first, Ep i cure ar gues that this fear is nei ther jus ti fied nor rea son a ble even for the wick ed or the un just, those who one might rea son a bly think that they should be right ful ly ex pect ing to be pun ished in the aft er life for their sins or crimes11. This is be cause the gods, as Ep i cure as sumes, are not aware ei ther of the good or bad deeds of peo ple – in a way they are to tal ly ig no rant about the ex is tence of hu mans, and this is not with out a good rea son: the gods, be ing par ex cel lence the ut most rea son a ble of all be ings, can on ly be ra tion al he don ists like him and his dis ci ples; there fore, they sure ly try to avoid pain and achieve pleas ure, ex act ly as a per fect ly ra tion al he don ist would do. The hu man con di tion, how ev er, would on ly be a source of dis tress to them, ex act ly as it is to hu mans; there fore, the gods have sure ly de cid ed to turn their eyes away from hu mans and have thus be come to tal ly dis in ter est ed in their con di tion, their achieve ments and their fail ures equal ly. It fol lows the gods are nei ther in ter est ed nor dis posed to pun ish or re ward any one in the aft er life. Any be ing that is bliss ful and in de struc ti ble nei ther fa ces prob lems it self, nor does it cre ate prob lems to oth ers. There fore it can not be af fect ed ei ther by rage or good will12. This unique view of Ep i cur us con cern ing the ig no rance of the gods with re gard to the hu man con di tion is pos si ble to have in flu enced cen tu ries lat er Ba ruch Spi no za in ar tic u lat ing a sim i lar the sis, name ly that God doesn't have a clue about the ex is tence of men13. 318 10 Plutarch, De latenter vivendo, in Plutarchi moralia, edited by R. Westman, vol. 6.2, 2nd ed. (Leipzig: Teubner, 1959), 1128c. 11 Hippolytus, Refutatio omnium haeresium, edited by M. Marcovich (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1986), 1.22.5. 12 Epicurus, Ratae sententiae, in Epicuro. Opere, edited by G. Arrighetti (Turin: Einaudi, 1973) I. Also Aetius, Placita Philosophorum, edited by W. W. Goodwin, translated by John Dowell (London: Little & Brown, 1874) 1.7.7: "... the blissful and indestructible being, since it is full of every good and unaffected by any evil, is totally turned to the sustaining of its bliss and indestructibility and is totally indifferent for the human affairs." 13 Lucian, Bis accusatus sive tribunalia, edited by A.M. Harmon, vol. 3 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1969), 2: 27. 319 But it is not on ly the fear of pun ish ment that makes death dread ful in the eyes of hu mans; it is al so the very con di tion of being dead per se. This fear is equal ly un ground ed, un rea son a ble and un jus ti fied, ar gues Ep i cur us in a fa mous pas sage from his Letter to Me noe ceus: Ac cus tom your self to be lieve that death is noth ing to us, for good and evil im ply aware ness, and death is the ab sence of all aware ness. There fore a right un der stand ing that death is noth ing to us makes the mor tal i ty of life en joy a ble, not by add ing to life an un lim it ed time, but by tak ing away the yearn ing aft er im mor tal i ty. For there is noth ing fear ful in liv ing for those who thor ough ly grasp that there is noth ing fear ful in not liv ing. Fool ish, there fore, is the per son who says that he fears death, not be cause it will pain when it comes, but be cause it pains in the prospect. What ev er caus es no an noy ance when it is present, caus es on ly a ground less pain in the ex pec ta tion. Death, there fore, the most aw ful of evils, is noth ing to us, see ing that, when we ex ist death is not present, and when death is present we do not ex ist. It is noth ing, then, ei ther to the liv ing or to the dead, for with the liv ing it is not and the dead ex ist no longer. Peo ple some times shun death as the great est of all evils, but at oth er times choose it as a res pite from the evils in life. But the wise per son nei ther dep re cates life nor does he fear its end ing. The thought of life is no of fense to him, nor is death re gard ed as an evil. But just as he choos es the pleas ant est food, not sim ply the great er quan ti ty, so too he en joys the pleas ant est time, not the long est.14 For Ep i cur us it was much eas ier than it is to a Chris tian or a Bud dhist to main tain that death is the ab sence of all aware ness. This is be cause, ac cord ing to his phys ics, the soul – the source and the locus of any kind of aware ness – is com posed of in de struc ti ble ma te ri al at oms; when the per son dies the soul is be ing dis solved in to sep a rate at oms ex act ly as the body is, de priv ing thus the corpse of the abil i ty of sen su al per cep tion. To the sen si ble schol ar it is al most ob vi ous that the Ep i cu re an uni verse has no place ei ther for Ha des or for the gods; nev er the less, as Ber trand Rus sell as sumes, Ep i cur us nev er out ward ly re ject ed the ex is tence of both, well aware of the fact that their ex is tence is deep ly root ed in men's mind and hu man civ il i za tion15. In ar gu ing that man and death nev er meet, be cause when man is present death is not, and when death comes man is not any more present, Ep i cur us in tro du ces to this de bate the so-called "Ex is tence Con di tion", ar tic u lat ing thus an ar gu ment based on ex pe ri ence. This ar gu ment could be out lined in this way: A. On ly what can hurt you may be bad for you. B. Noth ing can hurt you if you do not ex ist. C. There fore, when you don't ex ist, noth ing can hurt you. 14 Epicurus, Epistula ad Menoeceum, in Epicuro. Opere, edited by G. Arrighetti (Turin: Einaudi, 1973), 124-126. 15 Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1967), 247. More over, it is non sen si cal to wor ry about what can not hurt you, be cause such wor ries ac tu al ly hurt you in ad vance ( when you can re al ly be hurt), and this is with no rea son. "... item al io lo co di cit: ' quid tam rid ic u lum quam ad pet e re mor tem, cum vi tam in qui e team ti bi fe cer is metu mor tis?'"16 To a ra tion al he don ist and a ma te ri al ist like Ep i cur us, this is on ly self ev i dent. It might not be the same to any oth er, but in or der to do jus tice to Ep i cur us we have to judge his views on grounds of his over all the o ret i cal sys tem, in the con text of which pleas ure is the on ly good and pain is the on ly bad. And it is more than ob vi ous that the dead can ex pe ri ence nei ther pain nor pleas ure, there fore death in the eyes of a he don ist can on ly be a neu tral con di tion. Ep i cur us' views have been de fend ed by many phi los o phers and ques tioned by much more. Among its cham pi ons one can find his late suc ces sor Lu cre ti us17, and in our times Steph en Ro sen baum18, Gal en Straw son19 and Mar tha Nuss baum20. To the op po nents of his views are in clud ed Har ry Sil ver sein21 and Thom as Na gel22. Both his op po nents and pro po nents, how ev er, seem to have dealt with Ep i cur us' views not from the per spec tive of he don ism, but from oth er id i o syn crat ic ones. Thus, they can bare ly do jus tice to his views re gard less of wheth er they ques tion or de fend them. There fore I will try to ar tic u late my crit i cism on Ep i cur us' views con cern ing the fear of death sole ly on he don is tic grounds; I will do this in my ef fort to prove Ep i cur us wrong by ar gu ing that death can be bad even for a ra tion al he don ist like him. Let us ac cept for the sake of the ar gu ment that the on ly good is pleas ure and the on ly bad is pain, and that the de ceased can ex pe ri ence nei ther. If this is the case, then death per se may seem ax i o log i cal neu tral to the dead per son. Death, how ev er, is not just a state of be ing ( or not be ing), one that comes un no ticed or un an nounced; it is rath er the end of the proc ess of dy ing, and dur ing this proc ess the per son who will even tu al ly die is ac tu al ly present. There fore, the proc ess of dy ing can be good or bad for the per son who ex pe ri en ces it, and most of the times – if not al ways – it is bad, be cause it is con nect ed by ei ther men tal or phys i cal pain. There are, of course, cas es in which one dies with out ex pe ri enc ing the 320 16 Seneca, Epistulae morales ad Lucilium, edited and translated by Richard Gummere (London: William Heinemann, 1951), 24.23. 17 Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, translated by W. E. Leonard (New York: Dover, 2004). 18 See Stephen E. Rosenbaum, "How to Be Dead and Not Care: A Defense of Epicurus", American Philosophical Quarterly 23.2 (1986): 217-225. 19 Galen Strawson, "What is the relation between an experience, the subject of the experience, and the content of the experience?", Philosophical Issues 13 (2003): 279-315. 20 Martha Nussbaum, "Mortal Immortals: Lucretius on Death and the Voice of Nature", Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 50 (1989), 303-351 21 Harry Silverstein, "The Evil of Death", Journal of Philosophy 77.7 (1980): 401-424. 22 Thomas Nagel, "Death", in Applied Ethics, edited by Peter Singer, 9-18 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986). ag o ny of death, when, for ex am ple, one dies in his sleep or if he is drugged. But these cas es are rare, so we have to dis re gard them as or di nary in stan ces of dy ing. In all oth ers death comes through a more or less ag o niz ing pro ce dure. One would say that this proves on ly that the proc ess of dy ing can be bad for the per son who ex pe ri en ces it, but not death per se. To me this is on ly a wit ti cism, be cause no body would have to ex pe ri ence the proc ess of dy ing if he didn't have to die, to wit to be come dead. In oth er words, the proc ess of dy ing can not be dis con nect ed from its on ly con se quence, this of driv ing the per son who suf fers it to wards death, since it is the on ly suf fi cient and nec es sa ry con di tion for one to be come dead. In con clu sion, giv en that the con di tion of be ing dead could not be reached with out the proc ess of dy ing, and as sum ing that the proc ess of dy ing is al ways bad for the per son that ex pe ri en ces it, death has to be bad even for a ra tion al he don ist like Ep i cur us. Ep i cur us, how ev er, is ready to pro vide an apt an swer to all these: the proc ess of death can be in deed both phys i cal ly and men tal ly bur den some, but the wise man can eas i ly over come these pains and ag o nies by con tem plat ing past joys, in par tic u lar in tel lec tu al ones. Ep i cur us ar gued that the wise man can be hap py even when tor tured23, and this was not just an easy as sump tion for him. The very day of his death Ep i cur us wrote to Idom e neus a let ter that start ed with this fa mous pas sage: " On this tru ly hap py day of my life, as I am at the point of death, I write this to you. The dis eas es in my blad der and stom ach are pur su ing their course, lack ing noth ing of their usu al se ver i ty: but against all this is the joy in my heart at the rec ol lec tion of my con ver sa tions with you"24. If the ag o ny of dy ing can be mod er at ed or, even, elim i nat ed by the pow ers of the in tel lect, then Ep i cur us' ar gu ment against the fear of death is – pri ma fa cie, at least – a strong one. One would have much more to say on these, since the dis cus sion con cern ing Ep i cur us' views on the fear of death is a long and mul ti-fa cet ed one. At this point, how ev er, I would pre fer to rest my case – but not with out add ing a last re mark of par a mount im por tance for the is sue: one would do no jus tice to Ep i cur us if he fail ed to men tion that his main pur suit seems to have been not pri ma ri ly to ar tic u late a the o ret i cal ly flaw less and con sist ent phi los o phy, but some thing else. This be comes clear in the ef forts he puts in dis cuss ing the pos si bil i ty of di vine pun ish ment or re ward in the aft er life, al though his on tol o gy al lowed nei ther for gods nor for Ha des. I be lieve that I one is not far from Ep i cur us' ac tu al dis po si tion if he as sumes that he en gaged in to de bates as such on ly in or der to al le vi ate hu mans of some of their most deep ly root ed and time ly fears. As a con clu sion, it seems to me that Ep i cur us was ear nest when he spoke of phi los o phy as a con so la tion in life for hu mans: in my view his pri ma ry pur pose has been ex act ly this one. Now, if this is true, if we would like to judge the ef fi cien cy of Ep i cur us' views con cern ing the fear of death, we need to ask our selves wheth er ac tu al ly his 321 23 Diogenes Laertius, Vitae philosophorum, edited by H. S. Long (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966), X.118 24 Diogenes Laertius, ibid., X.22. The translation from Bertrand Russell, op. cit., 242. views have the pow er to of fer us that kind of con so la tion or not. To me they didn't; I ha ven't ceased fear ing death, nei ther do I fear death in a less er de gree due to his ef forts. How ev er, Ep i cur us forced me (to geth er with mil lions of peo ple over the years) to ques tion – even slight ly – my fears. Ep i cur us made me doubt the pow ers that death has on me and on my kind, even in some de gree. And doubt in such cas es is in fa vor of those in need of con so la tion – some times it is a true bless ing. LITERATURE Aelianus, Varia historia, edited by R. Hercher (Leipzig: Teubner, 1866). Aetius, Placita Philosophorum, edited by W. W. Goodwin, translated by John Dowell (London: Little & Brown, 1874). Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, edited by G. Kaibel (Leipzig: Teubner, 1890). Bentham Jeremy, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (New York: Dover, 2007). Diogenes Laertius, Vitae philosophorum, edited by H. S. Long (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966). Epicurus, Epistula ad Menoeceum, in Epicuro: Opere, edited by G. Arrighetti (Turin: Einaudi, 1973). Epicurus, Ratae sententiae, in Epicuro: Opere, edited by G. Arrighetti (Turin: Einaudi, 1973). Hippolytus, Refutatio omnium haeresium, edited by M. Marcovich (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1986). Lucian, Bis accusatus sive tribunalia, edited by A.M. Harmon, vol. 3 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1969). Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, translated by W. E. Leonard (New York: Dover, 2004). Nagel Thomas, "Death", in Applied Ethics, edited by Peter Singer, 9-18 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986). Nussbaum Martha, "Mortal Immortals: Lucretius on Death and the Voice of Nature", Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 50 (1989), 303-351 Plutarch, Adversus Colotem, in Plutarchi moralia, edited by R. Westman, vol. 6.2, 2nd ed. (Leipzig: Teubner, 1959). Plutarch, De latenter vivendo, in Plutarchi moralia, edited by R. Westman, vol. 6.2, 2nd ed. (Leipzig: Teubner, 1959). Rosenbaum Stephen E., "How to Be Dead and Not Care: A Defense of Epicurus", American Philosophical Quarterly 23.2 (1986): 217-225. Russell Bertrand, A History of Western Philosophy (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1967). Seneca, Epistulae morales ad Lucilium, edited and translated by Richard Gummere (London: William Heinemann, 1951). Silverstein Harry, "The Evil of Death", Journal of Philosophy 77.7 (1980): 401-424. Strawson Galen, "What is the relation between an experience, the subject of the experience, and the content of the experience?", Philosophical Issues 13 (2003): 279-315. 322 323 Ευάγγελος Δ. Πρωτοπαπαδάκης Λέκτωρ Εφαρμοσμένης Ηθικής Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών «Ουδέν προς ημάς ο θάνατος: Μια κριτική ανάλυση των επικούρειων αντιλήψεων περί του φόβου του θανάτου» ΠΕΡΊΛΗΨΗ Στην ανθρώπινη σκέψη ο θάνατος φαντάζει δυσεπίλυτος γρίφος, το έσχατο και απόλυτο μυστήριο. Ως εκ τούτου οι φιλόσοφοι ανέκαθεν θεωρούσαν εξόχως σημαντικό στόχο τους την ενασχόλησή τους με το ζήτημα, και την προσπάθεια της ικανοποιητικής διευθέτησής του. Η σχετική απόπειρα του Επίκουρου ξεχωρίζει μεταξύ αναρίθμητων άλλων, όχι μόνον λόγω της αξεπέραστης απλότητας και διαύγειάς της, αλλά και χάρη στον καινοτόμο τρόπο με τον οποίο ο Επίκουρος προσεγγίζει το ζήτημα: απορρίπτοντας, δηλαδή, τον φόβο του θανάτου ως καταφανώς επιζήμιο, άλογο και αδικαιολόγητο πάθος της διάνοιας. Στο σύντομο αυτό δοκίμιο αρχικά θα παραθέσω τις κύριες σχετικές θέσεις του Επίκουρου. Στην συνέχεια θα υποστηρίξω πως, παρότι η προσπάθεια του Επίκουρου να εξοβελίσει τον φόβο του θανάτου από την ανθρώπινη σκέψη απεδείχθη αλυσιτελής, κατά κάποιον τρόπο και σε κάποιον βαθμό υπήρξε επιτυχής. Λέξεις-κλειδιά: Επίκουρος, θάνατος, φόβος, παραμυθία.