The Fourfold Remedy
  • Published: 29 March 2022
  • ISBN: 9780141991658
  • Imprint: Penguin Press
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 96
  • RRP: $14.99

The Fourfold Remedy

Epicurus and the Art of Happiness

Formats & editions
Paperback
29 Mar 2022
EBook
7 Jan 2021
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Epicureanism offers the perfect cure for our anxious age. What can it teach us about the art of happiness?

What do we really need in order to live a happy life? Over two thousand years ago the Greek philosopher Epicurus offered a seemingly simple answer: pleasure. All we really want is pleasure.

Today we tend to associate the word 'Epicurean' with the enjoyment of fine food and wine and decadent self-indulgence. But, as philosopher John Sellars shows, these things are a world away from the vision of a pleasant life developed by Epicurus and his followers, who were more concerned with mental pleasures and avoiding pain. Their goal, in short, was a life of tranquillity.

In vivid, elegant prose, Sellars walks us through the history of Epicureanism from a private garden on the edge of ancient Athens to the streets of ancient Rome, to explore a completely different way of thinking about the pleasures of friendship, our place in the world and the meaning of death. Inspiring and illuminating, The Fourfold Remedy draws on ancient wisdom that feels remarkably relevant today, offering a new way of thinking about what truly matters in our lives.
  • Published: 29 March 2022
  • ISBN: 9780141991658
  • Imprint: Penguin Press
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 96
  • RRP: $14.99
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Praise for The Fourfold Remedy

Not only an excellent introduction to the history of Epicurean philosophy, but also a helpful guide to facing the manifold anxieties of modern life

The Idler

Lucid and scholarly

Daily Telegraph

Many have sought therapeutic remedies for anxiety and insomnia as well as advice on how to feel happier. Some ancient Mediterranean answers to such psychological issues can be found in John Sellars's little book. . . Epicureanism can ease contemporary worries, Sellars believes; in some ways it resembles cognitive behavioural therapy

Guardian

In this brief and eloquent book, John Sellars takes us through the basic arguments of Epicureanism with wonderful clarity, distilling the essence of an ancient philosophy that speaks with increasing urgency to our troubled times. It is an exemplary guide, and I recommend it enthusiastically to readers of all ages and all walks of life.

David Konstan, Professor of Classics, New York University
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