--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After upwards of two thousand years…" description: "\"After upwards of two thousand years Epicurus has been exonerated from the reproach that the doctrines of his philosophy recommended the pleasures of se..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/278/william-benton-clulow-26274_calumny_after-upwards-of-two-thousand-years-epic_499460.jpg" --- # After upwards of two thousand years Epicurus has been… ![“After upwards of two thousand years Epicurus has been exonerated from the reproach that the doctrines of his philosophy recommended the pleasures of sensuality and voluptuousness as the chief good. Calumny may rest on genius a considerable part of a world's duration; what then is the value of fame?” quote by William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/278/william-benton-clulow-26274_calumny_after-upwards-of-two-thousand-years-epic_499460.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/278/william-benton-clulow-26274_calumny_after-upwards-of-two-thousand-years-epic_499460.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/278/william-benton-clulow-26274_calumny_after-upwards-of-two-thousand-years-epic_499460.jpg) > “After upwards of two thousand years Epicurus has been exonerated from the reproach that the doctrines of his philosophy recommended the pleasures of sensuality and voluptuousness as the chief good. Calumny may rest on genius a considerable part of a world's duration; what then is the value of fame?” [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Epicurus is often mischaracterized as endorsing he indulgence, but his philosophy values modest pleasure and tranquility over excess. **In simple terms:** Epicurus is about simple, balanced happiness, not excess. Key Takeaway Seek balanced joy, not reckless indulgence. Themes philosophy misinterpretation ethics Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic discussion - personal reflection - public discourse Key Concepts Epicureanism moderation reputation Questions to Reflect On - How do we distinguish genuine virtue from fame? - What role does modesty play in a good life? A Different Perspective Fame can be fleeting and may distract from true virtue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epicurus/) [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Sensuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensuality/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Voluptuousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voluptuousness/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Having proven that solitary pleasures are as delicious as any others and much more likely to delight, it becomes perfectly clear that this enjoyment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-proven-that-solitary-pleasures-are-as-delicious-as-any-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a fear of voluptuousness that is itself voluptuous, just as a certain fear of death can itself be deadly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/there-is-a-fear-of-voluptuousness-that-is-itself-voluptuous-just-as-a/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [“The new acts' major influences were movies and their curvy queens Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe. With their big blonde hair, ample breasts, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dita-von-teese/the-new-acts-major-influences-were-movies-and-their-curvy-queens/) [Dita Von Teese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dita-von-teese/) > [O youth! thou often tearest thy wings against the thorns of voluptuousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/o-youth-thou-often-tearest-thy-wings-against-the-thorns-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Voluptuousness, like justice, is blind, but that is the only resemblance between them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/voluptuousness-like-justice-is-blind-but-that-is-the-only-resemblance/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Whosoever shall look heedfully upon those who are eminent for their riches will not think their condition such as that he should hazard his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/whosoever-shall-look-heedfully-upon-those-who-are-eminent-for-their/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The unique and supreme voluptuousness of love lies in the certainty of committing evil. And men and women know from birth that in evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/the-unique-and-supreme-voluptuousness-of-love-lies-in-the-certainty/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [“To the daughters of Eve, that they may teach men that love is not lechery, nor the simony of voluptuousness, but a joy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/to-the-daughters-of-eve-that-they-may-teach-men-that-love-is-not/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“Who is better off? The one who writes to revel in the voluptuousness of the life that surrounds them? Or the one who writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/who-is-better-off-the-one-who-writes-to-revel-in-the-voluptuousness/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [“Decline is also a form of voluptuousness, just like growth. Autumn is just as sensual as springtime. There is as much greatness in dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iwan-goll/decline-is-also-a-form-of-voluptuousness-just-like-growth-autumn-is/) [Iwan Goll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iwan-goll/) > [The great interests of man: air and light, the joy of having a body, the voluptuousness of looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-great-interests-of-man-air-and-light-the-joy-of-having-a-body-the/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [There was a deliberate voluptuousness that was both thrilling and repulsive. And as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/there-was-a-deliberate-voluptuousness-that-was-both-thrilling-and/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Grace in women has more effect than beauty. We sometimes see a certain fine self-possession, an habitual voluptuousness of character, which reposes on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/grace-in-women-has-more-effect-than-beauty-we-sometimes-see-a-certain/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“Some women seem so voluptuous in every sense, richly bountiful and fertile with generous gifts of plenty, sensual and confident in their female strength…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/some-women-seem-so-voluptuous-in-every-sense-richly-bountiful-and/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [I was still more concerned (a preference which you may be far from resenting) to strike a blow for Epicurus, that great man whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian/i-was-still-more-concerned-a-preference-which-you-may-be-far-from/) [Lucian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian/) ## More by William Benton Clulow > [There is such a delusion as evinces itself in cool vehemence; and it is the most dangerous of all expressions of fanaticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/there-is-such-a-delusion-as-evinces-itself-in-cool-vehemence-and-it/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [Man often acquires just so much knowledge as to discover his ignorance, and attains so much experience as to regret his follies, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/man-often-acquires-just-so-much-knowledge-as-to-discover-his/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [Time sheds a softness on remote objects or events, as local distance imparts to the landscape a smoothness and mellowness which disappear on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/time-sheds-a-softness-on-remote-objects-or-events-as-local-distance/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [Error is sometimes so nearly allied to truth that it blends with it as imperceptibly as the colors of the rainbow fade into each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/error-is-sometimes-so-nearly-allied-to-truth-that-it-blends-with-it/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [Many of the finest and most interesting emotions perish forever, because too complex and fugitive for expression. Of all things relating to man, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/many-of-the-finest-and-most-interesting-emotions-perish-forever/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [A thorough: miser must possess considerable strength of character to bear the self-denial imposed by his penuriousness. Equal sacrifices, endured voluntarily in a better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/a-thorough-miser-must-possess-considerable-strength-of-character-to/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [Great books, like large skulls, have often the least brains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/great-books-like-large-skulls-have-often-the-least-brains/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [Philosophy abounds more than philosophers, and learning more than learned men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/philosophy-abounds-more-than-philosophers-and-learning-more-than/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [Fancy has an extensive influence in morals. Some of the most powerful and dangerous feelings in nature, as those of ambition and envy, derive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/fancy-has-an-extensive-influence-in-morals-some-of-the-most-powerful/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [It is possible to indulge too great contempt for mere success, which is frequently attended with all the practical advantages of merit itself, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/it-is-possible-to-indulge-too-great-contempt-for-mere-success-which/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [Topics of conversation among the multitude are generally persons, sometimes things, scarcely ever principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/topics-of-conversation-among-the-multitude-are-generally-persons/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [The Chinese, whom it might be well to disparage less and imitate more, seem almost the only people among whom learning and merit have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/the-chinese-whom-it-might-be-well-to-disparage-less-and-imitate-more/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [The fame which bids fair to live the longest resembles that which Horace attributes to Marcellus, whose progress he compares to the silent, imperceptible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/the-fame-which-bids-fair-to-live-the-longest-resembles-that-which/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [For popular purposes, at least, the aim of literary artists should be similar to that of Rubens in his landscapes, of which, without neglecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/for-popular-purposes-at-least-the-aim-of-literary-artists-should-be/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [I would rather be the author of one original thought than conqueror of a hundred battles. Yet moral excellence is so much superior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/i-would-rather-be-the-author-of-one-original-thought-than-conqueror/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) [Explore all 22 William Benton Clulow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) ## More Calumny quotes > [“He made a pit and digged it. He was cunning in his plans and industrious in his labors. He stooped to the dirty work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon/he-made-a-pit-and-digged-it-he-was-cunning-in-his-plans-and/) [Charles H. Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon/) > [No matter how valuable you are and your ideas, fools will certainly play both of you down, so exclude yourselves from the inflammatory environs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/no-matter-how-valuable-you-are-and-your-ideas-fools-will-certainly/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [I do not want to see the Republican party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny-fear, ignorance, bigotry and smear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-chase-smith/i-do-not-want-to-see-the-republican-party-ride-to-political-victory/) [Margaret Chase Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-chase-smith/) > [“Majority of people prefer a good name to a bad name, but to me, anyone can call me anything, as long as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/majority-of-people-prefer-a-good-name-to-a-bad-name-but-to-me-anyone/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [I never think it necessary to repeat calumnies; they are sparks, which, if you do not blow them, will go out of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-calumnies-they-are-sparks-which/) [Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/) > [Something of calumny always sticks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/something-of-calumny-always-sticks/) [Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/) > [Our credulity is greatest concerning the things we know least about. And since we know least about ourselves, we are ready to believe all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-credulity-is-greatest-concerning-the-things-we-know-least-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He has outsoared the shadow of our night; envy and calumny and hate and pain, and that unrest which men miscall delight, can touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/he-has-outsoared-the-shadow-of-our-night-envy-and-calumny-and-hate/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“Saint John of the Ladder explains it thus: "The devil tempts us to commit sin; and when he does not succeed, he points scornfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fr-belet/saint-john-of-the-ladder-explains-it-thus-the-devil-tempts-us-to/) Fr. Belet > [Mobs may assemble, calumny may defame, but the work of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/mobs-may-assemble-calumny-may-defame-but-the-work-of-god-will-go/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [A man calumniated is doubly injured -- first by him who utters the calumny, and then by him who believes it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herodotus/a-man-calumniated-is-doubly-injured-first-by-him-who-utters-the/) [Herodotus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herodotus/) > [Christ taught us truth; the Devil teaches us falsehood, and strives in every way to contradict every truth; devising various calumnies against it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/christ-taught-us-truth-the-devil-teaches-us-falsehood-and-strives-in/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [But silence never shows itself to so great an advantage, as when it is made the reply to calumny and defamation, provided that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/but-silence-never-shows-itself-to-so-great-an-advantage-as-when-it-is/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [There is something mean in human nature that prefers to think evil, that gives a willing ear and a ready welcome to calumny, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-le-gallienne/there-is-something-mean-in-human-nature-that-prefers-to-think-evil/) [Richard Le Gallienne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-le-gallienne/) > [“Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/be-thou-as-chaste-as-ice-as-pure-as-snow-thou-shalt-not-escape-calumny/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) Browse all 94 Calumny quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "After upwards of two thousand years Epicurus has been exonerated from the reproach that the doctrines of his philosophy recommended the pleasures of sensuality and voluptuousness as the chief good. 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