7 The Wreck of an Ancient Titanic: Plutarch and Maximus of Tyre on Epicurean Pleasure
In: Plutarch and his ContemporariesSearch for other papers by Geert Roskam in
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Abstract
In his dialogue Non posse suaviter vivi secundum Epicurum, Plutarch tries to refute the Epicurean philosophy of pleasure from the inside. He accepts, for the sake of the argument, Epicurus’ ideal and doctrines and then shows that it is impossible to live a pleasurable life on the basis of such philosophical principles. The implication of Plutarch’s argument is clear: Epicurean philosophy fails to reach its own goal and Platonism is a much better alternative when it comes to pursuing pleasure.
Maximus of Tyre confronts virtue and pleasure in a series of Orations (Or. 29–33). Like Plutarch, he rejects Epicurus’ view, but rather than systematically undermining Epicurus’ position from the inside, he prefers to argue in contrarias partes, by attacking, defending, and again attacking the Epicurean ideal. At the end of the series, the exercise of wisdom is enthroned as the proper human ideal of life.
While both authors obviously follow a different argumentative strategy, they nevertheless have much in common, as is shown in this article. Plutarch and Maximus share the same Platonic tradition and the same critical reception of Epicurus. Moreover, they make use of similar arguments (both in favor of and against Epicurus), which they cleverly adapt to the needs of their own authorial goals. The article, however, also throws light on the differences between the two authors (both regarding the content of their arguments and regarding their general philosophical approach and methodology).