American Philological Association

Epicureans, Christians, Atheists in the Second Century

Author(s): Adelaide D. Simpson
Source: Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 72 (1941),
pp. 372-381
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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372 AdelaideD. Simpson [1941

Atheistsin theSecondCentury
XXVII.-Epicureans,Christians,
ADELAIDE D. SIMPSON
HUNTER COLLEGE

This study is in two parts, firstan inquiryinto the reasons forassociating

Epicureansand Christiansin popular disfavor,and second the suggestionthat in
the Octaviusof Minucius Felix, the two Christians,Octavius and Minucius,had
originallybeen Epicureans.

The oracle-mongerin Lucian classed Epicureans and Christians

with atheists' and banished them from his spectacular rites.2
In Alexander the thaumaturge,Lucian portrayeda clever man,
whose knowledgeof popular sentimentwas accurate and profitable;
his linkingof Epicureans and Christianswith atheistsindicatesthe
veryunfavorableimpressionwhichtheyboth made on the ordinary
citizenof thesecond century. In Alexander'sevaluationtherewere
threedegreesof evil, impiety,atheism,Epicureanism,and the last
was the greatestreproach.3 In the same age Christianitywas con-
demnedwithequal severity,not by a satirist,4but by seriouscritics,
as a superstitionwhich Pliny could call prava inmodica,Suetonius
malefica,Tacitus exitiabilis;Tacitus recordsthe popular hatred of
Christiansperflagitia.5 The oratoricaltraditionof invectivemay
account forthe language,but underneaththe abuse conventionally
employed by literarymen can be seen the opinions held by the
commonpeople.' It is worthwhilethereforeto examinethe pairing
of Epicureanism and Christianityto see if there were other re-
semblancesthan the alleged atheism,and to discoverif these were
superficialor were the resultof similarintellectualand emotional
attitudes.
The charge of impietyand atheism must firstbe considered.
l Luc. Alex. 25.
2 Ibid. 38.
3 Ibid. 46.
4 Lucian's opinionof Christiansis givenbelow,note 48.
6 Plin. Epist. 96.8; Suet. Nero 16.2; Tac. Ann. 15.44: per flagitiainvisosvulgus
Christianos adpellabat, . . . exitiabilis superstitio.
6Cic. De Oral. 1.221: Oratorautem omnia haec, quae putanturin communivitae
consuetudinemala ac molesta et fugienda,multo maiora et acerbiora verbis facit.
testimonium
See Min. Fel. 31.2: tuus Frontonon ut adfirmator fecit,sed conviciumut
oratoradspersit.

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 Vol. lxxii] Epicureans,Christians,Atheists 373

So faras Epicureans were concerned,this was old enough and im-

portant enough to have been answered by Epicurus himself,7
and Lucretius also had found it necessary to assure Memmius
that he need fear not the inpia rationiselementaof the Epicureans
but the impia facta of religion.8 Epicurus had asserted that the
gods were immortaland blessed, and Lucretius had incorporated
in the De Rerum Natura Homer's picture of divine tranquillity.9
Other Epicureans howeversaid that the gods neitherexisted nor
shared in the governmentof the universe.10 Popular repetitionof
the charge of Epicurean impietyand atheismwas probablydue to
the emphasis on the complete indifference of the gods to human
welfare. The doctrineof divine indifference was so importantthat
Lucian could repeatedlyreferto it as characteristicof the school.'
Christianwriterswereaware of thegravityof the chargeof atheism
and ofitshistoricalconnections,12and denied that theywereatheists,
even whileacknowledgingthe possiblejustice of the charge. Justin
undertook to develop the theme; we are not atheists, for we
worshipthe creator of the world, and yet we are atheists in our
rejectionof the accepted gods, but not of the most true,the father
of justice and temperanceand the othervirtues,God unmixedwith
evil.-3 In so faras atheisminvolveddivineindifference to humanity,
the Christianansweredby emphasizingthe relationof God to the
universeand to man; he was the creatorand made everythingfrom
I Epicur. Ad Men. 123. QuotationsfromEpicurusare fromC.
Bailey,Epicurus:
The Extant Remains (Oxford, 1926).
8Lucr. 1.80-83. QuotationsfromLucretiusare fromthe editionofW. A. Merrill
(New York, 1907).
9Epicur. Ad Men. 123; Sent. 1. Lucr. 3.18-22 (Od. 6.42-46); 2.646-648.
10Luc. JTr. 4: Kai ,uev Aa,uLsov' etvaO eoovs9aKEV ovire 5XwS Ta 'cyvy6ouvAa
o

e7rLoKo7roLv b
5ararTretv.Min. Fel. 19.8: Etiam Epicurus ille, qui deos aut otiosos
fingitaut nullos,naturamtamensuperponit. QuotationsfromMinuciusare frommy
edition(New York, 1938).
11Luc. ibid. The phrase Xwos1r4 'yLyv6weva ehrtaKo7rE6vis repeated in Icar.
'
32:
Oi 6b EIrTKObPeLO, . . . Og ,erphs re
',I"P Kac&IrToVTrat,AT krqAeXra0 rCova'c0pop7rIVWv
Xeryovres roCvs OeobsIAurie iXws1r 'yL'yv'6/eva &irtaKoireo,and the same idea is differently
expressedin Bis A cc. 2.
12Justin. Apol. 1.5.3: Kal alvrhv
(2ZKp&r,v) ot 5alJoves bid r-Zu'Xacp6vzrwz' rp KaKIk
aSpwrctwFvFhoyr)avCos
avOpcnrwp k2jp-yjaavw a@o Ka'I
a &OeI%j
&eOV
M -3ltroelpeHaft
&IroKTEVOcL Xk^yovreS
aT~ MAtv
cI' e'iooep Petpe alrov
wOP
b&ai/L6O'a. Kai' 6.uolks F4' rj,uavrh acdrh
iOepyontLv. G. Rauschen, S. Iustini Apologiae
Duae (Bonn, 1911).
13Justin. Apol. 1.13.1: &&OL ,.AvOvOSOs ovK iff/eP,rO' bjj,LoupyhProite ro-v 7rap'ro's
aeI%/Luevos. 1.6.1 : 'EO'ev 6b Kai &IfOE KeKX2IAOa Kat 6j.oXoyoVjAeP' TVop Towrcov OvO.LLO-
/LV@o' OeWO'v Oeot etvat, &XV obxt' To) &XI70ea60T&ToV Kat iraCrpds 5LKawaOO'S Kat 4wopoabz's,
KaC TO'Xp aXwO' &ppeTrCopb&eIrqKrTOV Te KaKicas Oeoi. Also, AthenagorasPres. 4: OVK &ffTA'P
aLOcoL.

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374 Adelaide D. Simpson [1941

formlessmatterfor the service of mankind.'4 The most vigorous

Christianresponseto the charge of atheism was contained in de-
tailed denunciationsof pagan gods and cults, denunciationswhich
were not infrequently derivedfromnon-Christiansources.15
Epicureans found a mild defenderin Apuleius, who attributed
the accusationof atheismto popularignorance,'6but Apuleiuswas a
professionalphilosopherwho could regard the opinion of the un-
learnedwith kindlycondescension. The pagan Caecilius in Minu-
cius Felix may be taken as a better representativeof the non-
professionalpublic; he blamed the Christiansfor theirinterestin
scientificstudy and begged them to keep away fromit, partly be-
cause they were ignorant,but chieflybecause matters in which
there is no certaintyshould be avoided for fear of runninginto
superstitionor of destroyingreligion.'7 Christiansthemselvessaid
that a rightunderstandingof the universewas necessaryfora right
understandingof man and of God; the creationled to the creator.18
Epicureans always regardedscientificstudy as necessary to clear
the mind fromthe confusionand pain of false ideas, and to induce
the tranquillitywhichwas the goal of living.'9
Epicurean and Christianalike rejected the rigidfatalismof the
age and stressed free will. Epicurus had held that the atomic
swervewas necessaryto account at once forchange in the physical
world and forhuman freewill; he consideredthe doctrineof neces-
14Justin. Apol. 1.10.2: KcLt 7r6Ta T7)v &PX71P&yaLGv ovTa 57L,YY27cTaL avrov 't
&,Op4ov vXis8 ' aivOpc'rovseU&cy/LEOa. Aristeid. 1; Theophil. Ad Autolycum 1.4, note
28 below.
matris
15 Min. Fel. 22.1: Isiaci misericaedunt pectora et doloreminfelicissimae

imitantur.. . . Nonne ridiculumest vel lugere quod colas vel colere quod lugeas?
Plu. De Superstitione 13 (17 1E): zEvvo4paiv2s6' O' 4cffLKOS OTs ALyvr-TovS KO0rTOjIAfEOvsivTaLs
iopTraLs Kal Op2voi3vras 0p,Zjvii7rlv27oEv OLKELWS. OV'rO, 011qot, EL lAiV OEOLE'Ot, Ili Gp27VElTE
airo6s eL 8' avOpwlroL, acroTs. Other Christian examples are Aristeid. 9-12 and
lui ObeTre
Athenagoras,Pres. 20-21. Min. Fel. 22-24 is largelyindebted to Cic. Nat. Deor.
3.40-64.
16 Apul. Apol. 27: Verumhaec ferme communiquodam erroreimperitorum philoso-
phis obiectantur,ut partimeorum qui corporumcausas meraset simplicesrimantur
irreligiososputenteoque aiant deos abnuere,ut Anaxagoramet Leucippumet Demo-
critumet Epicurumceterosquererumnaturaepatronos.
17 Min. Fel. 5.4 and 12.7. 13.5: Mea quoque opinionequae sunt dubia . . . re-
linquenda sunt . . . ne aut anilis inducatursuperstitioaut omnis religiodestruatur.
18Id. 17.1-4.
19 Epicur. Sent. 12: O0K 'y ro 0o,ob.4evov XveLv b7rip rCV KvptcTrarc)V lij KcareLTo&ra rTLs
Tro) abcA7ravros 4dats . . . &cT-re o'VK iv Jvev4vaw XoXyLas &KepaLovsvras t6ov&as &LroXaA-
#6vetv. Also, Sent. 11; Lucr. 3.1071-1075.

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Vol. lxxii] Epicureans, Christians,Atheists 375

sity even more harmfulthan myths.20 Christianityalso was com-

mitted to the doctrineof freewill.2" The philosophicaldifficulty
in reconcilinga divinelyordereduniversewith human freedomof
choice was increasedforChristiansby theirobligationto accept the
propheciesof the Jewishscriptures,but by no means all Christians
recognizedthe problem. Justintriedto solve it by sayingthat God
had foreknowledge of men's acts, and throughthe propheticspirit
led men to increasedeffortand to reflectionon his providentcare;
Athenagoras apparently thoughtof prophecyas mechanical: the
divine spirit used the prophetsas a flute-playerplays the flute.22
All divination and oracles the Christiansrejected as evidence of
demonic possession.23 The Epicurean attitude was similarlyun-
compromising;Epicurus had accepted no kind of divination,and
Lucian's Epicureans carried on a vigorouscampaign against Alex-
ander the false prophet.24 All this ran counterto even enlightened
opinion of the age, which seems to have accepted divinationand
oracles as a concessionto popular frailty.25
20 Epicur. Ad Men. 134: i1rel KPrpoTTOv' r
rp' Tep't OeWV KaTaKOXUO0E!V2r Tr TWV
JAdOq,
5ovXEetLv.
ELpapjAeAvp
4WVTLKCAV Cic. Fat. 22: Sed Epicurus declinationeatomi vitarifati
necessitatemputat. 23: Hanc Epicurusrationeminduxitob eam rem,quod veritusest
ne, si semperatomusgravitateferretur naturaliac necessaria,nihilliberumnobis esset,
cum ita movereturanimus,ut atomorummotucogeretur. Lucr. 2.251-293,especially
261-262: nam dubio proculhis rebussua cuique voluntasprincipiumdat et hincmotus
per membrarigantur.
21 Justin.Apol. 2.6(7).3: &XX'ob5i KaoO d'.Aap/.t'v7jv 7rp&TTElv TOVs &Opcrovs Ii oaaXeLv

Ta ytv6yeva,aXXa KaTra pA&T2v

r rpoatpeatv e'KatTOV KaToppov ApapTaveLv.
j See also
1.43,and Tatian Oratio adversus Graecos 9: '/UIS 6e KaG eL,uappuev2qsia,Aov &v()Tepot. The
Christiandoctrinecould be challenged,however;Min. Fel. 11.6: Nam quicquidagimus,
ut alii fatoita vos deo dicitis.
22Justin. Apol. 1.44.11; AthenagorasPres. 9.
23 Min. Fel. 26-27, esp. 27.1: Isti igiturimpurispiritus. . . sub statuiset imagini-

bus consecratisdelitiscuntet adflatusuo auctoritatemquasi praesentisnuminisconse-

quuntur,. . . avium volatus gubernant,sortesregunt,oracula efficunt, falsispluribus
involuta. AthenagorasPres. 27.
24 Cic. Div. 1.5: Philosophorum vero exquisita quaedam argumentacur esset vera
divinatio collecta sunt. E quibus . . . Colophonius Xenophanes . . . divinationem
funditussustulit;reliquiveroomnespraeterEpicurumbalbutientemde naturadeorum,
divinationemprobaveruntsed non uno modo. The referencesare collected in the
editionof the De Divinatione1 by ArthurStanleyPease (Universityof Illinois,1920),
note ad loc. For Lucian, see above note 1.
25 Divination,Min. Fel. 7.6: pleniet mixtideo vates futurapraecerpunt,
dant cau-
telampericulis,morbismedellam,spemadflictis,opem miseris,solaciumcalamitatibus,
laboribuslevamentum. Oracles,FrontoAd M. Caesaremet Invicem3.12 (Marcus to
Fronto): nullum denique tam veriloquumoraculum est, quin aliquid ancipitis vel
obliqui vel impeditihabeat, quo inprudentior inretiatur.

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376 Adelaide D. Simpson [1941

The formof divination most closely connected with fatalism

was astrology,which assumed the divinityof the heavenly bodies
and theirabilityto reveal knowledgeof events. Suetoniusshowed
the common linkingof astrologyand fatalismwhen he wrote of
Tiberius (Tiberius 69): addictus mathematicae plenusque persua-
sionis cuncta fato agi. Plutarch blamed the Epicureans for their
denial of accepted beliefs,and specifiedprophecyand the divinity
of the sun and the moon.26 This was Epicurean orthodoxy;both
Epicurus and Lucretius had writtenthat the heavenly bodies did
not owe theirmotionand various changes to any divine being,nor
were they divine themselves.27 Christians had no more respect
for the divinity of the sun and the moon than for other pagan
divinities;all heavenlybodies were part of the divine creationand
were intendedforman's service.28
In regardto the immortalityof the soul, Epicurean and Chris-
tian teachingswerewhollyantagonistic,but thecompleteEpicurean
denial and the complete Christianaffirmation of immortalityseem
to have produced similar results. Epicurus had said that death
was nothing,and therefore not to be feared,and that thisknowledge
made livingenjoyable by takingaway the longingforimmortality.29
Lucretius thought more of abolishing the fear of death than of
promotingthe joy of living;his " Hymn to Death " was austere and
contained none of the Epicurean exultationdescribedratherscorn-
fully by Cicero,30but even Lucretius described the life released
fromfear of death as one of urbane courtesyin the midst of fes-
tivity.3" The Christian was taught not to fear death;32 the soul
26 P1U. Colotes 27(1123A): a&valpOV'TeS KaeL irpbOtcu
oL .avcLTLK'7'V VTrpxEu' 062V $
45irKKOVres Tb
/q6& V IIXLoV 4o/'vXov e'lval 26E T2)J' a JXjvq, o's 7vivres
6T7v /pw7roL Oiovat KaL
7rPorekXovTraL Kal a(Yk(ovTaL.
27 Epicur. Ad Herodotum 76; Lucr. 5.114-116.
28Tatian. Orat. 10: eXETcav OYrOL n'v eLjcap$AvEvv. rovs rXav7ras 7rpOOKVVE7V OV

,foviXoAaL. Theophil. Ad Autolycum 1.4: ijXLOs KaOL OEXr'V77 Ka'L &aripes TroLXe7a avrov
(roO Oeov)eLLv, . . . yeyov6ra 7rposb7rqpeaLoaV Kal OovXeiavavOpc&7rwv.
29 Epicur. Ad Men. 124.
30 Cic. Tusc. 1.48: Quae quidem cogitans soleo saepe mirari non nullorum insolen-

tiam philosophorum, qui naturae cognitionem admirantur eiusque inventori et principi

gratias exultantes agunt eumque venerantur ut deum; liberatos enim se per eum dicunt
gravissimis dominis, terrore sempiterno et diurno ac nocturno metu.
31 Lucr. 3.830-1094. The phrase " Hymn to Death" is attributed to Andrew Lang
in Merrill's note on 830-869.
32 Justin. Apol. 1.57.2: ov yap 6e0L'Ka,Aev O&varov, TOO 7r-hvmrs&7ro0aveLv ioXo-you-v
$juvov. Tatian. Orat. 11: Oav&rov KaTa4lpovp, v6ofov 7ravrobarvis &v&Tepos 'yivw,uac, Xi77r7
,UOVT21'v I'VX7V OV1KdivaXLXLKEL.

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Vol. lxxii] Epicureans,Christians,Atheists 377

was mortalin itselfbut immortalby God's will; 33 therefore all sorts

and conditionsof Christianscould look down on fear and death.34
Epicureans and Christians virtually made death unimportant,
whereintheydiffered conspicuouslyfromtheircontemporaries, whose
attitudeis best exemplified in Fronto's lament that the immortality
of the soul was no consolationto the grievingfamilyand friends.35
In conductas wellas in beliefsEpicureansand Christiansshowed
obvious resemblances,but the practiceof virtueand the particular
virtues stressed were similar in all the schools of philosophy.36
They taughtand as faras possiblepractisedwithdrawalfrompolitics
and public life,37and in theoryat least dislikedand distrustedthe
rhetoricwhichwas one of its major activities.38 Povertytheycon-
sidered no disgrace, but held that lack of possessionsmight be a
positive help in acquiring happiness.39 The Epicureans held that
thepossessionoflove (tXiLa) was thegreatestblessingin life; 40 Chris-
Justin.Trypho6: tws6s i'e vx,vX
IIerTeXt, i7rel
tji abrip' o eO's jo3eAraL. Tatian.
Orat. 13: OVK kaTLr' &O'araTos . . . ,4 'VX7 c
Kai avT'1v Ovq'7T37 be . . . /VXq7 -ya&p OVK aCVT2
Tro 7rJEv,a 'eaOWev, EaTWObf 6 v7r' aTroV.

34 Justin.Apol. 2.10.8: XpLarcp 6e . . . ov qLAoXaoq5oL ov6e q5X6Xoyot 6Ovov 7rdeWqfav',

&XX& KaLL XeLpoTrXvJaL KaCL 7ravTeXaos lboLWTraL, Kaic U6TS Kat 46#oKv Kal Oavr7ov iKara4povj-
(avrTes.

35FrontoDe NepoteA misso5: nec quicquam nos animarumimmortalitas consola-

tur,qui carissimisnostrisdum vivimuscaremus . . . Si maximeesse animas immor-
talis constet,erithoc philosophisdisserendiargumentum,non parentibusdesiderandi
remedium.
36 The descriptionof virtuousliving given in Fronto's self-portrait
(De Nepote
Amisso8) mighthave been referred to any philosophicschool,althoughin tone it was
clearlyneitherEpicureannor Christian.
37 Epicur. Sent. 14: Tis &akXlas T7rs t &vOp&rxwv yevoAevr/s Ie'xpt rtv6s OaV&A/EL TlJv
efOpLaTLKK Kal eb7ropla eLX&LKpLveaTr&T7 ylverat ? TiI 7r/s )avXIas Kal KXWP71(OSE TrCov 7roXXCav
&o4&aaXe&a.Also, Sent. Vat. 58; Fr. 87; Plu. Colotes 31(1125C) and 33(1126E). The
Christianattitudeis shownin Min. Fel. 31.6: honoresvestroset purpurasrecusamus;
37.10: Fascibus et purpurisgloriaris? Vanus errorhominiset inaniscultusdignitatis,
fulgerepurpura,mentesordescere.
38 Vita Epicuri 118: ovi' p7)Topebffev KaXC7s (Trov o4q54). 120a: ob 7ravq,fvp&e&v 6e.
Lucr. 1.641-644; Min. Fel. 14.3-7 and 16.6: quo imperitiorsermo, hoc inlustrior
ratioest.
3'2Epicur. Sent. 15: 'O r7s ba4cos 7rXo&roS Kall wpLoTaL Kal evr6opLaroTS
EOTLV. Sent.
Vat. 25: 'H 7revia 1Ae/pov1AeLPV/ w
Tq.) Tr)s 4Obaews TEt IA&ycLas earl 7rXOrTOs. 7rXOIr-OS 66 cut)

6pt6lAivos je-ya&Xq l 7revt

a. Min. Fel. 36.3: Ceterum quod plerique pauperes dicimur,
nonest infamianostra,sed gloria:animusenimut luxusolvitur,ita frugalitate firmatur.
36.6: Igitur ut qui.viam terit,eo feliciorquo leviorincedit,ita beatiorin hoc itinere
vivendi,qui paupertatese sublevat,non sub divitiarumoneresuspirat.
40 Epicur. Sent. 27: 'Ov '
ao4la 7rapacLKeva4eratL eELsT7rvTroy Aov 1OV/caKapcLp6TI)Ta,
7roXi j1lyLoT6v eOTrV i Tiio&XtaS KTr)Ols. Also,Sent. 28; Sent. Vat. 52; 23; Cic. Fin. 1.65:
de qua (amicitia) Epicurus quidem ita dicit,omniumrerumquas ad beate vivendum
sapientiaconparaverit,nihilesse maius amicitia,nihiluberius,nihiliucundius. 'k)Xia

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378 Adelaide D. Simpson [1941

was an extremeformof love,.perhaps foolishin its ex-

tian aiyair7r
travagance or perhaps dangerous.4' Christians defended them-
selves against such criticismby sayingthat theydid not know how
to hate, but loved even their enemies.42 This 4)tXia and ayart7
found practical expressionin communityliving. The Epicurean
avv&a,ywsyymay be reconstructedfromvarioussources,especiallythe
writingsof Epicurus himself,Cicero's De Finibusand the fragments
of the Hep'l Happt7atfas of Philodemus; the reconstructionhas been
admirablymade by ProfessorDeWitt,43to whom studentsof Epi-
cureanism owe a permanentdebt of gratitude. Christian living
in the second centuryis describedby all the Apologists;perhapsthe
most attractive picture is in the anonymousEpistle to Diognetus,
where Christiansare spoken of as inhabitantsof Greek and bar-
barian cities, but having theircitizenshipin heaven; obeying the
laws, but in theirprivatelives surpassingthe laws.44
The finalpoint of resemblancebetween Epicureans and Chris-
tians was in theirreverentdevotionto the foundersof theirrespec-
tive schools. Lucretius had spoken of Epicurus as a god (5.8:
deus ille fuit,deus),45and Cicero and later PlutarchcriticisedEpi-
cureans for their veneration of their founder.46Christians were
blamed forworshippingan earthlycriminal;theyretortedthat their
god was neitherearthlynor criminal.47 Pliny and Lucian seem to
is called &ayafov. . . &6vcaTov (Epicur. Sent. Vat. 78), a phraseoccurringalso at the
end of Ad Men. Presumably&yaOa &O&vaLraare &ayaOa whichthe gods (a&4aproL) en-
joy and whichtherefore maybe called &06vara. 5tXhla thenwouldbe mortalin relation
to men,because menare mortal,but immortalin relationto the gods; a man who suc-
(Ad Men. fin.)mightbe said to have tXL'aas &aYaOov
ceeded in livingW'sOecs v ,&VOpcro&s
&Oa'varov, though he himself was inevitably Ovqr6s.
41 Christian charity foolish: Luc. Peregr. 13; dangerous: Min. Fel. 9.2, especially:
amant mutuo paene antequam noverint.
42 Min. Fel. 31.8: sic mutuo, quod doletis, amore diligimus, quoniam odisse non

novimus. Epistula ad Diognetum 5: 'Ayaroat 7raTrras. 6: Kai XptaTtavor obs

Aitaooviras
&,ya7rCatv.
43 Norman W. DeWitt, "Epicurean Contubernium," TAPhA 67 (1936) 55-63;
"Organization and Procedure in Epicurean Groups," CPh 31 (1936) 205-211.
44 Epis. ad Diogn. 5: 'Eri y7jsb6arptf3ovaov, &XV' e'v obpav'4 7roXTrebovTca. 7reOovrat
oroZsbpioFsivotsvJhOLs, KCatTOZS t6iOtS f3o&i'ucK7C TroiV
sO6IOvs. Aristeides 15; Theophil. Ad
Autolycum 3.15; Min. Fel. 31.5-8.
46 Lucr. 5.8; 3.1042-1044; 3.3; 6.5-8. See L. Edelstein, " Primum Graius Homo,"
TAPhA 71 (1940) 78-90, and esp. 79 and note 5.
46 Cic. Tusc. 1.48; above note 30. Plu. Colotes 17(1117A, B); he uses the phrases
(1 117A): Oe/3a6E&SKal k7rAa-aeOs, (1 117 B): OE64avra op'yta.
47 Min. Fel. 9.4; 29.2: Nam quod religioni nostrae hominem noxium et crucem eius

adscribitis, longe de vicinia veritatis erratis, qui putatis deum credi aut meruisse noxium
aut potuisse terrenum. Terrenum is used apparently to indicate the connection of
homo (or humanus?) with humus.

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Vol. lxxii] Epicureans, Christians,Atheists 379

have accepted the worshipof Christas a characteristiceccentricity

of the Christians.48
Popular judgmentof Epicureans and Christiansthenhad forits
basis theirsimilarrejectionof conventionalbeliefin the gods, fate
and divination,and their acceptance of their foundersas divine;
theirrejectionof fatalismand acceptance of freewill; theircalmness
in regardto death; theirpreferenceforprivate lifeand reluctance
to take part in politicalactivity. There were fundamentalantith-
eses between Epicurean mechanistic materialismand Christian
providentialtheism,between Epicurean tranquillityin accepting
annihilationat death and Christianconfidenceof joyous immortal-
ity,and betweenthe Epicurean utilitariantheoryof virtueand the
Christiandoctrineofvirtueas an offering to God.49 Temperament-
ally howeverthey were not dissimilar,forboth showed themselves
impatientwith sham, certain of their own convictions,willingto
challenge commonlyaccepted ideas, and believersin the practical
value of communityliving.
The Octaviusof Minucius Felix is a dialogue which has as its
characters two Christians,Octavius and Minucius, and a pagan,
Caecilius. Caecilius is obviously a Sceptic (5.2: omnia in rebus
humanisdubia, incerta,suspensa magisque omnia verisimiliaquam
vera), and it has been assumed that the two ChristianswereStoics,
largelybecause of the debt of the Octaviusto Cicero and to Seneca.50
I would suggest that Minucius and Octavius had originallybeen
Epicureans, and that the dialogue was designed to appeal to ad-
herents of the major philosophicalschools; the two parts of the
48 Plin. Epist. 96.7; Luc. Peregr. 11: Trov,Aeyav yo0vEKfiVoV&Lt areova Teo'v aivOpo7rov
Tv iev r'
7)laXaaTrIvp &cLTvafKOXoX7r(Te`vTa, 6ITL KaIV2V TrahT7rv TeXET2-v ear2Yaoyev E TiO (ov.
13: 5F &vEoKoXolrF,evov
Tie' EKELVOV
Ov4offOT2rV abTr'v 7rpoUKlvwOL KaL KaCT& TobS EKetVOV
j3uohn.
vOIAOVS
4 Vita Epicuri 138: At' 6& T7rv itoviV Kal Tas apeTa's atLpeLTOat, ou OtL aVTras c p
T-7VlaTpLK7i7V
OLa T7rqv
iryieav. Epicureanjustice,Sent. 31-38; Sent. Vat. 70. Christian
virtue,Min. Fel. 32.3: Igiturqui innocentiamcolit,deo supplicat; qui iustitiam,deo
libat, qui fraudibusabstinet,propitiatdeum,qui hominempericulosubripit,optimam
victimamcaedit. Haec nostrasacrificia,haec dei sacra sunt: sic apud nos religiosior
est ille qui iustior.
50For the debt of Minucius to Cicero, Nat. Deor., see A. Ebert, "Tertullians
Verhaltniszu Minucius Felix," ASG 5 (1870) 319-386; to Cicero, Seneca, Varro, P.
Schwenke,"Uber die Zeit des M. F.," Jahrb. fur protest. Theol. 1883, 263-294; to
Cicero,Nat. Deor., Div., Rep., Tusc., H. J. Baylis,Minucius Felix and his place among
the early Fathers of the Latin Church (London, 1928); to Seneca, V. Carlier," Minucius
Felix et Seneque," MB 1 (1897) 258-293; to Seneca, F. X. Burger,Uber das Verhdltnis
des M. F. zu dem Philosophen Seneca (Munich, 1904); to Cicero and Posidonius,R.
Beutler, Philosophie und Apologie bei Minucius Felix (Weida i. Thur., 1936).

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380 Adelaide D. Simpson [1941

debate were intendedforSceptics and Stoics, and made use of their

familiararguments; the descriptivepassages, with their delightful
pictureof friendship, were intendedforEpicureans.
In the introductionMinucius reflectson the dead Octavius in
words stronglyreminiscentof Epicurus; 51 he speaks of him as
contubernalis(1.1), indicatingthat they had been membersof an
Epicurean contubernium, and he uses also convictus(1.5) to describe
theirrelationship.52The words socius and comitem(1.4) probably
indicate that the friendswere classed as avv770Ots,53 which is also
suggestedby familiaritatisin 1.5. Octavius is called vireximiuset
sanctus(1.3), whichsounds like Lucian's descriptionof Epicurus as
aXr0WS tEpOS KacL0Eo7i-&Los (Alexander61). Minucius's account of his
joy at seeingOctavius aftera longseparation (2.2) is similarin tone
to Epicurus Sent. Vat. 52 and Fr. 32, and the use of exultaverim re-
calls Cicero's use of the same word in describingEpicureans.54 In
3.1 Octavius correctsMinucius fornot correctingCaecilius, and in
14.2 Minucius rebukes Caecilius pointedly; both passages are
examples of Epicurean correction,55 and in both instancesCaecilius
takes the correctionbadly, recalling the picture in Philodemus
(Jilpl HappnoaLas XXII.1-9). Octavius blames Minuciusfordeserting
his youngfriend(3.1), and Epicurus had said that the wise man will
never desert a friend (Vita Epicuri 120a). In the closing scene
(40.1) Caecilius admits that he has been defeatedin argumentbut
has triumphedover error; the words are similar to the dictum of
Epicurus Sent. Vat. 74: 'Ev OtXoXo6yq av~IrTat rXEov
l 6 'rT E0Lt,
fvvoTev
KaG' o 7rpooilAaOev. The phrase laeti hilaresque(40.4), used to de-
scribethe friendsas theygo away together,sounds verymuchlike a
'
Latin renderingof the Epicurean xapa' Ka'c ebopoo-bv (Fr. 1).
In the body of the dialogue are two translationsfromEpicurus;
11.3: qui sicutnascimuret interimusis Sent. Vat. 60: Hahs`airep apri
'YfOVcS (K T v77 lpXE, and 31.7: in pulcrogenerevivendiis TO trv
n8&ws(Ad Men. 132), but both of theseare so familiaras to be com-
monplaces. In 35.6 the wordsvossceleraadmissa punitis,apud nos
' Min. Fel. 1; Epicur. Sent. Vat. 66: 2;v araDCouv rois 4iXols oV 0pqvoDvres &XXa
Opovrlov'res, and Fr. 50: 'HtI v 4iXov Wv.l' -reO@VKorOS.
52 N. W. DeWitt, "Epicurean Contubernium," TAPhA 67 (1936) 59-60.
53 DeWitt, "Organization and Procedure in Epicurean Groups," CPh 31 (1936)
208.
54 Above, note 30.
5S Phld., Hlept Happqalas (ed. A. Olivieri, Leipzig, 1914). DeWitt, "Organization,
etc." 207-210.

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Vol. lxxii] Epicureans, Christians,Atheists 381

et cogitarepeccare est: vos consciostimetis,nos etiam conscientiam

solam,sine qua esse nonpossumusare apparentlymeant as a refuta-
tion of the Epicurean doctrine of justice.56 There are verbal
parallelswithLucretius,e.g. the phraseforbaby-talk(Min. Fel. 2.1;
Lucr. 5.230), and the untranslatablede summa rerumac maiestate
(5.4), whichis a combinationof the Lucretiansummarerum(2.303;
1.235, 502, 756, 1028) and maiestasrerum(5.2, 7). Caecilius dis-
cusses the beginningsof the world in Lucretian terms,attributing
all creationto Natureand the elementorum . . . voluntariacon-
cretio(5.7-9); he uses the phraseterram fundare(Lucr. 5.417; 5.68).
The picturewhich Caecilius draws in this passage of the interrela-
tion of the creationand religionand fearsounds like an adaptation
of Lucretius 6.50-55, where mortals in their ignoranceof causes
attributethe creationof the world to gods because they are afraid
of natural phenomena. In 34.1-4 the theoryof the ultimatede-
structionof the world by fireis referredto Epicurus as well as to
the Stoics and Plato, and there may be a referenceto Lucretius
5.407-410. In 35.3 the everlastingfiresof punishmentare com-
pared with the flamesof Etna in language which probably owes
somethingto the descriptionof Etna in Lucretius6, especially669
ignis abundareAetnaeus,flammescere caelum. On the basis of this
evidence I conclude that Minucius and Octavius were Epicureans
before they became Christians,and that Minucius thoughttheir
Epicureanismwas no more to be concealed than theirfriendship,
(1.4) sic solus in amoribusconscius,ipse socius in erroribus.
56 Epicur. Sent. 31-38; Sent. Vat. 70. Above, note 49.

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