Research

There are many areas where additional research is needed to throw further light on ancient Epicurean doctrine.  Here on this page is a collection of specific areas of research:

General Areas

  1. The Herculaneum Scrolls in general.  Progress has been slow and only fragments have been restored, and even those fragments are difficult to find.
  2. The Canon of Truth.  Epicurus is known to have devoted a scroll to Epistemology, but all we know of it is what can be reconstructed from other texts.
  3. Other Texts By Epicurus

Writers Other than Epicurus

  1. Lucretius – Little is known about Lucretius personally, and this page is devoted to him and research on his poem.  Of particular interest at the moment is the obtaining of a digital copy of the Codex Oblongus (a ninth century copy DRN) published in 1908 and 1911 by a certain Émile (Æmilius) Chatelain.  The original resides at the library of Leiden University, Netherlands.  CodexOblongusIf you have the ability to help us obtain access to a digital copy, please let us know.
  2. Pierre Gassendi – Gassendi prepared a synopsis that was very influential in the modern world’s rediscovery of Epicurus.  As Thomas Jefferson commented, however, there does not appear to be an accessible version of this work in English.  Perhaps one exists, or perhaps it has even yet not been translated properly for English researchers.
  3. Frances Wright.  Contemporary accounts record that there was doubt as to whether Wright herself, a mere twenty-six at the time, could have written a document of such depth and insight a “A Few Days In Athens.”  Adding additional depth to the mystery is that Wright does not have appear to have written any other material on Epicurus, even though “A Few Days In Athens” laments the tendency of writers of the time to fail to credit Epicurus by name as inspiration for their own ideas.  Perhaps other documents by Wright exist that would confirm her authorship and likewise provide valuable commentary on Epicurus, or perhaps some other writer wrote some or all of the work, and that writer produced valuable work that still exist.