Montaigne adopted an Epicurean position when he said;
"Rejoice in your present life; all else is beyond you".
The Life-Philosophy of Epicurus was a noble one, as Epicureans endeavoured to live 'like gods among men'.
"Epicureanism was designed for the use of educated upper and middle classes of the Athenian mainland. This was a philosophy of detachment and impeccable taste, and unlike Stoicism, it was never meant to appeal, or to apply, to the masses, or, to the Universal State".
[M. O'Sullivan, 'The Four Seasons of Greek Philosophy', page 198]
This conflict between noble pagan philosophy and plebeian cults continues into the time of Christ;
"In short, Christianity accomodated itself to already existing and established anti-paganism, to the cults that had been combatted by Epicurus - more precisely, to the religions of the lower masses, the women, the slaves, the non-noble classes ..."
[Nietzsche WP 196]
This is an important distinction;
"Christianity only takes up the fight that had already begun against the CLASSICAL ideal and the NOBLE religion".
[ib.,]
That noble religion is classical paganism of the kind found in Epicurus.
The link;
www.epicurus.net
Live like gods, not like slaves!
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