Cleon frowned. “So you say I should want nothing?”
He plucked a ripe fig from a nearby tree. “People believe happiness requires endless money, powerful friends, and exotic pleasures. But watch a child with a fig — pure joy needs no gold. The problem isn’t pleasure itself. The problem is empty desires.” epicurus the art of happiness pdf
Cleon hesitated. “I’ve come to learn your secret. How do you live without wealth or fame — yet seem happier than any merchant in the agora?” Cleon frowned
That night, Cleon slept on a straw mat in the garden, under the stars. He dreamed not of gold or glory, but of figs and friendly voices. But watch a child with a fig — pure joy needs no gold
Epicurus smiled and handed him a piece of bread. “Let me tell you what I have learned, not from books, but from watching life.”
Cleon traveled the dusty road to the garden. He expected marble columns and lavish fountains — but found only a small vegetable patch, a few olive trees, and a low stone house with an open courtyard. A group of men and women, young and old, sat together on simple benches, sharing bread and figs. They spoke softly, laughed often, and seemed utterly at peace.
Epicurus added one more thing: “We do not fear the gods — for the gods, if they exist, are too blissful to care about our petty worries. And we do not fear death — for where death is, we are not. Where we are, death is not. So why waste a single moment on fear?”