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The Art of Happiness (Penguin Classics) Paperback – December 24, 2012

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 402 ratings

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The brilliant writings of a highly influential Greek philosopher, with a foreword by Daniel Klein, author of Travels with Epicurus

The teachings of Epicurus—about life and death, religion and science, physical sensation, happiness, morality, and friendship—attracted legions of adherents throughout the ancient Mediterranean world and deeply influenced later European thought. Though Epicurus faced hostile opposition for centuries after his death, he counts among his many admirers Thomas Hobbes, Thomas Jefferson, Karl Marx, and Isaac Newton. This volume includes all of his extant writings—his letters, doctrines, and Vatican sayings—alongside parallel passages from the greatest exponent of his philosophy, Lucretius, extracts from Diogenes Laertius' 
Life of Epicurus, a lucid introductory essay about Epicurean philosophy, and a foreword by Daniel Klein, author of Travels with Epicurus and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar.

For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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About the Author

Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Only a few fragments of his works remain, and much of what is known about his philosophy derives from later followers and commentators. Daniel Klein is author of Travels with Epicurus and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; Reissue edition (December 24, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 251 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143107216
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143107217
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.11 x 0.74 x 7.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 402 ratings

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4.4 out of 5 stars
402 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and clear. They appreciate the down-to-earth philosophy, which covers all aspects of Epicurean philosophy. However, some readers feel that it provides more epistemology than ethics.

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17 customers mention "Readability"14 positive3 negative

Customers find the book readable and clear for lay readers unfamiliar with philosophical prose. They appreciate the long introduction and the foreword. The translation is faithful to the original language but readable by modern readers. The explanations and overviews are also appreciated.

"...This translation is pretty good for the layman unfamiliar with philosophical prose. The forward is long, well written, and easy to understand." Read more

"...Professor Strodach also provides an extensive Introduction and learned Notes that make up the bulk of the book...." Read more

"Lots of preface and introduction, it’s like half the book.." Read more

"...For those interested, its a fine book to read but if you want something more practical, you're better off looking elsewhere...." Read more

11 customers mention "Philosophy"8 positive3 negative

Customers find the philosophy down-to-earth and covering all aspects of Epicurean philosophy. They appreciate learning about Epicureanism from its roots. The book has interesting propositions, but is written in a dry style. It outlines the search for a good life according to Epicurus.

"...A beautiful, sharp metaphysics of atomism, a materialism of contingency and difference, Epicurus demolishes the self and sends you into a charming..." Read more

"...covers such things as his theory of atoms, sensation, knowledge, and religion (with a wonderful excursion into theories of meteorology)...." Read more

"...the book is Strodach's extensive introduction, which covers all aspects of Epicurean philosophy, as well as its later rendition by the Roman poet..." Read more

"...so astonishingly badly done that it amounts to an unintentional parody of academic incompetence, something nabokov might fabricate for the finical mr..." Read more

Arrived dirty
1 out of 5 stars
Arrived dirty
The book arrived to me with glossy oil or other kind of fingerprint stains on the cover and with gross looking mold, or whatever that grey-brown substance is, dirt on the corner and the bottom of the book. Regardless, I don't want to touch it with bare hands.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2024
    Used book arrived in very good shape. This translation is pretty good for the layman unfamiliar with philosophical prose. The forward is long, well written, and easy to understand.
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2022
    A collection of Epicurus' surviving works. Known best for his therapeutic approach to anxiety and death, the Epicurean school developed tools for the hedonistic acquisition of pleasure. A beautiful, sharp metaphysics of atomism, a materialism of contingency and difference, Epicurus demolishes the self and sends you into a charming swirl of pleasures and dispositions.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2013
    This is Penguin Classics's re-issue of "The Philosophy of Epicurus: Letters, Doctrines, and Parallel Passages from Lucretius" published in 1963. The Art of Happiness (Penguin Classics) has a new foreword by Daniel Klein, author of the very good related book Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life. The foreword is excellent and the translation by George Strodach is very readable and clear.

    Professor Strodach also provides an extensive Introduction and learned Notes that make up the bulk of the book. Most of the actual writings of Epicurus and his students have to do with epistemology and metaphysics rather than the art of happiness, the putative subject of the book. This material is interesting - it covers such things as his theory of atoms, sensation, knowledge, and religion (with a wonderful excursion into theories of meteorology). The actual writings on how to live a good life, what we might refer to as his ethics, is a very small portion of the book.

    However Strodach's Introduction and Notes are scholarly and eccentrically entertaining. He offers a condemnation of religion that is very miuch like the writings of what are characterized as The New Atheism - writers such as Dawkins and Hitchens - and concludes that religion's net effect on humanity is negative. He also offers an unexpected defense of UFO's.

    If you are interested in the Epicurean approach to the good life, I recommend reading Klein's book instead of this one. If you are interested in reading the original source material on Epicurus for an insight into ancient Greek thought, this is an excellent textbook.
    76 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2020
    Lots of preface and introduction, it’s like half the book..
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2022
    I received the book when I was supposed to, and it was exactly what I expected it to be.
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2013
    I had to read this for an undergraduate course at Georgetown University. I ended up buying additional copies to give as gifts.

    This is one text for school I have actually re-read on my own time, and I get something new out of it each reading.

    Highly recommend.
    23 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2017
    To think about what the giants of those days were thinking about .... we have slid back instead of forward in THIS millenium... so far. G Kossow
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2024
    First off, I would like to say that I began looking for reading material that will facilitate ideas about how best to re-frame the mind into a consistent positive outlook on everyday life. With that said, I found some intrigue into reading about epicurean philosophy and simply going with the "flow" of life, all good but this book has little of it, if you're looking to gain some enlightening insight, there are better books out there. As others have mentioned, it delves more into how atoms and/or molecules might have a basis for our actions and decisions we make on a day to day. I personally liked some ideas presented here but does not have sufficient content to quench the mind for knowledge. Real shame that, from what I perceive, is that there might have been far more elaboration into Epicurus philosophy about attaining what he called: Ataraxia(serene calmness). For those interested, its a fine book to read but if you want something more practical, you're better off looking elsewhere. My advice is look into other philosophers dealing with stoicism.

Top reviews from other countries

  • Alarico De Sena
    5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasure is free from pain physically and mentally!
    Reviewed in Australia on April 6, 2024
    It is the first and the very best philosophy book I have ever read in my life. It teaches about happiness and how the universe and other organisms were created. Epicurus is a legend!
  • Sally
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant - one of those books you'll want to read ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2015
    Brilliant - one of those books you'll want to read again and again. It reads in a very modern way (thanks to the excellent translation) and confronts lots of the issues that people struggle with today - how to live happily and ethically in a corrupt world where politics and politicians have disappointed us all. Not a complete answer but a good philosophy to be going on with.
  • Maria
    5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant1
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 5, 2024
    It was a present so great that arrived on time. Great service at the post office point collection.
    Thank you
  • Amazonion
    1.0 out of 5 stars Can’t Recommend
    Reviewed in Canada on May 25, 2021
    Long introduction where author appears drifting and the rest is the excerpts from the “Life of Epicurus”.
  • Dr L Hapgood
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2014
    A very useful collection with an excellent introduction.