Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

THE GREEK PHILOSOPHY.445system, to which ethics, physics, and such logic ashe admitted were entirely subordinate, to emancipatemen from four fears, the fear of death, thefear of natural things, the fear of the gods, thefear of a divine Providence, which was the sameing as fate.26 Nevertheless, the followers ofEpicurus had no scruple, after the manner of theirmaster, who had spoken of the worship of the godslike a priest, to visit temples and take part in religiousceremonies. These, it is true, were useless,since they had nothing to fear and nothing tohope from the gods, but it was an act of reason,and could do no harm, to honour beings naturallyso high and excellent.27Of this school we learn that it gradually becamethe most numerous of all. Its social forcereally lay in setting forth as a model the undisturbedsecurity of individual life. It agreed atthe bottom with stoicism that man's wisdom andhighest end was to live in accordance with nature.Zcno, it is true, called 4 this living in accordancewith nature,'virtue,'man's highestOand onlyJgood;O /Epicurus called it pleasure; but Zeno's virtue consistedessentially in the absence of passions, thepleasure of Epicurus in the mind's undisturbed-ness.28 The Epicureans were more attached totheir master's memory than any other school.2" Dollinger, pp. 331-333. Zeller, vol. iii. part 1, p. 39227 Dollinger, p. 335.23 Zeller, vol. iii. part 1, p. 427. oaraSia, and araoa^ia.