devotion to one's own ease and comfort, with no care
for country or kindred, were the chief ideas connoted
by Epicureanism. If we come down to more modern
times, the Epicurean of Hume's essays is "the man
of elegance and pleasure." He refuses to be bound
by the arbitrary restraints which philosophers impose
in seeking to "make us happy by reason and
rules of art": he alternates his hours between the
"amiable pleasure" and "the gay, the frolic virtue";
forgetful of the past, secure of the future," he
enjoys the present: the sprightly muses are the
companions of his cheerful discourses and friendly
endearments; and, after a day spent in 'all the
pleasures of sense, and all the joys of harmony and
friendship," the shades of night bring him "mutual
joy and rapture," with the charming Celia, the mis-
tress of his wishes. ¹

A cloud hangs, and has hung, over Epicureanism;
and though we can say with confidence that much of
the obloquy is undeserved, there will apparently
always be a good deal in its teachings on which cer-
tainty, or even intelligence, is unattainable. The
unbiassed documentary evidence for exposition which
we possess is fragmentary, obscure, and does not
extend to every part of the philosophic field. On
the other hand, from a variety of causes, misconstruc-
tion and misrepresentation have made it their victim.
It has been treated as an enemy and an interloper
by the statesman, the priest, and the philosopher.

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