PART Xlll.

‘t^at with his Father be taught Children for a ‘ fmall ftipend ; that one of his Brothers was a ‘ Fancier that he hiini’eif ufed the company of ‘ Leonthim^z Curtezan that he aferibed to him- ‘ felf the Books of Democritus concerning Atoms, ‘•and of Eripppus concaming Pleafure •, that he ‘■was not a true Native of the City, as Timo- ‘ crates acknowled|hth^and Uerodotus^in hiS Book ‘ of the Youth of Epicurus j That he bafely flat- ‘ tered Mithres^ Steward of calling
‘ him in his Epiftles,.y^fn//c) and King ^ That Ido- ‘ mencus^ Elerodotus^ and Timocrates^ who pub- ‘ liflied fome obfeure Pieces of his, did commend ‘ and flatter him for tlte fame.- That in his.Epi- ^ /ties, he writes to Leontiurn^ thus O King ‘ Apollo dear little Leontium -, How were we ‘ tranf|X)rced and filled with Joy at the reading ‘ of thy Letter ! To I hethifta Wife of Leontius.^ ‘ thus ; If you come not to me, 1 fhall roll to you ‘ whithevfoever you call me. And to Tithocles^ ‘ a handfoiiie Youth I confume in expeftation ‘ of your Amiable and Divine company. And ‘ again,' writing to Themijia., he thinks to per- ‘ fwade her ; As Tbeodonis affirms, in his Fourth ‘ Book againn: Epicurus. That he wrote to ma- ‘ ny other Curtezans, erpecially to Leontium.^ ‘ with whom JUetrodorus alio was in Love. That ‘ in his Book concerning the End.^ he writes thus, ‘ Neither know I what is this Good, If we take ‘ away the Pleafurcs of the Tafte ^ If we take ‘ away thofe of Coition ; If we take away tjiofe ‘ of Hearing ^ If we take away thofe of the Sight. ‘ That in his Epiftle to Pithocles he writes • Hap- ‘ py Youth, fly as faft as thqu canft from all Di- ‘ feipline. • Epicurus calls him, Cinadologum.^ and ‘ vails at him exceedingly. Timocrates^ Brother ‘ of Metrodorus., who was a while a Difciple of * Epicurus., but at lafl forfook the School, faith j ‘ That he vomited twice a day, upon overebarg- ‘ ing Ins Stomach : and that he himfelf had much ‘ ado to get away from their Nofturnal Philofo- ‘ phy, and Converfacion in fecret. That Epi- ‘ cunis., was ignorant of many things belonging ‘ to Difeourfe, but much more of thofe which ‘ belonged to Life. That he was of fuch a mife- ‘ rable Conffitution, that he was not able of him- ‘ fclf for many years, to get out of Bed, or rife ‘ out of the Chair in which he was carried. That ‘ he fpent every day a Mina at his Table, as he ‘ h.imfclf writeth in his Epiftle to Leontium., and ‘ in hisEpiftles to the Philofophers at Mitylene, ‘ l^iat he and Metrodorus alfo ufed the company ‘of Curtezans; amongft others,
‘ Media, Erotium, Niddium. That in the Thirty ‘ Books which be writ concerning Nature, he ‘ faith moft of ^he fame things over and oyer ;
‘ and that in them he writes againft many Per- ‘ Tons, and, amongft the veft,againft Elaufiphanes, ^ and that iij’thefe very words -, But this Man, if ‘ ever any, had a way of teeming a Sophiftick ‘ brag, like many other Slaves. And that in his ‘ Epi !! }es,hc writes thus concerning •
‘ This fo far tranfported him, that he railed at ‘ me, and called himfelf my Mafter. 'Eikewife, ‘ that he called himfelf Naufiphancs, Lungs ( as ‘ fenflefs,) and unlearned, and deceitful, and laf- ‘ cjvioujs. Tlie Difciplesof Plato, Dionyfius’% Pa- ‘ raCtes Plato himfelf, Golden ■, Arijlotle, a Pro-
‘ digal, that, having wafted his Patrimony, was ‘ fain to turn Soldier, and Apothecary ; Preta- ^ goras, a Basket-carrier, an Amanuenfts to De- ^mocritus, and a High-way Schoolmafter He- ^ raclitus, kukiitup ^ acauferof Confulion ; Demo- ‘ critus, AH^o;c^,7-o(,,Purblind •, Antidorus, 'Zttmlufov., ‘ a fayyner upon Gifts ^ t\[QCyrcnaich^ Enemies ‘ to C reece , the DialedioJfs, Envious ^ Eyrxho., ‘ Llnlearned and Unmanner’d.
But thefe Men are mad - for, of the excellent Candor of Epicurus toward§"all Men, there are ‘ many witneffes-, his Country, which honoured ‘ him with Statues of Brafs his Friends, who ^ were fo many, that whole Cities could not con- ‘ tain them • his Difciples, who were’alfp taken ‘ with his Sirenical Deftrine, except Metrodorus ‘ the Stratonicca'4, whp, perjiaps over-burdened ‘ with his exceffive Goodnels, revolted to Car- ‘ neades ■, the Succeffion of his School, which ‘when all the reft were almoft; quite worn out, ‘ remained conftant, and ordained fo many Ma- ‘ ftersone after another, as cannot be numbred ; ‘ his Piety towards his Parents, hisKindnefs to- ‘ wards his Brethren, bis Meeknefs towards his ‘ Servants, (as may appear by his Will, and their ‘ ftudying Philofophy with him, amongft whom ‘ Mus formerly mentioned was moft eminent j) ‘ and, in general. His Humanity towards all. His ‘ Devotion to the Gods, and Love to his Coun- ‘ try, was beyond expreffion. He would not ex- ‘ cept of any publick Office, out of an excellive ‘ Modefty ; and, in the moft difficult trouble- ‘ fome times, continued in Greece, where he lived ‘ conftantly • except that twice or thrice he.made ‘ a jourtiey to his Friends on the borders of Ionia, ‘ But to him they reforted from all parts, and ‘ lived with him ( as ApoUodorus relates ) in the ‘ Garden which he purchafed with So Min;e. ‘ Diodes in his Third Book, De Incurfione, faith, ‘ They ufed a moft frugal fpare Dyet, for they ‘ were contented with a pint of fmall Wine, and ‘ for the moft part they drunk nothing but Wa- ‘ ter. And that Epicurus would not have them ‘ to put their Eftates into one common ftock, as ‘ Pythagoras ordained , faying. The Qoods of ‘ Friends are common ^ for this argued diftrult, ‘ and where there is diftruft, there is nofriend- ‘ ftiip. As ,for himfelf in, his Epiftles, that he ‘ was contented with Water only, and courfe ‘ Bread *, And fend me, faith he, a little Cythe- ‘ ridian Cheefe, that I may Feaft my felf when I ‘ have a mind. Such was he, who profcired,that ‘ Pleafure is the End, or chief Good ; for which, ‘ Athenaus in an Epigram, thus commends him .•
Mavis mofl unhappy Race for tporfi things toils. For Wealth (unfatiate') raijeth Wars and Broils. Nature to Wealth a narrow bound ajfign'd.
But vain Opinions ways unbounded find, pious Neoclides ; rohom the Sacred Quire Of Mufes, or Apollo did infpire.
But thi/s we /hall under/band better from his own. DoBrine and Words. Hitherto Laertius in vin¬ dication of Epicurus ; which Subjed is more fully and Rhetorically handled by the Learned Caf- fendus, De Vita iy Morihus Epicuri, in the fix laft Books.
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