Even if the gods did exist, the Epicureans argued, they didn't care about us. Rather, everything comes from nature, and all that really exists are atoms and void, moving and congregating.

The Epicureans denied that the gods had created the world and also denied that they played any role in it.

The higher the coefficient of inequality (Gini coefficient) in a society, the worse things tend to be for those at the bottom.

I have to say that some philosophers such as the late Bernard Williams, and I would include myself in this group, would say that tranquillity is overrated as the goal of life.

We have to gamble, and sometimes lose as George Ainslie argues; this keeps the appetite for life sharp.

'Contract' succeeded 'status' as the basic organising principle in modern political vs. ancient society.

Atomism had no absolute 'above' and 'below' and no such rulers, so favoured the undersranding of justice as an agreement amongst equals.

Epicurus thought of justice as an agreement to prevent people harming and being harmed.

Epicurus was not at all interested in what we would call the problems of mass society, and he thought civic politics was just trouble and to be avoided by the wise.

Claims like 'Slavery is wrong' are not fully common-sensical, so they must be at least partly theoretical.

The (atomic) soul is mortal, and the best life is the one with the least pain and the most pleasure.

‎"You shouldn't feel so bad about being afraid of so many things." "Why not?" "Because if you weren't afraid never ever, then you couldn't be brave never ever.

Dear Mom, I won't be home this weekend because I'm wanted for treason and I have to clear my name. Also, I took the last Sprite from the fridge.Love, Steve

I've always wanted to make a career in the arts, and I think that my only hope at doing that is to make it more about the work.

Fear is a survival tool not a handicap.

The most ironic outcome of the black Civil Rights movement has been the creation of a new black middle class which is increasingly separate from the black underclass.

Fame is a fickle friend, Harry. Celebrity is as celebrity does. Remember that.

If, as Niko asks, you show them mercy, then the gods will be well pleased.

Love is jealous that any should come before her, or after. She would be all in all. If a man will trust her and live in her, he shall know all things.

Every dictatorship has ultimately strangled in the web of repression it wove for its people, making mistakes that could not be corrected because criticism was prohibited.

Life isn't a puzzle to be solved. It's an adventure to be savored.