The word epicure is currently
associated with indulging the appetite, but that is a long way from the
teachings of the man to whom we owe the word. The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus
taught a philosophy of simple pleasure, friendship, and a secluded life. He
believed in the pursuit of pleasure, but pleasure for him comprised tranquility
and freedom from pain—not the indulgence of the senses. Detractors of Epicurus
in his own time and later, however, reduced his notions of pleasure to material
and sensual gratification. When epicure entered English in the 16th century, it
was synonymous with the modern term hedonist; later use carried the notion of
refinement of palate that we see in the word today.
