--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine…" description: "\"I am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greek and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/thomas-jefferson-43_epicurean_i-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine_2435821.jpg" --- # I am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not the… ![“I am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greek and Roman leave to us.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/thomas-jefferson-43_epicurean_i-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine_2435821.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/thomas-jefferson-43_epicurean_i-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine_2435821.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/thomas-jefferson-43_epicurean_i-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine_2435821.jpg) > “I am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greek and Roman leave to us.” [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Jefferson identifies Epicurean philosophy as the rational foundation of moral thought, emphasizing reason over superstition. **In simple terms:** Epicureanism offers rational moral guidance. Key Takeaway Embrace reasoned ethics. Themes philosophy ethics reason Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal reflection - political discourse - ethical decision making Key Concepts Epicureanism rationalism moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does reason guide your moral choices? - Can rational ethics address all human concerns? A Different Perspective Epicureanism may overlook emotional aspects of morality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doctrines Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrines-epicurus-338229/) [Epicurean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epicurean/) [Epicurean Consider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epicurean-consider-338230/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epicurus/) [Epicurus Containing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epicurus-containing-338231/) [Everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everything/) [Genuine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuine/) [Greek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greek/) [I am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-am/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-philosophy/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Rational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational/) [Roman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roman/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) ## Related quotes > [I am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greece and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine-not-the-imputed-doctrines-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“As you say of yourself, I too am an Epicurean . I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/as-you-say-of-yourself-i-too-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“The true Epicurean cultivates the capacity to take pleasure in simple things, while those around him chase pleasure in more things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-slattery/the-true-epicurean-cultivates-the-capacity-to-take-pleasure-in-simple/) [Luke Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-slattery/) > [Order can arise from chaos without anyone or anything directing the process when unstable combinations of atoms perish and others persist. In the 17th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/order-can-arise-from-chaos-without-anyone-or-anything-directing-the/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and honorably and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and honorably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/it-is-impossible-to-live-a-pleasant-life-without-living-wisely-and/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [So I should say that civilizations begin with religion and stoicism: they end with scepticism and unbelief, and the undisciplined pursuit of individual pleasure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/so-i-should-say-that-civilizations-begin-with-religion-and-stoicism/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Even if the gods did exist, the Epicureans argued, they didn't care about us. Rather, everything comes from nature, and all that really exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/even-if-the-gods-did-exist-the-epicureans-argued-they-didn-t-care/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [I sort of have a love affair with my work. Many of us work far too hard and we don't put enough value in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-cattrall/i-sort-of-have-a-love-affair-with-my-work-many-of-us-work-far-too/) [Kim Cattrall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-cattrall/) > [I'm Volstag and what you see is what you get. He's a bon vivant lover of life epicurean goodfellow. He's a god, which helps.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stevenson/i-m-volstag-and-what-you-see-is-what-you-get-he-s-a-bon-vivant-lover/) [Ray Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stevenson/) > [A civilization is born Stoic and dies Epicurean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/a-civilization-is-born-stoic-and-dies-epicurean/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Heresy is a word which, when it is used without passion, signifies a private opinion. So the different sects of the old philosophers, Academians,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/heresy-is-a-word-which-when-it-is-used-without-passion-signifies-a/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Leibniz accepted the argument that there must be indestructible simple entities if there is to be a complex world, but Epicurean morals and politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/leibniz-accepted-the-argument-that-there-must-be-indestructible/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [I love good food. I’m an epicurean, that’s for sure. … But I am not really a good cook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspard-ulliel/i-love-good-food-i-m-an-epicurean-that-s-for-sure-but-i-am-not-really/) [Gaspard Ulliel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspard-ulliel/) > [For seventeenth-century astronomers, the Epicurean doctrine of multiple worlds separated by void space was seen to fit with the new Copernican system in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/for-seventeenth-century-astronomers-the-epicurean-doctrine-of/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [Reading is awesome and flexible and fits around chores and earning money and building the future and whatever else I’m doing that day. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/reading-is-awesome-and-flexible-and-fits-around-chores-and-earning/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) ## More by Thomas Jefferson > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Explore all 2,098 Thomas Jefferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More Epicurean quotes > [Reading is awesome and flexible and fits around chores and earning money and building the future and whatever else I’m doing that day. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/reading-is-awesome-and-flexible-and-fits-around-chores-and-earning/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [For seventeenth-century astronomers, the Epicurean doctrine of multiple worlds separated by void space was seen to fit with the new Copernican system in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/for-seventeenth-century-astronomers-the-epicurean-doctrine-of/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [I love good food. I’m an epicurean, that’s for sure. … But I am not really a good cook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspard-ulliel/i-love-good-food-i-m-an-epicurean-that-s-for-sure-but-i-am-not-really/) [Gaspard Ulliel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspard-ulliel/) > [Leibniz accepted the argument that there must be indestructible simple entities if there is to be a complex world, but Epicurean morals and politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/leibniz-accepted-the-argument-that-there-must-be-indestructible/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [Heresy is a word which, when it is used without passion, signifies a private opinion. So the different sects of the old philosophers, Academians,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/heresy-is-a-word-which-when-it-is-used-without-passion-signifies-a/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [A civilization is born Stoic and dies Epicurean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/a-civilization-is-born-stoic-and-dies-epicurean/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [I'm Volstag and what you see is what you get. He's a bon vivant lover of life epicurean goodfellow. He's a god, which helps.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stevenson/i-m-volstag-and-what-you-see-is-what-you-get-he-s-a-bon-vivant-lover/) [Ray Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stevenson/) > [I sort of have a love affair with my work. Many of us work far too hard and we don't put enough value in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-cattrall/i-sort-of-have-a-love-affair-with-my-work-many-of-us-work-far-too/) [Kim Cattrall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-cattrall/) > [Even if the gods did exist, the Epicureans argued, they didn't care about us. Rather, everything comes from nature, and all that really exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/even-if-the-gods-did-exist-the-epicureans-argued-they-didn-t-care/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [So I should say that civilizations begin with religion and stoicism: they end with scepticism and unbelief, and the undisciplined pursuit of individual pleasure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/so-i-should-say-that-civilizations-begin-with-religion-and-stoicism/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and honorably and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and honorably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/it-is-impossible-to-live-a-pleasant-life-without-living-wisely-and/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Order can arise from chaos without anyone or anything directing the process when unstable combinations of atoms perish and others persist. In the 17th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/order-can-arise-from-chaos-without-anyone-or-anything-directing-the/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/is-he-able-but-not-willing-then-he-is-malevolent/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Mere negation, mere Epicurean infidelity, as Lord Bacon most justly observes, has never disturbed the peace of the world. It furnishes no motive for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/mere-negation-mere-epicurean-infidelity-as-lord-bacon-most-justly/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [The dumpling-eaters are a race sprung partly from the old Epicurean and partly from the Peripatetic Sect; they were first brought into Britain by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-arbuthnot/the-dumpling-eaters-are-a-race-sprung-partly-from-the-old-epicurean/) [John Arbuthnot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-arbuthnot/) [Browse all 30 Epicurean quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epicurean/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greek and Roman leave to us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Jefferson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine-not-the-imputed-doctrines-of-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Epicurean" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine-not-the-imputed-doctrines-of-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/thomas-jefferson-43_epicurean_i-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine_2435821.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/thomas-jefferson-43_epicurean_i-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine_2435821.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/thomas-jefferson-43_epicurean_i-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine_2435821.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything…” — Thomas Jefferson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Jefferson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am an Epicurean. I consider...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine-not-the-imputed-doctrines-of-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-an-epicurean-i-consider-the-genuine-not-the-imputed-doctrines-of-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```