New Audio “Reconstructed” Version of the Inscription of Diogenes of Oinoanda

Today I am posting an audio “reconstructed” version of the Epicurean Inscription of Diogenes of Oinoanda.   The presentation has been prepared based on the translation of Martin Ferguson Smith, but it is not a literal reading of that translation.  Instead, I have prepared a version rendered into modern American English and organized for audio presentation.  The purpose of this presentation is to reconstruct the general argument left to us by Diogenes of Oinoanda.  Only the general ideas essential to that argument are included here.  In a few cases, brief additional material from the letters of Epicurus have been added to maintain the flow of the argument and compensate for the fragmentary state of the text.  For additional detail, the student of Epicurus should consult Smith’s full translation of the fragments, as well as the ultimate authority, the text from the wall in its original Greek.

I find it extremely interesting and helpful to compare the flow of the argument here with that presented in the Letter to Herodotus, the Defense of Epicurus in Cicero’s “On Ends,” and Lucretius’ poem.  I hope you will find it helpful too!  An MP3 version may be downloaded here.